like I said trying to tank and getting the 6th pick is as fireable of an offense as trying to win and getting the 7th
God he was so fun to watch before all of the injuries took their toll. Always felt like the hawks were going to win
I believe the NHL only draws for 1st and 2nd pick... after that it's order of finish. I rather pick 2nd vs 3rd as it puts us no worse than 4th
My kid got a bedard Canadian juniors jersey for his bday on 4/30. That thing is going to be extra sweet when it gets here
Going to be interesting to see if management feels pressure to contend immediately or they'll stick with their multi-year plan
they have to do something besides having reichel and korchinski starting in Chicago. Bedard can’t be playing with bums. They at least need to be flirting with the playoffs next year
Pronman scouting report Bedard is a potential franchise-changing No. 1 prospect. His skill and shot are legit game-breaking attributes. His ability to beat defenders one-on-one is among the best I’ve ever seen by a 17-year-old, and the pace at which he displays that elite skill is going to allow him to execute those type of skilled plays in the NHL. Bedard is a highly imaginative puck handler and a very creative passer. That, combined with the fact his wrist shot is a top-tier NHL weapon from anywhere in the offensive zone, makes him a projected nightmare for NHL coaches to stop on the power play. The only downside to his game is his frame, which has some scouts wondering if he gets pushed off to the wing in the NHL. He isn’t a pushover though, as he plays hard and has a physical edge in his game. Given his success as a junior center, his strong skating and his high compete level, I think whoever drafts him will have to try him down the middle and move to the wing if it doesn’t work. If he is a wing, he could still have a potential Patrick Kane/Nikita Kucherov type of impact on a franchise.
I don’t think that’s realistic. 1) the roster is bare 2) the fa class is trash I think you call up the best prospects let’s them build together and go and then add players in free agency the following off season.
Do you envision him as a center or a wing in the NHL or is there even an answer at this point? Well, I think right now, all we’ve ever known him is as a center. So until he proves that he’s not a center, I think he’s gonna be a center. He just had 71 goals, but he had 70-some assists, too. He doesn’t carry the puck a lot. He’s good at give-and-go and moving pucks and getting to open areas. So he can make a lot of good plays. So I think right now he is a center and he’ll have every opportunity to prove otherwise. With his size, is there any concern about his ability to play defensively as a center? He obviously didn’t spend a lot of time in the defensive zone in junior and seemed responsible enough. Where do you think he is defensively? I think his attention to detail because of his hockey IQ is high end. He is 5-10, but he’s got a thickness about him. He’s 185-190 right now and he’s really strong. He doesn’t get bounced off pucks. But just as good as he is offensively reading plays, he’s just as good defensively. And I think what happens with a lot of those guys that are sub-6-foot is they have to learn how to create body position and stick position and use sticks. And maybe they’re not cross-checking guys to knock them off pucks, but they have their own way of defending that’s effective. It’s almost like Duncan Keith was in a way. He knew how to defend with his stick and body position and chip pucks the other way to jump-start the offense. And so a lot of guys that aren’t big, brawny, bruising players, that’s how they defend.
A lot of people who keep speaking about Bedard basically say his floor is Patrick Kane. That's a pretty great player... C or Wing who gives a fuck.
Firing Stan may have been the best thing to happen to the Blackhawks since winning the last cup. it seems like last years class is doing big things
If the Russian kid begins to fall… at what point do we package 19 to move up and get him? If he’s sitting there at 6 or 7 we got to make that move right?
probably would have to give up too much at 6 but if he’s there around 10 you could probably move up for a couple of second round picks
Do something around this, our picks, etc for Brock Boeser and #11 • The Blackhawks aren’t optimistic about their chances to move up from their second first-round pick at No. 19. Even if the Blackhawks package the No. 19 pick and a second-rounder or two, that probably isn’t enough for a team to budge from a top-15 selection. The Vancouver Canucks might be the only team that could make sense. It’s no secret the Canucks are trying to get out of a few contracts this offseason. If the Blackhawks took on one of those contracts and packaged a first- and second-round pick, maybe that would entice the Canucks to trade the No. 11 pick. There should be some really good players left on the board at 11 if the Blackhawks could do that.
