Here's the list to follow on June 28 and 29, along with a throwback to 2023 and Connor Bedard's selection No. 1 overall.
There's no Connor Bedard anticipation and hype this time for the Chicago Blackhawks and their fans.
There's no elaborate draft viewing party at Chicago's Salt Shed entertainment venue with 5,000 plus fans, music, famous former players, kids' play areas, free-flowing booze — and Bedard jerseys for sale moments after his name was called. See our story from 2023 in the link.
Drafting No. 2 overall just isn't the same as No. 1, especially when the top pick was Bedard, the heralded generational talent compared to Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.
But the Chicago Blackhawks do have six picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NHL Draft, on June 28 and 29 in Las Vegas. One or more should turn out to be "foundational pieces" for the team's rebuild, according to general manager Kyle Davidson. See video.
Savor what promises to be a high-tech show from the Sphere. It will be the last time the NHL has a centralized draft, a tradition that dates back to 1963 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal.
The Blackhawks will draft second overall, then 18th in the first round.
Whether Chicago selects slick Russian forward Ivan Demidov, Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov or someone else with the No. 2 slot, that player is not expected to make an immediate impact the way Bedard did in 2023-24. Demidov will return to Russia and KHL. Levshunov, a personable 6-foot-2 kid from Belarus, may skate a sophomore season with the Spartans, then sign as a minor pro.
Who do you think the Blackhawks should select with the second overall draft pick? Vote in our fan poll at the THN Chicago Roundtable Forum at https://thehockeynews.rtb.io/chicago-blackhawks/posts/RejGPZcacDInRflwDxSp
That 18th pick may turn out to be a little like Oliver Moore, the speedster Davidson was pumped to take at 19th overall in 2023. Now rated as Chicago's top long-term prospect by 2024 THN Future Watch, Moore will enter a sophomore season at the University of Minnesota in the fall along with roommate and defenseman Sam Rinzel, also a Chicago prospect.
A possibility at the No. 18 slot in 2024 is Michael Hage, a center who came on strong in his second season with the USHL Chicago Steel. Hage, from Mississauga, Ontario, had 33 goals and 75 points in 54 games for the Steel, which is owned by the Wirtz Corporation, the same family-controlled umbrella organization that owns the Blackhawks.
Scuttlebutt has it the Steel will move from the Fox Valley Ice Arena to the Fifth Third Arena after its expansion is completed, but the Blackhawks have denied the rumors at this point.
Here's the full rundown of this year's Blackhawks draft slots.
First Round
2nd Overall: Obtained in 2024 NHL Draft Lottery after 31st place finish in 2023-24.
18th Overall: Acquired in a trade with the New York Islanders on May 24, moving up two spots in the first round and acquiring the No. 50 overall pick by sending the No. 20 overall pick (from Tampa Bay), the No. 54 overall pick (from Los Angeles) and the No. 61 overall pick (from Vancouver) to the Islanders.
Second Round
34th overall: The natural slot based on a 31st place finish.
50th overall: Acquired in a trade with the New York Islanders on May 24, moving up two spots in the first round and acquiring the No. 50 overall pick by sending the No. 20 overall pick (from Tampa Bay), the No. 54 overall pick (from Los Angeles) and the No. 61 overall pick (from Vancouver) to the Islanders.
Third Round
67th overall: Team's natural slot.
72nd overall: From Ottawa, along with first- and third-round picks in 2022 draft, in for forward Alex DeBrincat on July 7, 2022.
Fourth Round
None
Fifth Round
138th overall: From Calgary for forward Ryan Carpenter on March 21, 2022
Sixth Round
163rd overall: Team's natural slot.