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2023 NHL Draft: Recapping the Blackhawks second-round picks – and trade

Posted on by Dave Melton
Source: IIHF (Chris Tanouye)

Chicago started Thursday morning with four second-round picks in the 2023 NHL Draft. Here’s what happened with them:

Round 2, Pick 35: Goaltender Adam Gajan

Gajan is a 6-foot-3, 176-pound native of Slovakia who made the move to North America last year and soared up draft boards with an excellent season in the USHL, playing for Chippewa and Green Bay. He played well enough that Slovakia added Gajan to its roster for the World Juniors and was named the top goaltender at that tournament, bosting a 2-2 record, 2.40 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in four games. In 34 games with Chippewa, Gajan posted numbers of 19-12-1, 2.57 and .917, respectively.

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The next step of his hockey career will take him up north to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.




Round 2, Pick 44: Roman Kantserov

Chicago’s fondness for players who can skate continued into the second round, with the selection of this smaller Russian forward (5-9, 176 pounds) who makes up for that deficiency with blazing speed. In 45 games with Magnitogorsk in the MHL (the Russian equivalent of the AHL), Kansterov posted 56 points (28 G, 28 A) in 47 games.




At least one of the draft models out there had Kantserov ranked much higher than his No. 44 selection:


Round 2, Pick 51: A trade!

Chicago did not make a selection with this second-round pick, shipping it to Philadelphia, which used the pick on goaltender Carson Bjarnason:


Round 2, Pick 55: Forward Martin Misiak

Chicago’s third pick of the second round was used on another Slovakian player: Martin Misiak, a 6-2, 194-pound center. Misiak started last season in his native Slovakia and then joined the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms, helping them lift the Clark Cup. Misiak had 17 points (6 G, 11 A) in 27 regular-season games with Youngstown but picked up that production with 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in nine playoff games. Misiak also skated in three games without tallying a point for Slovakia in the World Juniors.  

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Misiak has decent size, as detailed above, but – like virtually every other Blackhawks pick in this draft – every scouting report praises his skating ability.






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