The Chicago Blackhawks have been good with their first-round picks since Kyle Davidson took over.
The Chicago Blackhawks have not made the playoffs in a long time, but the rebuild, as it is known today, started when Kyle Davidson took over on a full-time basis. He tore it down to the studs and let drafting and developing take over as the main focus.
Davidson has made a handful of small free agent signings and trades to fill out the NHL roster, but players on entry-level deals have been his primary focus from the start. Stockpiling high-end draft picks has been a part of that process.
There have been four drafts since Davidson took over. In that time, he made eleven first-round picks. Remarkably, six of them are going to be in the lineup on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Sacha Boisvert, the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, is set to make his NHL debut. He signed with the Blackhawks after completing his 2025-26 season at Boston University. There were some work visa issues to work out, but he’s ready to go.
Boisvert’s debut comes one game after Anton Frondell made his against the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Frondell, the third overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, is the top prospect in the organization and one of the top five across the entire league.
Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Sam Rinzel, and Artyom Levshunov are the other four top round picks in the lineup. If Oliver Moore were not injured, he’d be in the mix as well, which would make it 7 out of 11 first-round picks by Davidson playing.
Kevin Korchinski, Marek Vanacker, Vaclav Nestrasil, and Mason West are the four first-rounders not playing in the NHL yet. The only one of them who is eligible right now is Kevin Korchinski, meaning that almost every first-round pick that Davidson has made from 2022-2024 (three drafts) is already contributing or about to contribute at the NHL level.
The jury is still out on Korchinski. He has dominated at times in the AHL but has yet to stick in the NHL when given opportunities. All of the things he does well are skills that Rinzel and Levshunov also do well, while being much more sound defensively.
Vanacker just finished a regular season campaign in the OHL that saw him lead the league in goal scoring. After some AHL seasoning, he has an NHL future.
Vaclav Nestrasil just won a Silver Medal at the World Juniors and was strong in his freshman season at UMass. Another year of college will do him good.
As for Mason West, he completed his goal of winning a high school state football championship. He is now with the Fargo Force of the USHL and will play for Michigan State next year.
Most of the first round picks being hits with the potential for there to be more on the way makes the Blackhawks a dangerous organization going forward. High-end talent put in the proper position is a key to winning the Stanley Cup.
The Blackhawks will have another top 5-10 pick in the NHL draft this June. They are hoping that this is the last one that they have for a while, because it will mean that they have started winning.
Whether the first-round pick from the Florida Panthers comes in 2026 or 2027 remains to be seen. They also have the first round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2027, but that could also become a 2028 pick, depending on Edmonton’s finish next year.
Every single one of these first-round players is unlikely to dress for the Blackhawks for any sustained period. Some will not make it, some will be traded, but they are all valuable to Davidson right now.
Their future depends on wise choices for their development from this day forward, with six of them already in the NHL lineup.
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