Recapping the 2022 Blackhawks Draft Class
During the 2022 draft, the Blackhawks were very active. First off, they made 11 selections throughout three days. Secondly, they made a lot of trades before the draft on draft day and during it.
Davidson made one transaction on draft day before the event began. Around 4 pm, it was announced that the Blackhawks traded young, 40-goal scorer Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators. Davidson made two trades during Day 1 of the draft. He traded away Kirby Dach, former top 5 pick, to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the 13th pick. The New York Islanders were also a part of the trade, acquiring Alexander Romanov. The third and final trade was with the Toronto Maple Leafs, trading away our 2nd round pick in exchange for a 1st round pick and taking a bad contract off their hands, goalie Petr Mrazek.
Before the draft started, we were without a 1st round pick, having traded ours for defenseman Seth Jones. The 7th pick was from the Ottawa Senators in the DeBrincat trade. At the end of the night, Chicago made three first round selections: Kevin Korchinski, Frank Nazar, and Sam Rinzel.
R1, P7: Kevin Korchinski was selected 7th overall and was the first pick the Hawks made. His stats coming into the draft were 4 goals and 61 assists, tallying up to 65 points in 67 games. This year, he somehow did even better, with 73 points in 54 games. He had 11 goals, almost tripling the amount he had the season before. Korchinski is the defenseman of the future for the Blackhawks.
R1, P13: Frank Nazar was selected 13th overall coming out of the U.S. National Development Team. He had 35 points in 24 games on the development team. Unfortunately, he hurt his back and his college season at the University of Michigan was limited. Nazar was only able to play 13 games, but tallied 7 points in the process. We could be looking at Nazar being a potential 2C if he develops well.
R1, P25: Sam Rinzell was selected 25th overall. He was chosen with the pick from the Maple Leafs trade. I think he's not looked at enough and possibly being overshadowed by the other defensive prospects we have. Rinzel has 36 in 58 games for the Waterloo Black Hawks. His +/- is a +14. He is a first round pick and shouldn't be as overlooked as he is.
R2, P39: Paul Ludwinski was our first second round selection. Ludwinski has 34 points in 47 games with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. With all of our center prospects right now and about to come in, it will be interesting to see how he falls on this team if he makes it.
R2, P57: Ryan Greene was selected 57th overall. Greene is yet another center prospect that a lot of people are very high on. Greene at the University of Boston had 31 points in 38 games, and is continuing to raise his stock. He joins Nazar, Reichel (if he doesn't switch to winger), and Bedard (soon to be drafted) on the top of the scale to really make an impact on this team at the center position.
R3, P66: Gavin Hayes was our first 3rd round pick. Hayes is one of the few good winger prospects we have, so it's good he stays hot. Hayes had 81 points in 66 games with the Flint Firebirds of the OHL. If his production keeps pointing in the right direction, I'm assuming he'll be a top 6 player.
R3, P81: Samuel Savoie was selected 81st overall. Savoie joins Hayes in the few winger prospects who seem to have a bright future on this team. Savoie had 59 points in 60 games with the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL, just barely under a point-per-game.
R3, P90: Aidan Thompson was selected 90th overall. Aidan had 82 points with the Lincoln Stars before committing to the University of Denver, tallying 32 points in 32 games. He's a little over aged at 21 years old, so with the point-per-game season he had, I wouldn't be shocked if he's signed sometime soon.
R6, P173: Nearly 100 picks later, the Hawks picked again. Now, normally you wouldn't expect anyone in the 6th round, but Kyle and his team found a diamond in the rough. That diamond is Dominic James. He dropped to the 6th round having 18 points in 39 games for the University of Minnesota Duluth, and Chicago with no hesitation picked him up. James had 28 points in 35 games this season with the same college. James can play center and winger, which is going to help out the Blackhawks a lot.
R6, P188: Nils Juntorp was our last 6th round pick. Juntorp had 41 points in 44 games with the HV71 junior team last season, then moved to Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL and having 27 points in 49 games. It was a change of scenery for him, and in the future he could possibly make an impact on the team.
R7, P199: Riko Tohila was our last pick of the draft. He's a 7th round pick, meaning if he doesn't pan out, fine. You can't really be a bust if you're a 7th rounder. But if he does turn out to be something, great. Right now Tohila isn't doing too bad, with three points in five games and one goal.
People really underestimate how good this draft was, with all our prospects we drafted last year doing pretty well
| POLL | ||
Do you think Kyle Davisson is doing a good job at his job? | ||
| Yes | 163 | 55.3 % |
| No | 132 | 44.7 % |
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