Les Blackhawks pourraient-ils recruter un autre défenseur au début du repêchage 2026 de la LNH ? -Scott Powers
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northernpace
@Blackhawks de Chicago
Les Blackhawks pourraient-ils recruter un autre défenseur au début du repêchage 2026 de la LNH ? -Scott Powers
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northernpace
14 Comments
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Oh yea, we want all the D. We can hold people ransome once we collect all of them
Maybe yes, maybe no.
Unless it is a Shaefer type prospect, Drafting another defenseman would show a failure in drafting or developing(or both) up to this point.
We have notable forwards in our prospect pool coming up, and we have a couple of D men that won’t be eligible to bounce freely back and forth from Rockford anymore. Take the best available player when it’s our turn to pick and then make the appropriate decisions about our roster makeup from there. I don’t think we need to overthink this. Unless we get the 1OA or 2OA pick it’s doubtful the pick will affect the 2026-27 season anyway.
I’m fine with whoever the best player available is.
If it’s not a forward, package the pick with a B-tier prospect and whatever else from the massive amount of picks the Blackhawks have to get someone worthy of playing on Bedard’s wing. It’s time to get some experienced help.
Ideal draft day scenarios for me at each pick are:
1. Take Stenberg, thank god, move on.
2. Take whichever of Stenberg/McKenna are left, thank god, move on.
3. Assuming Stenberg/McKenna are gone, next tier is Verhoeff/Reid imo. Neither fit the group we have, we look to move it for another younger player. Ideal scenario for me would be Michkov (fighting with their coach, need a defenseman, makes a lot of sense imo). I’d also be looking at Knies here. Kyrou is probably another option to consider, but I’m significantly less excited about this. If nothing materializes, we probably take Reid or Smits.
4. Same as 3, but far less likely to materialize as far as a trade. Probably end up taking Reid or Smits.
5. Very likely to just have Smits on the board here as an option imo. Pick isn’t early enough to have the same value associated with a potential top pair RHD and isn’t going to get us a return worth trading it. Take Smits, ignore god, move on.
6. Shout « why god? » at the sky, probably end up with Malhotra
7. Malhotra, Carels, Belchetz in that order. *(obligatory « why god? »)*
8+. How the fuck did we end up here?
It would inevitably make a bunch of people pissed off but if Stenberg and McKenna are each gone by the time we make our first selection, which seems very possible at this point, then yea I think we definitely have to go D. There is a boatload of defensive talent in the top of this draft and it feels inevitable that at least one will be available to us.
Any D we draft this summer is likely spending two seasons developing outside the NHL so, when gearing up for the 2029 season, there will likely be spots on both the L-R sides of the blueline that are up for grabs. I like all these guys and how their development has done so far, but if we get a highly-talented D from this draft to replace one of Kaiser (26 in 2029), Del Mastro (26), or Crevier (27) on the blueline in a few years I don’t think anyone can complain. Korchinski is a wildcard there but we’ll have to see how this summer goes for him. In the 2029 season, this D would likely be around 21 years old and be *entering* their prime after a season or two of NHL play under their belt, at which time the rest of the young players on the roster are likely firmly in their prime as well – that could be a dynasty-setting move.
All that said, that optimistic scenario obviously hinges on making the right selection amongst the D available and also developing them correctly so far easier said than done, of course lol I guess I’m just trying to say if we don’t have the option to take one of the high-end offensive wingers in this draft we shouldn’t be afraid of snagging another stud defenseman.
I’ve been wondering if the Hawks pick fell out of the top 4 and McKenna, Reid, Stenberg, and Verheof were already gone if Alberts Smits wouldn’t make some sense. Korchinski still feels like a question mark and the organization definitely was hoping he’d turn into a top 2 or at least top 4 defenseman. I’m not really sure if Kaiser or Del-mastro ceiling is as a top 4 guy or if they d be better served as 3rd line pairing guys. Seems like getting a left handed Defenseman like Smits coming up the pipeline to either be a 2nd or 1st line pairing in the future couldn’t be a bad thing.
Some of this could be predicated on the FL pick. If that picks lands inside the Top 10. If we lose that pick, and then stenberg or McKenna are off the table, I’d hope we can trade it for a winger like Robertson, Knies, I’ve seen some mention Michov, a winger to pair with Bedard.
If the FL ends up 11/12, we get that pick, then I’m definitely exploring trading the pick if Stenberg or McKenna are off the table. I’m not against a guy like Smits who looked good in the Olympics, but you can find D with the 11/12 pick or in 2nd round over the next few years. Gotta prioritize a winger for Bedard.
But I do think we’ll get lucky and get McKenna as that’s going to sell a ton of headliners with the family dynamic, even if it’s 3rd cousin removed or whatever it is lol.
Missing on Korchinski was big. However, Kaiser looks like he might be a very solid defencemen.
Whatever they do… DO IT RIGHT!… and GET IT GOING!!! I’m getting frustrated af waiting!
Frankly, I’m not loving Kyle’s last two early drafted d-men… But i’m still hoping that changes. Lev has looked better these last few games, so there’s that. But I’d be lying if I said I felt confident in GMKD’s taste in top d-men. We really need another top line playmaker to take the pressure off Bedard. That guy could be Frondell or Kantserov, but it could just as well *not* be both of them. And frankly, due to the longer gestation period for d-men, I don’t think we can wait another 4 seasons for **the** guy to come along. I’m pretty stoked about our top 4 d-men as it is.