The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t make a single pick in the 2026 NHL Draft’s first round on Friday night. That is the first time that this has happened in the Kyle Davidson era.
Their originally awarded pick, 4th overall, was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Bowen Byram. In the past, Davidson has found a way to make multiple selections in the first round. This year, nothing.
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There is plenty of more time to make selections, however, as rounds 2-7 will take place on Saturday morning into the afternoon. Lots of good players with high ceilings are still available, and diamonds in the rough are always out there.
It will begin with the second round at 10 AM CT. The Blackhawks are scheduled to make two selections during this time. Picks 34 and 37 are on the docket.
Of every player waiting to be taken by an NHL franchise, these 10 stick out as the best fits for the Blackhawks:
Centers
The plan is for the Chicago Blackhawks to run Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, and Frank Nazar down the middle in 2026-27. However, you don’t know how that is going to pan out until you see it in action over a long period of time.
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One of them may be better suited as a wing in the future. There is also the need for depth within the organization due to injuries or lackluster performances.
If the Blackhawks are serious about taking a center in the second round, one of these three makes the most sense:
Brooks Rogowski – Oshawa
Alessandro Di Iorio – Sarnia
Rudolfs Berzkalns – Muskegon
Wings
In a perfect world, the Chicago Blackhawks are set at center for a while. They would love for those players that they have penciled in at those positions to be there for a long time. It is on the wing that they could use some tremendous improvement.
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Outside of Roman Kantserov, they don’t have a prospect that they are super excited about on either side of the wing. They have some veterans there like Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Ryan Donato, who are good players, but none of them are part of the five-year plan from this point forward.
All of these prospects available to them at that position in the second round are going to take some time, but they could help build up the top nine as the years go on:
Simas Ignatavicius – Genève-Servette HC
Casey Mutryn – USNTDP
Chase Harrington – Spokane
Mathis Preston – Vancouver
Defense
On defense, things take even longer. Look at some of the young players that the Blackhawks are already trying to develop, and you’ll see examples of projects that aren’t so easy.
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With that said, they are certainly going to take some chances on a couple of players who may become NHL-ready down the line.
For every team in the NHL, it is a hard project worth taking on, because the reward could be the difference between sustained success and sustained failure.
With each of their early second-round picks, these three young defensemen are going to be possibilities for them:
Xavier Villeneueve – Blainville-Boisbriand
William Hakansson – Lulea
Adam Goljer – HK Dukla Trencin
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