The season for the Chicago Blackhawks is done. Since they were the first club out of the playoffs on March 9, it has actually been over for almost a month. The one bright spot recently has been that the team was able to choose rookie Connor Bedard with the first pick in the 2023 NHL draft—in actuality, it has been over for almost a year.
The Blackhawks are so awful that, for the second straight year, they are squarely in the running (tank?) to be the team selected to select the top prospect from the 2024 draft class.
As of March 30, unless something miraculous happens, Chicago (47 points in 73 games) will be the second-worst team in the NHL at the end of the season, only ahead of the unfortunate San Jose Sharks (40 points in 72 games). That indicates that the Sharks have a far higher probability of drafting first in June 2023—25.5%—while the Blackhawks have 13.5% odds, according to Tankathon.
The Blackhawks will take the podium to announce the winner of second place if the balls bounce as we anticipate. If so, Chicago could be on the verge of selecting the next big-name Russian winger in the draft.
Craig Button, the TSN Director of Scouting, updated his prospect rankings on March 28. In the June draft, Macklin Celebrini remains the overwhelming favorite to be selected first as the general best player, but Ivan Demidov, who moved up from No. 5 to No. 2, is now the second player on Button’s list.
Blackhawks Might Make the Next Draft Kucherov Nikita
Demidov is now a player for SKA-1946 St. Petersburg in the Russian junior division. In 30 MHL games, he has 60 points and 23 goals scored.
In his most recent update, Button said of the player, “[Demidov] is [Nikita] Kucherov to me.” He is able to shoot and pass. He is really intelligent.
“They [both] step out onto the ice and they’re immediately dangerous, just like Kucherov,” Button continued. When the puck lands on their stick, they realize they are about to embark on an exciting ride.
Button is not the only one who thinks Demidov is talented. Analyst Lyle Richardson of Bleacher Report projected Demidov to the Blackhawks as the No. 2 choice in the 2024 draft in his most recent mock draft, which was made public on March 15.
Among their top five prospects, Chicago “lacks a skilled right winger who could one day skate alongside [Bedard],” Richardson said. “To meet that need, they could turn to Ivan Demidov from SKA-1946 Saint Petersburg of Russia’s Junior League (MHL).”
Blackhawks Hope for a Brighter Future Led by Younger Crop of Players
With a.322 point percentage through 73 games, the Blackhawks are having one of their poorest seasons in franchise history, but as their younger players go through the NHL, it’s reasonable to anticipate their performance will increase.
The Blackhawks, who were eliminated in the first round of the 2020 postseason, have only made it to the playoffs once in the previous seven seasons, despite winning three Stanley Cups between 2010 and 2015.
Chicago has selected players with the No. 7 and No. 1 draft picks in each of the previous two years. After winning the lottery, they selected defenseman Kevin Korchinski in 2022 and were fortunate to acquire franchise center Bedard the following year. Both have already made their league debuts, appearing in games 67 and 59 and scoring 56 and 13 points, respectively.
Bedard had one of his best performances of his rookie season on March 12, just over two weeks ago, giving him even more motivation to win the Calder Trophy. The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Anaheim Ducks 7-2, and Bedard recorded a historic performance with a goal and four assists for his first 5-point game, as reported by Heavy’s Emma Lingan.