Chicago Blackhawks: Yaroslav Askarov would be a brilliant pick

The Chicago Blackhawks could put another piece of a future core in place if they drafted goaltender Yaroslav Askarov in the first round.

The Chicago Blackhawks know that the future beyond Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook is something they need to somewhat start thinking about. Well, they have a young core budding with players like Kirby Dach, Alex DeBrincat, Adam Boqvist, and Ian Mitchell. One thing they don’t have is a guy you can point to as the goalie of the future. They might look to add one of those in this year’s draft.

They traded Robin Lehner to the Vegas Golden Knights at the trade deadline which shows that they probably didn’t have much mutual interest in a long term deal with him. Corey Crawford is one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the franchise but he is on an expiring contract as an older player. He might get a short term contract with them again if he wants to stay but they still need a goalie of the future to join this budding core.

There is one player like that available in the 2020 NHL Draft. Obviously, there might be some other good goalies who bloom in the future from that class but Yaroslav Askarov is almost can’t miss. Whenever a goalie gets the type of praise that he has gotten, they usually go on to be good in the NHL. It is rare for a goalie to be selected in the draft this high but that is going to be the case with Askarov.

Everyone always wants comparables when discussing NHL draft prospects. Well, Askarov gets compared to Andrei Vasilevskiy and Carey Price. Those are two goalies who are some of the best in the world and some of the best of their eras. If Askarov becomes that good, a Vezina Trophy could be in his future just like them. We all know how good Corey Crawford was and still is but if he does go on to be as good as Price or Vasilevskiy, he could be even better for whichever team drafts him.

Askarov currently plays in his native Russia. The top league in Europe is the KHL. Well, Askarov plays in their minor league system. SKA St. Petersberg is famously known for being the best team in the KHL year in and year out and Askarov currently plays for their top-minor league affiliate. In 18 games for them this season, he had a 2.45 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. He also played one game for SKA in the KHL where he gave up two goals and had the same .920 save percentage. He should be able to translate that game to the NHL.

The Hawks are one of many teams in the market for a goalie of the future so they better get one quick. There might not be a goalie in the draft as god as Askarov in a long time. If they feel that he can be their guy in a short amount of time then he would be worth the draft pick. As mentioned before, it is a rarity to draft a goalie in the top-ten but Askarov is worth it.