The Blackhawks have selected seven times in the first round of the three drafts that have occurred since Kyle Davidson took over as GM, with five of those picks falling outside the top 10. In 2022 and 2023, the team typically targeted players with at least one elite skillset among those later first-rounders, such as playmaking (Frank Nazar, 2022) or skating (Oliver Moore, 2023). In the 2024 draft, though, the Blackhawks seemed to take a slightly different approach by picking players that were more well-rounded with a firmer floor who fit more with their identity of a higher work ethic, skipping over players like Cole Eiserman, who has an undeniably elite shot.
Don’t get me wrong: the players Chicago selected absolutely have the potential to break out, but the focus on drafting hockey players who clearly align with the organization’s identity and have traits that will solidly translate to the NHL instead of merely selecting skaters with high-reward abilities is a good strategy too — and Sacha Boisvert is a perfect example of that type of player.
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