A surprise report confirms it all for the Blackhawks' 27th overall 2024 pick

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Joshua Deeds
July 25, 2024 (11:21)

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The Blackhawks selected forward Marek Vanacker in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, 27th overall.

The experts expect the forward to be a problem in the OHL for the 2024-2025 season.

The 6'0", two-way forward is a strong skater who plays on both ends of the ice without problem.

He had 82 points in 68 regular season games with the Brantford Bulldogs in 2023-2024.

Vanacker is a playmaker and a skilled forward, who can create offense through zone entries and gets to the net to generate plays.

Expect
@NHLBlackhawks
prospect Marek Vanacker of the
@BulldogsOHL
to be one of the #OHL's top offensive threats in 2024-25

In the clip you can see how skilled of a player he is capitalizing upon the rush, and you can see in the aforementioned clip, easily defeating defenders.

«He's an opportunistic scorer. You don't necessarily spot him until he's skating past the defense to catch a breakaway pass and beating the goalie with a perfectly placed in stride shot. Vanacker anticipates changes of possession and gaps in coverage and times his drive into these pockets to get scoring chances. He steals the puck on the backcheck and on the forecheck and instantly turns these plays into odd-man attacks. And he can traverse a neutral zone quickly with powerful forward strides or deceptive, east-west crossovers, and pick the corners of the net off the rush. But it's really in quick possession plays that his game shines the most.» - *EliteProspects.com*

Source: NHL
DRAFT: What the Experts Say About Marek Vanacker