• The Blackhawks are ready to listen to any team that wants to offload a contract this offseason. If it could bring the Blackhawks a high draft pick and/or a quality prospect, they’ll explore the possibility. The Blackhawks know eventually they’re going to have to worry about their cap space again, but that’s at least a few years away. There’s even a possibility of the Blackhawks acquiring a player and then buying him out. They have that sort of flexibility for now. • The Blackhawks denied the Pittsburgh Penguins’ request to interview associate general manager Jeff Greenberg for their vacant GM position. The Blackhawks felt they and Greenberg were just starting something special together and wanted to see it through.
Honestly they need to either get first round picks or even better highly rated prospects for taking bad contracts. Already have tons of 2nd and 3rd round picks over the next couple of seasons.
we need more top 6 fwds so either move up if there are teams reaching for defenseman in a weak draft or down and improve your higher end 2024 draft capital
its a waste. Basically just laundering what Davidson wants him to say to maintain negotiating leverage. • The Blackhawks knew they were likely going to make multiple trades at last year’s draft. They’re not so certain this year. Ideally, they’d love to weaponize their cap space and gain some more assets, but it’s not clear yet if that’s going to be a possibility. The Blackhawks aren’t going to take on a “bad” contract just for anything at this point. It has to be worth their while. It’s possible they also have to wait until the trade deadline to have another go at utilizing that cap space. They’re in a good spot to help out another team with the amount of space they have, especially with the cap only slightly increasing, but they’ll have a better idea in the coming weeks of how desperate other teams are to move out contracts. • Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has zero concerns about hitting the cap floor. He’s going to tap into his cap space. He just doesn’t know how much and whether that comes through trades or free agency. “I guess ideally, if you can get value for your cap space, then sure, but I don’t know if that’s going to be available to us,” Davidson said. “And I don’t think we’ll spend to the cap, that would be pretty tough given our situation and the contracts we have on the books. But I like where we’re at from a cap perspective — we’ve got tons of flexibility moving forward; we’ve got tons of flexibility this year. I have no concern about getting to the cap floor; that’s going to happen with general ease. It’s just how we get there will be an interesting road. There will be options, should we go into free agency. There’s options via trade, whether there’s players we proactively go out and get, or contracts people are looking to move. I’m open to anything. We don’t have a limit on how much we’re willing to spend, but there’s also just so much realistically that we can spend, as well. We’ll see where we end up on the cap.” • If I were betting on the Blackhawks moving up, back or standing still from the No. 19 pick, I’d put my money on standing still. It would probably cost them too much to move up more than a few spots. The only way I see them moving back is if they’re confident the player they want will still be there and the assets coming back are significant enough. While there may be multiple players they like in that range, teams don’t put the amount of resources they do into watching these players not to differentiate between prospects. They know the differences between each player, and they know those differences can be huge in the long run. For example, Riley Tufte and Tage Thompson are both 6-foot-6 forwards taken with consecutive first-round picks in 2016. Tufte has played 13 career NHL games and Thompson is coming off a 47-goal NHL season. It matters. • So who will be available to them at No. 19? The Blackhawks aren’t sure. They’re confident there will be a quality player or two left on the board, but the draft can play out so many different ways by then. Of the players at the scouting combine, forwards Colby Barlow, Oliver Moore, Calum Ritchie, Matthew Wood and Brayden Yager are some possibilities for that pick. • One player who wasn’t at the combine but is someone the Blackhawks apparently like a lot is Daniil But, a 6-5 forward from Russia. There is some doubt he’ll still be available when they pick. • Davidson was asked at the combine whether he had any apprehension about drafting a player from Russia. He said, “I think it’s case by case, whether it be contractual obligations, you’re always asking — even this predates any of the current situation in the world, is you’re always trying to get a sense of their willingness to come and want to play in North America. That’s always a question you have, but on the face of it, as a general rule, I don’t think there’s apprehension. I think you just have to do a little more work I think, given the circumstances right now.” • As for the second round, some of the possibilities for the Blackhawks could be goalie Adam Gajan, forward Otto Stenberg, defenseman Oliver