Grading The Blackhawks 2022 Draft Class: Early Look
Before we begin, yes obviously grades right after the draft are WAY to soon to tell on any of these players, so view this more as a recap then concrete judgment on the picks.
Round 1:
Following three separate trades including Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach, the Blackhawks acquired three first round picks: 7th, 13th, 25th as well as goalie Petr Mrazek.
With the 7th the Blackhawks took left handed offensive minded defenseman Kevin Korchinski. The young blueliner recorded 65 points in 67 games including a whopping 61 assists. He is highly regarded for his skating ability especially for his size. After a four inch growth spurt following his WHL bantam draft year, his skating got even better and at 6'2" some doctors think he might not even be done growing. He is more of an offensive defenseman at this stage of his development (as are most high ranked defensive prospects) and per his GM in Seattle, Bill La Forge, "I think the upside with this kid is unparalleled to guys I've seen"
Grade A: Korchinski becomes both the Blackhawks best defensive prospect and their best prospect in a pretty empty cupboard. He has the most upside of any of the defensemen currently in the Blackhawks prospect pipeline.
With the 13th pick the Blackhawks selected center Frank Nazar. Nazar is another prospect known for his speed and putting up a ton of offensive numbers for the USNTDP. 105 points in 80 games this year across the USNTDP's exhibitions against USHL teams and directly for the national program team. He is currently committed to the University of Michigan where he can develop on yet another loaded Michigan roster.
Grade A: Nazar becomes the best forward in the prospect pool for the Blackhawks, and his position at center hopefully means the Blackhawks can comfortably move Lukas Reichel back to the wing. His commitment to Michigan hopefully means the Blackhawks will be in no hurry to rush him to the NHL as seen with prior prospects and Nazar can develop at a proper pace.
With the 25th pick the Blackhawks selected right handed defenseman Sam Rinzel. He spent this last season splitting time between Minnesota's best high school division and in the USHL Waterloo Blackhawks. He is committed to play in the USHL next year and then for the University of Minnesota the following year. Rinzel is a bit more of long term development project but that is 100% okay as there is no reason to rush any of these kids as the rebuild is just getting started. Another prospect known his skating and offensive ability, at 6'4" Rinzel has a large frame to fill out and could end up as a top pair defenseman down the road.
Grade B: This is one is more of gamble and that is okay with a late pick, even more so on a rebuilding team. Rinzel is probably going to take 3-5 years before signing with the team and that is fine. If they develop him properly the upside is certainly there.
Round 2:
This is where Davidson's MO seemed to start to take place, and I'm not sure what to think about it yet.
With the 39th Pick they selected center Paul Ludwinski. Known most for his work ethic, character, and two way game this one comes as somewhat as a surprising pick as some scouts had him pegged as a late round pick. His scouting report reminds me of Colton Dach, who was another puzzling second round selection in last years draft.
Grade C: With an abundance of these types of players already in the system on Rockford, I would have liked to see the Blackhawks take some fliers on high end talents rather than players mostly known for being a hard worker. It does not mean Ludwinski is a bad pick by any means but he projects to be another bottom 6 forward in the Blackhawks system.
With the 57th pick, right handed center Ryan Greene. Another prospect known for his skating and character, but Greene packs more of an offensive upside than Ludwinski. Racking up 51 points in 59 games in the USHL Greene is committed to Boston University where he will play alongside goalie prospect Drew Commesso.
Grade B- : Greene packs more upside than Ludwinski and shares some of the same character traits, so it looks like Davidson has a type (spoiler he does based off the rest of his picks this draft).
Round 3:
At 66 overall the Blackhawks took winger Gavin Hayes. Another player projected to go in the later rounds but also known for his work ethic. He does however hold the Flint Firebird franchise record for points in a game with 4.
Grade C-: The trend continues to be set of bringing in more hardworking character players then looking for high end skill, which the team is in desperate need off on their prospect pipeline.
With the 81st pick Samuel Savoie. This seem like their Brandon Hagel replacement or Andrew Shaw 3.0. If Savoie makes it to the team he will likely become a fan favorite from his skating ability, "little ball of energy", relentless forecheck, and good character.
