2019 NHL Mock Draft: Chicago Blackhawks pick begins the intrigue

3. Chicago Blackhawks – Bowen Byram, D

This is where most of the argument begins when talking about the 2019 NHL Draft. Who are the Blackhawks taking with the third overall pick? There are around six or seven guys that have a really nice case to go third overall, but Bown Byram is the best option for the Blackhawks. He is the top defenseman in the draft and there is nobody close.

Byram has played his junior hockey so far for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. He is the type of guy that can make plays offensively and be in just the right position defensively as a great two-way defenseman. This is just what the Blackhawks need to help their retool. If you look at a team like the Boston Bruins, they sped up their retooling process when they drafted Charlie McAvoy in the 2016 NHL Draft. If Byram turns out to be the Blackhawks’ version of McAvoy then they could find themselves in a great spot going forward.

There are people who are against the Blackhawks taking Byram because of all the draft capital that they used on defenseman in the previous two drafts. Although they are right in that they have done that, none of them have the ceiling that Byram has. They could also use a few of those other guys a trade pieces or depth defenseman if they drafted Byram. When a chance to draft a defenseman like this comes along, you take it. You can never have too many defensemen, as you may know if you kept up with the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.