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Blackhawks Draft Recap

Sunday turned out to be a very eventful day. And of course, every time I stepped away from the laptop, Stan Bowman made a move. The Blackhawks were supposed to only make 5 picks, but due to the trades of Dave Bolland and Michael Frolik, Bowman was able to add 8 more prospects to his already deep system.

1st Round (30th overall): Ryan Hartman, RW 5’11 181 lbs, Plymouth (OHL). You can see my brief write up of Hartman here. If he lives up to his billing about being an agitator with some scoring potential, he could be a hero to the 300 level.

2nd Round (51st overall): Carl Dahlstrom, D 6’3 191 lbs, Linkoping (SWE). Dalhstrom is a good defensive player who, according to scouts, has very impressive positioning. He has great size and reach, which he uses to his advantage although not being an overly physical player. He is a good puck handler with decent passing skills which makes him a good fit for the Blackhawks system.

3rd Round (74th overall): John Hayden, C 6’2 210 lbs USA U-18 (USHL). Hayden, who will be playing for Yale in the fall, is a big body that loves to play in the dirty areas of the ice. Some scouts say his skill set compares him with the likes of Scott Hartnell. If he could develop into that type of player Bowman might have found a gem in the 3rd round.

4th Round (111th overall): Robin Norell, D 5’11 192 lbs Djurgarden (SWE). Norell is an averaged sized puck moving defenseman. There was not much available online about Norell but he did have 10 goals, 7 assists and a plus-16 rating in 30 games for Djurgarden this past season.

4th round (121st overall): Tyler Motte, C 5’9 180 lbs USA U-18 (USHL). Motte’s strongest skill is his skating ability. He also seemed to have his best games against the toughest competition. He led the US in scoring at the World U18 championships, with eight points in seven games. He has been described as a feisty two way forward that can provide some occasional scoring.

5th round (134th overall) Luke Johnson, C 5’11 179 lbs Lincoln (USHL). Johnson is another solid two way player who is an excellent skater that is tough to knock off the puck. He’s got a pretty heavy shot with a smooth release. He will also be pretty good inside the faceoff circle. Despite not having a huge upside, scouts feel that Johnson is a pretty safe pick.

6th round (181st overall) Anthony Louis, C 5’6 145 lbs USA U-18 (USHL). Louis, a Winfield, IL native, is an undersized player who can put up the points. He was able to put up 52 points (22 G, 30 A) in 63 games for the U-18 US team.

7th round (211th overall) Robin Press, D 6’2 187 lbs Sodertalje (SWE). Call him Mr. Irrelevant or Mr. Longshot but Press got the distinction of being the final player chosen in the 2013 Entry Draft. The odds are against this kid to make it but you never know. Both Nashville’s Patric Hornqvist and Detroit’s Jonathan Ericsson were picked with the final pick, so there is some hope for him.

Talking Points