Bonk, defenseman Andrew Strathmann and forward Bradly Nadeau. • After signing Andreas Athanasiou, it doesn’t sound like the Blackhawks will likely re-sign any of their other unrestricted free agents. That group includes Jujhar Khaira and Alex Stalock, among a few others. • Jonathan Toews isn’t returning to the Blackhawks, but I do think we’ll hear a decision from him in the next few weeks on whether he’ll retire or play elsewhere next season. • Davidson isn’t as concerned as some fans seem to be about bringing in veterans to put around a player like Bedard or any of the organization’s other young players. Davidson already sees plenty of those types of players in his dressing room. “From a general sense, it’s definitely something we would like to have. But we also have it,” Davidson said. “They’re not walking into … these young players that come up, whether it was last year or this year, new players that are going to be coming in full-time, there’s good veterans already within the organization and within the locker room. I’m not concerned with that being something we have to add, because I think it’s there. Naturally, based on what we’re needing to add with putting some money on the books and adding some players via free agency or trade, when a player makes a little more, they’re probably not 20 years old. We’re trying to find the right people that we bring in to surround some of the younger players with, but I’m not out there looking for veteran presences, because I think we have that. It will come naturally based on where we have to acquire players from.” • The assumption was the Blackhawks were going into next season with Arvid Soderblom and Petr Mrazek as their NHL tandem, and Davidson pretty much confirmed that. “I think we’ve got some young goalies that are all waiver-exempt, and so Arvid’s been here, a North American pro for a couple years now,” Davidson said. “We really liked what he did, which is why we re-signed him and we think really highly of him. We’ll let them figure that out, who’s got the edge and all that. It’s going to be merit-based and so we’ll just kind of let them battle it out. And there’s also a development aspect to that as well, that decision. He spent significant time in Rockford, so the question could be, is he just ready for that next step and whereas some of the other guys, Jax (Jaxson Stauber) and Drew (Commesso) have not had the experience that Arvid has had and Arvid was playing pro before he came here too, so there’s an experience base there that probably gives him an advantage where, you know what, it might be time to test out at a higher level, but we’ll let them figure that out.” • Davidson isn’t likely looking to add another NHL goalie this offseason. “I’m not chasing that, I’m not chasing another goalie,” Davidson said. “Goaltending depth is always helpful but I’m not closed off to it. But I feel comfortable with where we are right now.” • Two of the biggest restricted free-agent decisions in the coming weeks for the Blackhawks are Caleb Jones and Ian Mitchell. It doesn’t sound like those players know exactly where they stand yet with the Blackhawks. Davidson is expected to begin making RFA decisions in the coming weeks. • The Blackhawks plan to bring back their full NHL and AHL coaching staffs next season. It may not happen this offseason, but you would think Rockford IceHogs goalie development coach Peter Aubry lands an NHL position in the near future. His name was out there for a few positions this year. • It always seems notable when there’s mention of what associate general manager Jeff Greenberg and his analytics team are building for the Blackhawks. Davidson was asked about it again this past week. “I think we’ve made some great headway in those areas, and even just kind of organizing information for us has been a huge help,” Davidson said. “That’s helped us speed up the process a little bit too in terms of where we’re at vs. where we’ve been in the past. The information that Jeff and his group has given to us has been helpful. I think we’re still cautious in how hard we use certain information for decisions, but it’s been useful and unique, it’s new, and we’re still trying to figure out how to use some of this information, but yeah, we’re trying to incorporate it and try to pressure test it and see how trustworthy it is and those kinds of things, so it’s definitely a new wrinkle and a new aspect that we’ve got in our decision-making process.” • Davidson also explained the decision to hold their prospect development camp off-ice this year. “It was more with respect to, just making the most out of that week we get them for,” Davidson said. “I think there’s some things we can teach them away from on-ice, which they have so much time doing already that the educational opportunities elsewhere we thought were more beneficial than getting them back on the ice, which these players have no issue with access to ice time at this point, whether it’s with their teams or back home, they’re going to get that, and so on-ice instruction or thoughts from a development standpoint is no barrier for us, so it’s more so let’s teach them new things, let’s teach them different things.”