Earlier this week I wrote about how the 2020 NHL Draft class is intriguing as we look ahead to the Blackhawks’ future. The Blackhawks last few draft classes under the previous regime left the cupboard with some pieces to build with, which is good for the rebuild.
But the 2019 NHL Draft has not worked out nearly as well as most NHL teams would have hoped. That isn’t unique to the Chicago Blackhawks by any means.
Here’s the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft in order. Players who are with a different organization than the one who called their name at the draft are in italics.
New Jersey — Jack Hughes NY Rangers — Kaapo Kakko BLACKHAWKS — Kirby Dach Colorado — Bowen Byram Los Angeles — Alex Turcotte Detroit — Moritz Seider Buffalo — Dylan Cozens Edmonton — Philip Broberg* Anaheim — Trevor Zegras Vancouver — Vasili Podkolzin Arizona — Victor Soderstrom Minnesota — Matthew Boldy Florida — Spencer Knight Philadelphia — Cam York Montreal — Cole Caufield Colorado — Alex Newhook Vegas — Peyton Krebs Dallas — Thomas Harley Ottawa — Lassi Thomson** Winnipeg — Ville Heinola Pittsburgh — Samuel Poulin Los Angeles — Tobias Bjornfot NY Islanders — Simon Holmstrom Nashville — Philip Tomasino Washington — Connor McMichael Calgary — Jakob Pelletier Tampa Bay — Nolan Foote Carolina — Ryan Suzuki Anaheim — Brayden Tracey Boston — John Beecher Buffalo — Ryan Johnson* – Broberg signed an offer sheet with St. Louis ** – Thomson was claimed off waivers twice, ending up back in OttawaI’ll throw in that the second pick of the second round, forward Arthur Kaliyev, has also been traded. Which means 12 of the first 33 picks in the 2019 NHL Draft are now with a different organization than the one that selected them in 2019. And Tracey, the 29th overall pick, has appeared in just one NHL game to date.
If you wander thru trade rumors and speculation, you’ll see Zegras and Cozens mentioned frequently these days as well. So the number of first-round picks who changed teams could climb even further before the end of this season.
That’s not ideal.
However…
Overall, the Blackhawks’ 2019 draft class has been a disappointment. They drafted six players, and only two have appeared in NHL games to date.
However, one of those two players appears to be a potential cornerstone player for the future. The Blackhawks selected Alex Vlasic in the second round (No. 43 overall).
In a perfect world, you’d love to see a team draft multiple contributors in every class. But that’s not reality. If a team can find one top-four defensemen and/or one top-six forward in a draft, that’s a win. If you can find a top-pair defenseman in the second round, that’s great. To date, only five defensemen from the 2019 NHL Draft have appeared in more regular-season games than Vlasic. And four of those are first round picks.
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