After making a pair of first-round draft picks Friday night, the Chicago Blackhawks next selection will not come until the third round Saturday.
Unless general manager Stan Bowman gets his way.
Addressing the media after the first round of picks at the 2018 NHL Draft on Friday night, Bowman said the Hawks will attempt to trade into the second round.
“We’re going to try. I don’t know if it’s going to work, but we’re going to try.”
– Stan Bowman
Chicago’s second-round pick in this year’s drafted was traded away Feb. 26, 2016, along with Phillip Danault, to the Montreal Canadiens for veteran forwards Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann. That proved to be one of the most forgettable trades in Bowman’s tenure, with Fleischmann and Weise making little to no impact during their brief stints in Chicago. Danault, meanwhile, has developed into a reliable two-way center for Montreal, playing in 134 games in the last two seasons with 21 goals and 44 assists.
The Blackhawks have six more picks remaining in the draft. Two in the third round at Nos. 69 and 87 overall, a fourth-round pick (No. 120), a fifth-round pick (No. 142), a sixth-round pick (No. 162) and a seventh-round pick (No. 193).
Rounds 2-7 of the draft begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.