The Blackhawks selected goaltender Drew Commesso from the U.S. National Development Team Program with the No. 46 overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft on Wednesday.
Commesso went 18-7-1 with a 2.05 goals-against average, .920 save percentage and three shutouts in 27 games last season. He will join two Blackhawks prospects at Boston University with sophomore defenseman Alex Vlasic (2019 second rounder) and junior center Jake Wise (2017 third rounder).
The 18-year-old Commesso is 6-foot-2 and 181 pounds. He’s a left-handed catching goalie and ranked No. 2 among North American goalies by NHL Central Scouting.
More of my thoughts on Commesso, who became the second goaltender to get taken when Chicago snagged him 46th overall: pic.twitter.com/WzdI9O5ODu
— Catherine Silverman (@catmsilverman) October 7, 2020
Commesso is the 10th goaltender to be drafted by Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman. Kent Simpson (2010 second rounder, No. 58) is the only one among the group to have played in the NHL for the Blackhawks, with one appearance.
Chicago traded its own second-round pick (No. 48) to Montreal (center Jan Mysak) to reacquire forward Andrew Shaw on June 30, 2019, but the Blackhawks got the Penguins’ second-round pick (No. 46) from the Golden Knights for goaltender Robin Lehner on Feb. 24. Vegas previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade June 21, 2017, that ensured the Golden Knights would select goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from Pittsburgh.
Chicago previously drafted three players at No. 46: centers Rick Paterson (1978) and Geoff Peters (1996) and left wing Dmitri Levinsky (1999).
The Blackhawks have five picks remaining in this year’s draft: No. 79, No. 81, No. 110, No. 141 and No. 172. Chicago has two third-round picks and one pick in every round after that aside from the seventh when they have none.
Video highlights on new #Blackhawks prospect Drew Commesso, who was selected No. 46 overall in the #202NHLDraft. pic.twitter.com/o6Y4mCpeb4
— Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) October 7, 2020