The first round of the draft went well for the Blackhawks. They took RHD Artyom Levshunov at No. 2 and then North Dakota-bound center Sacha Boisvert at No. 18. Both players measured in at 6-2 and bring a lot of offensive ability to the ice. Chicago then traded both of their second-round picks to get back into the first round and selected winger Marek Vanacker at No. 27.
I kept you up to date with the entire first round last night. Rounds 2-7 begin at 10:30 AM CT on NHL Network today. Come along for the ride again on Saturday, y’all!
Boisvert is described as a two-way center who competes, can skate, has a lethal shot and has leadership qualities (sound familiar?). With his size and skating ability, he might be your second-line center in a few years. His favorite player: Evgeni Malkin (who ESPN compared him to last night). Who does he watch and model his game after? Anze Kopitar.
Scott Wheeler at The Athletic had the Blackhawks in his group of “Winners” on Friday night, which he defined as “Teams I believe won out over their competition with consistent, sleuth, home-run-level selections relative to where they picked.” Here are his comments about the three players the Blackhawks selected in the first round:
“The Blackhawks had a really good day.
I think Levshunov has been underrated in recent weeks, because of the presence of Demidov, in the view of many fans. But make no mistake: Levshunov is a stud. He has been phenomenal the last two seasons in North America, and has taken off along a steep trajectory that doesn’t feel anywhere close to the finish line. He’s an exciting talent with real first-pairing upside who had a tremendous age-adjusted two years in the USHL — and especially in college at Michigan State this year. When he’s on, he’s all over the ice and he’s a force of nature. Plus: You’re going to love the kid, Blackhawks fans.
I liked the Boisvert pick for the Blackhawks as well. He perhaps doesn’t have the premium speed they’ve focussed on in the past, but he’s a good skater and he certainly checks the character, intangibles and competitor boxes that they also covet. He gives their admittedly small forward group some size, too. I’m high on all of Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar, Nick Lardis, and others, but they skew smaller. It’s not hard to imagine Boisvert being the Blackhawks’ 3C of the future and the kind of player who can play higher in the lineup and with a variety of linemates when needed. I’m a fan. He’s a great kid, too (a theme with many prospects they’ve picked in recent years).
Vanacker is an awesome player who is going to be a good pro winger and could play alongside Boisvert some day and work well off of him. He’s got size, he can skate, he knows what he is, and he’s got a well-rounded offensive game. He’ll be out until December after shoulder surgery but he looked like a first-rounder this year and he would have been in the mix for me at No. 27.”
The Blackhawks’ GM was understandably high on his work on Friday night. He’s targeted specific players and been able to land most of them (see below for a rumor they wanted to swing big last night). Liking the prospect’s profile and game leading into the draft is one thing. Helping them develop into impactful NHL players is another, and that’s the work in front of Davidson and his staff in the years to come.
If you went to bed right after the first round last night (I wouldn’t blame you), a report surfaced that the Blackhawks tried to make a huge splash last night. Davidson made a BIG offer to try to get a second pick inside the top five overall. Too bad Columbus wasn’t buying…
Scott Powers sat down with Danny Wirtz before the draft began to talk about the rebuild plan and its progress. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that he expects movement in the right direction, but he’s bought into the Davidson Plan.
A reminder of how Davidson has drafted in the first round over his three drafts (yes, 8 players in 3 years):
We’re in qualifying offer season, folks. So some RFAs are going to become UFAs before Monday. The Sharks are reportedly letting a couple players walk. Filip Zadina was a guy who a lot of people liked a few years ago but it just hasn’t worked in a few spots recently.
The St. Louis Blues added a bottom-six center in a deal with Columbus on Friday, acquiring Alexandre Texier for a fourth-round pick. The Blues then signed him to a two-year extension.
I don’t think this would be something the Blackhawks would be involved with, but interesting to hear Nazem Kadri’s name is circulating the trade rumors. He has a few years left on his big deal in Calgary.
Finally, because I feel like a lot of Blackhawks fans are sleeping on the players they drafted in the first round because they don’t recognize the names with ease, how about a nice story about one of the Bears’ offseason additions who might be underrated?
NEWSLETTER
