The Blackhawks will draft second overall in 2024. The last time Chicago was in that draft slot was 59 years ago, and it didn't turn out well for the team.
The Blackhawks will draft second overall in 2024. The last time Chicago was in that draft slot was 59 years ago, and it didn't turn out well for the team.
The Chicago Blackhawks, one of the NHL's Original Six franchises, entered the league in 1926. The first time the team participated in a league draft for players was all the way back in 1963.
Chicago was locked into the second spot for the 2024 NHL Draft in the lottery on Tuesday night. Only once before this year have the Blackhawks ever drafted second overall. That was in 1965.
The Blackhawks took a forward named Andy Culligan with that pick. They're hoping for better results this time.
Culligan, a left winger from Toronto, never played in the NHL and topped out as a very good Canadian university player. It seemed like a rarity that anyone the Blackhawks selected when drafts were introduced made it to the NHL.
Just two of 14 players taken in the first five drafts by Chicago between 1963 and 1967 saw any NHL action. Those two players skated in just 19 NHL games combined and produced just one assist.
Culligan's Story
So what happened to Culligan?
The 6-foot, 190-pound winger split the season after he was drafted between three teams — the St. Michael's Buzzers of the MetJBHL (Toronto Metro Jr. B. Hockey League), and the St. Catharines Black Hawks and London Nationals of the then- OHA-Jr. Next, according to Hockeydb.com, he moved to the Weston (Ontario) Dodgers of the MJBHL in 1966-67.
Culligan took a year off, then played one game in the IHL with the Port Huron Flags in 1968-69. He then took another year off before playing four seasons as an undergraduate — plus one as a graduate student —at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Here's what the St. Francis Xavier athletics website said about Culligan.
"Andy Culligan enjoyed five successful seasons with the X-Men hockey team. A prolific goal scorer, the left-winger led the team in scoring for three of those years.
"Honoured on three occasions as an Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (AIAA) all-star, he was second overall in league scoring for two seasons skating with the blue and white.
"The 1971 StFX rookie of the year, Andy earned recognition as the team’s most valuable player in 1972. His 194 career points remains the third best in X-Men all-time career leading scoring as he has left his mark in the record books."
Culligan didn't go any further as a player. He became a physical education teacher and administrator in Nova Scotia.
The Blackhawks hope to do better hockey-wise with their No. 2 pick in June. GM Kyle Davidson said it should net Chicago a "foundational piece."
The NHL Draft, especially when it was first introduced, was such a wildcard.
Nowadays, the second overall pick is going to have much more excitement surrounding him, better training, and a lot more skill than anyone back in the day. Whoever the Blackhawks draft in 2024 should have a big role on the team for the foreseeable future.
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