With the NHL lottery draft announced, will the Blackhawks finally hit a draft jackpot?
With the NHl Draft set to happen July 7-8 in Toronto, there will be a Remote Lottery Draft taking place May 10 at 6:00 PM EST. The lottery is implemented to give the 16 teams that are not in the playoffs a chance at the first two first round picks and first two second round picks of the 2022 Draft.
What this means for the Blackhawks, is a fighting chance that they could get one of the first picks of the draft, if the new rules that were put into place last year play in their favor. As of now the hawks are in 10th place out of the 16 non playoff teams, and with the lottery placing rules that a team can only move up ten spots in the Draft lineup if chosen, and can't have the number one pick if they had already won it in the last five years, the odds are are an all time high of the Blackhawks having a number one pick.
As for the top contenders as to who the league as a whole has their eyes on is, Shane Wright a forward centerman. Regardless of the lottery, the Columbus Blue Jackets are projected to have the first round first draft pick and odds are they would select Wright. While a top end center is always a foundation of a good team. The Blackhawks need for one will be dependent on if current centers Jonathan Toews, or Kirby Dach are to get traded. In that case a good prospect for the Hawks would be Matthew Savoie, currently playing for the Winnipeg Ice, and with a build similar to those of Kane and Debrincat; Savoie has been an attentive and nimble goal scorer, in his minor career.
However, in recent games the weakest aspect of the team has been our goalie. Trading Fleury to the Wild has been evident in the success rate of Kevin Lankien has been lacking in past games. Which is why acquiring a top pick Goalie like prospect Tyler Brennan, of the Prince George Cougars, who has been noted as sturdy and quick on his feet. An addition with those qualities is important to have with many opposing teams having top forward picks, the teams best bet is to have a sturdy defense line.
