Could the Blackhawks end up picking these four prospects in this year's draft?
The Chicago Blackhawks have four picks in the first two rounds of this year's NHL Entry Draft. They have the fourth-overall pick, their own second-round, the Toronto Maple Leafs' second-round pick, and the New York Islanders' second-round pick. With this, the Blackhawks have the potential to land some promising new prospects in their system at the draft.
The Athletic's Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler recently released their latest mock draft, where they predicted each of the first two rounds of this year's draft.
For the Blackhawks' fourth-overall pick, Pronman predicted that Chicago would land left winger Ivar Stenberg. This would be massive if it came to fruition for the Blackhawks, as he is widely considered one of the best players in this year's draft. He has the potential to become a star in the NHL and would be a big pickup for a Blackhawks club that needs more skill on the wing.
In 43 games with Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), Stenberg recorded 11 goals, 22 assists, and 33 points.
With the Blackhawks' own second-round pick, Pronman predicted that they would select defenseman Jakub Vanecek. Vanecek is a 6-foot-2 left-shot defenseman who demonstrated plenty of promise this season with the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. In 59 games this season, he posted 14 goals, 21 assists, and 35 points.
With the Maple Leafs' second-round pick, Wheeler predicted that the Blackhawks would take another left-shot defenseman in Ben Macbeath. The 6-foot-2 blueliner spent this season in the WHL with the Calgary Hitmen, posting seven goals and 51 points in 67 games. The Calgary, Alberta native has plenty of skill and could be a nice pickup for Chicago if selected.
Then, with the Islanders' second-round pick, Wheeler had the Blackhawks take goaltender Dmitri Borichev. The 6-foot-3 netminder spent this season in Russia's MHL with Loko-76 Yaroslavl, where he posted a 12-8-3 record, a .929 save percentage, and a 2.25 goals-against average.