The upcoming 2018 NHL Draft will give the Chicago Blackhawks some of their highest picks in years. What the Blackhawks choose as draft targets will be closely watched by their fans. They are all hoping that this off-season rebuild goes a lot better than last year. A good start would be for the Blackhawks to draft some prospects that will develop quickly.

Draft Targets – Part Three

In the third part of the series: Chicago Blackhawks Draft Targets, we will discuss the team’s options with their third and fourth picks in the 2018 NHL Draft. In Part 1 of the series, we discussed how the Blackhawks need to improve their defence corps with the eighth overall pick. Evan Bouchard was featured as a potential draft pick that could help the Blackhawks in the near future. In Part 2 of the series, we considered what the Blackhawks may do with their second first-round pick at #27 overall. They could add to their D corps, add a forward, or potentially deal the pick for a NHL ready player that could help out the team immediately.  

Third Round Options

The Blackhawks third pick in this year’s draft is not until the third round at #69 overall. They also have another third-round pick acquired in the Michal Kempny trade with the Washington Capitals. That draft pick is 87th overall, giving General Manager Stan Bowman four picks out of the first 87 players chosen this year. Many of the Blackhawks faithful are hoping Bowman can discover a gem or two in the third round. 

Wingers Available

In Part 3 of the series, we’re going to consider wingers that the Blackhawks may target in the third round. We’re also going to take stock of wingers from earlier draft picks 2014-17. Are any of them close to NHL ready? Or will they need more seasoning? All of these will factor into any potential wingers drafted by the Blackhawks this year in the third round. 

Third Round Draft Potential

We’re going to look at the NHL Prospects ranked by Last Word’s own Ben Kerr. These are the wingers that may be available when the Blackhawks pick at 69 and 87. Be sure to click on the player’s names to link up to their stats for the past seasons.  

RIley Sutter RW 6’2” 201 pounds  

2017-18 Everett Silvertips WHL  68 Games – 25 goals 28 assists 53 points +22 

2017-18 Playoffs – 21 games 9 goals 10 assists 19 points +17

Nando Eggenberger LW/RW 6’2” 185 pounds 

2017-18 Multiple Swiss teams combined totals  61 games – 10 goals 7 assists 17 points 

USHL Prospects

These next two players both play in the USHL, a league that the Blackhawks have tapped into quite a bit during previous drafts. It wouldn’t be surprising to see one of them go to Blackhawks at some point in this draft. 

Paul Cotter F  6’0” 185 pounds

2017-18 Lincoln Stars USHL  51 games – 18 goals 21 assists 39 points

2017-18 Playoffs 7 games 4 goals 4 assists

Benjamin Copeland 5’11” 165 pounds 

2017-18  Waterloo Blackhawks USHL  60 games – 18 goals 44 assists 62 points 

2017-18 Playoffs  8 games 0 goals 3 assists.

Honourable Mentions

There are many wingers that should be available between picks #69 and #87. They include both North American and European skaters. Click on their names to view their stats and draft potential that may interest the Blackhawks.

Ryan O’Reilly RW 6’2” 201 pounds

Logan Hutsko RW 5’10” 172 pounds

Vladislav Kotkov LW 6’4” 206 pounds

Ivan Romanov LW 6’1” 200 pounds

Oliver Okuliar LW 6’1” 191 pounds

Andrej Kukuca RW 6’2” 165 pounds 

Matej Svoboda LW 6’0” 180 pounds

Linus Nyman RW 5’9” 156 pounds 

Ryan Chyzowski LW 6’0” 183 pounds

Draft Class Updates

Here are the previous wingers recently drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks and their stats for the 2017-18 season. 

Recently Drafted Wingers Stats

2014 Draft                                                                     Gms  G   A   Pts   PIM   +/-

• Jack Ramsey  RW   2017-18   U. of Minnesota                 38    4    6    10    0       1
• Fredrick Olofsson LW 2017-18 U. of Nebraska-Omaha     33    6   14   20    16    -1
• Beau Starrett C/LW  2017-18  Cornell University ECAC     32    3    7    10    14   +7

2015 Draft

• John Dahlstrom  RW  2017-18 Sweden 1st Division         41    8    7     15    14   +1
• Radovan Bondra RW/LW 2017-18 Indy Fuel ECHL           11    1    0      1       8    -3

2016 Draft

• Mathias From  LW  2017-18 Sweden 1st League              23    2     3      5      10   -4
• Artur Kayumov  LW  2017-18 Yaroslavy LokomotivKHL    20    2     1       3      2   +5

2017 Draft

• Parker Foo LW  Union College ECAC                               33   1      5      6     17    -8  
• Tim Soderlund  LW   Skelleftea AIK Swedish SHL           43    9     5     14    6      +3
• Andrei Altybarmakyan  RW   St. Petersburg  KHL         n14    0     0      0     4        0

As you can see, none of the previously drafted wingers are tearing it up statistically, which gives the Blackhawks plenty of reason to go after a solid winger with size and skill in the third round this year. 

Next Up

In Part 4 of the Chicago Blackhawks Draft Targets piece, we will look at centremen that the team may target in the upcoming draft. Centre is a position that the Blackhawks could use some help in now. Beyond Jonathan Toews, Artem Anisimov, and Nick Schmaltz, the Blackhawks could use a centre with size and ability to play hard minutes on the fourth line and special teams. Next week we will look at the options at centre available in the NHL Draft. 

Chicago Draft Targets Part 1 – Defence Targets

Chicago Draft Targets Part 2 – Options at #27

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