Grade C+: I was torn on grading this a B-, but Savoie's offensive numbers have been solid but not great so he stays in the C range. His style of play will likely earn him a chance in the NHL at some point but his ceiling is likely a 3rd line forward, although we can hope he has late blooming offense like his idol Brad Marchand.
Aidan Thompson was the Blackhawks selection at 90th overall. The centerman did record 82 points in 57 games in the USHL, but he was also a 20-year-old playing against mostly high school kids, so he should have had a good year as it would have been concerning if he didn't. He is another very fast skater and is committed to the University of Denver for the fall.
Grade C-: I always get concerned at drafting overage players at the draft as well as NCAA players who start their freshman year in their 20's. (Note: There is nothing wrong with starting school at an older age for academics, but for prospects in sports it is a bit of a red flag).
Round 6: (This is where my grades per player stop as this is the thick part of prospects and some don't even have detailed scouting reports).
At 173rd overall, the Blackhawks Select winger Dominic James. James finished his freshman season with 18 points in 39 games on Minnesota Duluth. So they likely got to see a ton of him while watching prospect Wyatt Kaiser, he had a pretty standard freshman year points wise but the fact he played 39 games for a very good team is a good sign.
With the 188th pick, Nils Juntrop. A winger who spent the year with the U20 affiliate of HV71 in the SHL. With 41 points in 44 games Juntrop is another speed burner on the wing. He will likely make the jump to the big club for HV71 in the SHL next year where he will play against grown men and other top prospects, or the Blackhawks could try to move him to North America as his rights were selected in the USHL draft by the Dubuque Flying Saints this last year. He is likely better off staying in Europe for now though.
Round 7:
At 199th overall the Blackhawks selected another large forward in Riku Tohila. Listed at 6'8" and 190lbs Tohila is a giant on the ice and will likely take longer to develop if he ever makes his way to the Blackhawks as large frames like that usually take longer to develop their skill game.
Full Draft Grade and Breakdown: B
I really liked the Blackhawks first round. The upside of Korchinski, Nazar, and Rinzel is something to certainly have some hope for the fan base. All three have great skating ability and a ton of offensive upside, Rinzel might be the most boom or bust of the bunch but those are certainly the chances you can take during a rebuild. I just wish the Blackhawks took more of them as that brings me to the later rounds. While it is nice change of pace to not be drafting local for the sake of PR, I would have liked to see the Blackhawks take a chance on offensive defenseman Lane Hutson with one of their two 2nd round picks. Despite his small size at 5'8" (And the modern NHL has shown talent is more important than size) his offensive and skating abilities are fantastic and he ended up going 62nd overall to Montreal. Considering many analysts thought they could have got Ludwinski much later in the draft, the passing on Hutson concerns me on what exactly Davidson MO for the style of hockey his team will be built will be.
Months ago he said he wanted to build a fast team like Colorado, and while he certainly focused on skating in this draft, the 2nd round and on does not give off the vibe of a Colorado Avalanche type hockey team. The majority of his picks are all known for having good character and a hard work ethic, and while it is always good to have well liked players in your locker room, I'm not confident in prospects who's best qualities are work ethic and character. As of right now it feels like they heavily focused on adding more bottom 6 type hardworking gritty forwards which they already have an abundance of in Rockford. Their prospect pool is in desperate need of an injection of high end skill and outside of the first round selections I am just not seeing it.
To me right now, it seems like Davidson wants to build like the Nashville Predators, tons of good defenseman and a couple skilled forwards complimented by a ton of a hard workers. That is not the Colorado Avalanche and does not seem like the recipe for building a contender. Maybe I am just overreacting because the I do love their first picks, but feel free to let me know if I am as well as your thoughts on the draft in the comments and poll below!
| POLL | ||
Do you think the Blackhawks should have taken a chance on more skilled players past round 1? | ||
| Yes they desperately need more skill! | 60 | 32.3 % |
| No build me a team of Hagels and Shaws! | 51 | 27.4 % |
| Its One Draft you're overreacting! | 36 | 19.4 % |
| TANK FOR BEDARD! | 39 | 21 % |
| List of polls | ||
