The player the Chicago Blackhawks should most want to draft with the third overall pick is Michael Misa. He has shown a ton of great stuff this season and scouts think very highly of him, projecting him as the most likely to be a star in the NHL.
According to Elliotte Friedman, there's a rumor that Anton Frondell could go second overall to the San Jose Sharks. With Matthew Schaefer all but confirmed to be going first overall to the New York Islanders, that means Misa would be available for the Blackhawks to draft following that.
While Friedman said that this is just a rumor and that everybody lies at this time of year, I think the Sharks would be able to trade down to third overall if this was the case. There is a strong chance the Blackhawks want and will draft Misa if he is available to them. The only reasons why the Sharks wouldn't trade down is if Frondell is a legitimate target by them at second overall, San Jose believes Chicago may debate taking Frondell, or they intend on drafting Misa and don't want to miss out.
I don't think that Frondell is a bad choice by any means, but he doesn't have the same offensive upside that Misa has. With Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and others on the team, there would be elite offense down the line. Frondell brings more of a power forward style of play that could be very useful in the playoffs.
A team can never have enough offense, but as the Florida Panthers have shown over the past few seasons, a combination of grit and skill are also very useful. The Conn Smythe winner was the exact example of that and he is a former fourth overall pick.
There is expected to be fireworks at the draft, but we will have to wait and see if those will involve the Blackhawks doing anything memorable other than drafting where they are slotted to at this time.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.