This Young Prospect Has Become Very Underrated in the Blackhawks System

Heading into the 2023 NHL Draft, it was well known that Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson was looking to add more highly skilled forwards to his prospect pool. In his first draft as General Manager (2022), Davidson used nine of his eleven selections on forwards. While that gave the Blackhawks a greater abundance of forwards in the system, what they still lacked was players with true high-end talent. After selecting Connor Bedard first overall and Oliver Moore nineteenth overall in the first round of 2023, the Blackhawks looked toward adding more firepower in the remaining rounds of the draft.

After initially owning four second-round picks, the Blackhawks traded the 51st overall selection to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for the 167th pick and a 2023 second round pick, which originally belonged to the Los Angeles Kings. With one of their remaining three selections in the second round, the Blackhawks drafted Roman Kantserov 44th overall.

The 5'9 176lbs winger is on the smaller side, but is a shifty and talented playmaker who shined playing overseas in Russia's top junior league (MHL). During his draft year, Kantserov posted 54 points in 45 games for Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk of the MHL. He also made his way into a KHL game for Metallurg Magnitogorsk where he did not tally a point. NHL Central Scouting had Kantserov as the 16th best European skater in the draft. He is a smart forward with a high hockey IQ who has been able to score at every level he's played in.