SerpApi.Org
The Chicago Blackhawks are in the midst of a period where they are building aggressively thru the draft more than maybe any time in the history of the franchise. How those draft picks develop and ultimately impact the NHL roster’s success will be the defining hallmark of this era.
Since the year 2000, the Blackhawks have drafted many of the franchise’s greatest players. And some incredibly important players who impacted the dynasty teams along the way. So which draft classes were the best? Let’s take a run at trying to determine which were the best for the franchise.
It would easy to look back at the Blackhawks’ drafting Jonathan Toews in 2006 or Patrick Kane in 2007 as the most influential picks of the past 26 drafts. But those drafts weren’t… good for the Blackhawks. The other eight players the Blackhawks drafted after Toews in 2006 collectively appeared in one (1) NHL game. Similarly, the six players drafted by the Hawks after Kane in 2007 have 10 NHL games on their collective resume.
So which draft classes were the best for the Blackhawks? We’ll make that a very important distinction as we get into discussing the draft classes, because players like Craig Anderson, Philip Danault, Nick Schmaltz and Kevin Hayes went on to enjoy NHL careers that were mostly/all somewhere else.
First, our honorable mentions:
・2023 — Connor Bedard (No. 1 overall), Oliver Moore, Roman Kantserov, Nick Lardis
・2005 — Niklas Hjalmarsson (fourth round, No. 108)
・2016 — Alex DeBrincat (second round, No. 39)
・2020 — Drew Commesso, Landon Slaggert, Wyatt Kaiser, Louis Crevier
Here are our top five draft classes for the Chicago Blackhawks since the year started beginning with a two.
1. 2003 — Brent Seabrook, Corey Crawford, Dustin Byfuglien
We’ll start late in the draft — really late. Byfuglien was drafted in the eighth round, a round that no longer exists. There were 244 names called before Big Buff in the historic 2003 NHL Draft. To say he was a steal is an understatement.
But the top of the class is where the Blackhawks’ dynasty found two central pieces. Seabrook appeared in 1,114 games for the Blackhawks and was both a leader and a warrior on all three Stanley Cup championship teams. Crawford was in net for the 2013 and 2015 championships.
2. 2004 — Dave Bolland, Bryan Bickell, Troy Brouwer
The Blackhawks took a big swing with the third overall pick on Cam Barker in 2004, a swing that didn’t connect in Chicago but did lead to the Hawks making a great trade to get Nick Leddy from Minnesota. But landing three players who had a big impact on the three championship teams in this draft makes it stand out.
3. 2011 — Brandon Saad, Andrew Shaw
This could — should — have been a great draft class for the Blackhawks, who selected Danault with their second selection in the first round. Giving him up prematurely was one of the worst trades of the Stan Bowman Era, but this draft didn’t disappoint as a whole.
Saad (No. 43 overall) and Shaw (No. 139 overall) arrived on the scene when the Blackhawks needed to have role players to continue their championship window. And they were both perfect for their time and place. For second and fifth-round picks, they were tremendous value for the organization.
4. 2002 — Duncan Keith, James Wisniewski, Adam Burish
This class gets a big gold star next to it because the Blackhawks landed a future Hall of Famer and Norris Trophy winner in Keith with the 54th overall pick. That’s one of the best selections in the history of the franchise. Burish was a big part of the 2010 Stanley Cup championship team — as was his personality. Wisniewski was a serviceable defenseman who appeared in 168 games for the Hawks before he was traded to Anaheim.
5. 2022 — Kevin Korchinski, Frank Nazar, Sam Rinzel, Ryan Greene
It’s still very early for this draft class, but the Blackhawks have already signed their top eight selections from this draft class (Aidan Thompson was traded before he made it to the NHL). Nazar has already signed a long-term extension, and it looks like Rinzel and Greene are going to be key parts of the roster moving forward. The jury is still out on Korchinski, but he’s still a very young defenseman.
This draft class already has two players who have appeared in more than 100 games for the Blackhawks, and both Greene and Rinzel should eclipse that mark this coming season. To put that in perspective: no Blackhawks draft class between 2005 and 2019 had four players appear in 100 regular-season games for the franchise.
