The Chicago Blackhawks should consider drafting certain Memorial Cup participants at various points of the draft.
The Chicago Blackhawks had a prospect participating in the Memorial Cup, as Jack Pridham was there as a member of the Kitchener Rangers.
Eventually, Pridham and the Rangers won the whole thing. However, the Blackhawks were forced to trade him one day later because he was not going to sign his ELC or commit to a college to extend his rights with the team before they moved him.
Now, Pridham is a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization (the Blackhawks received a third-round pick in return), and he will attend the University of Denver in the fall.
Still, there were plenty of prospects playing in the Memorial Cup that the Blackhawks should have their eye on heading into draft season. To land superstar defenseman Landon DuPont, they'd need to win the lottery next season.
Instead of worrying about that right now, these five players who will be drafted in 2026 are worth considering:
Alexander Bilecki - LD - Kitchener
After losing Pridham, it wouldn't hurt to draft one of his teammates. Alexander Bilecki of the Kitchener Rangers is a solid defenseman who projects to be a 3rd-4th round type of player.
Bilecki doesn't have the high-end offensive skills that the guys in the top ten of the draft have, but he can move the puck and create offense-minded plays while playing a responsible game in his own end.
During the OHL season, Bilecki had 9 goals and 20 assists for 29 points in 66 games played. In the four Memorial Cup games that he played, he had a total of three assists en route to the title.
Belecki mostly had a third-pair role on this deep Kitchener team, which makes the production he did have even more impressive. Players like him are how you keep the cupboard of defensemen full.
Brek Liske - RD - Everett
Speaking of keeping the farm full of solid defensemen, Brek Liske is someone for Chicago to consider in the middle rounds. The Canadian defender was on the Everett Silvertips, who were defeated by the Rangers in the Memorial Cup championship.
Liske put up a fair amount of points during the WHL season, as he had 7 goals and 17 assists for 24 points in 52 games. From the back-end, that's something to build on.
Brek Liske had the challenge/opportunity to be Landon DuPont's partner throughout the year. He didn't have any points in Everett's five Memorial Cup games, but his role was to support his incredibly talented partner, who puts a lot of emphasis on joining the rush and creating.
This young man has the skill set of a player who will play a lot of pro hockey. Whether it's in the NHL or not remains to be seen, but his pedigree and ability to support star players may help him translate to the next level.
Liam Lefebvre - C - Chicoutimi
The Chicago Blackhawks could use some more forwards in their pipeline. It wouldn't be too surprising to see a large amount of draft capital on forwards in 2026.
One of them to consider is Chicoutimi's Liam Lefebvre. He played for two QMJHL teams in 2025-26. With the Rimouski Oceanic, he had 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points in 34 games played.
After going to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, he elevated his production, which can also be attributed to being on a better team. In 25 games with them, he had 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points.
During the Memorial Cup, he helped elevate Chicoutimi, which was not in the same class as Kitchener or Everett. He had two goals and two assists for four points in four games played.
Those two goals came in one game, a 3-2 win over the Kelowna Rockets during Round Robin play. One of the two goals was the overtime winner. That goal, at the time, gave Chicoutimi control of its own destiny as it pursued a spot in the final.
Before turning pro, Lefebvre is set to play college hockey for the University of Vermont. This is another level for the potential mid-round pick to elevate his game to the point where he can turn pro.
Harrison Boettiger - G - Kelowna
The Chicago Blackhawks hope to have Spencer Knight between their pipes for a long time. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't stock up on goaltenders because you never know how injuries to starters or backups can impact future seasons.
Harrison Boettiger of the Kelowna Rockets is someone to look at when thinking about goaltenders in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The Rockets were the host team for the Memorial Cup, which earned them an automatic bid. Most of the time, the host isn't likely to win. Kelowna wasn't on the same level as the other three teams, but their goaltender is solid.
Boettiger is set to play for the Rockets again in 2026-27, but he is committed to play for the University of Denver in the year after that. Goalies have a different development path than skaters, especially with there being significantly fewer NHL jobs, so this is a great idea for him as a prospect.
Matias Vanhanen - F - Everett
Mattias Vanhanen is a Finnish forward who has high upside when it comes to his offensive game. For one, with the Everett Silvertips, he had 21 goals and 66 assists for 87 points in 62 WHL games played.
In the middle of that, he played in 7 World Junior Championship games with Finland. In those games, he had 6 assists.
Playing on the first line, Vanhanen continued to make a big impact in the Memorial Cup, where he had 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points in their five games. They came up just short of winning, but he had a stretch of games to be proud of when it mattered most.
Offensive production isn't the end-all, be-all, especially in Major Junior hockey, but it is nothing to ignore either if he is sitting there in the third or fourth round waiting to be selected.
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