Chicago Blackhawks: Does signing Wyatt Kalynuk change draft plans?

How will the Chicago Blackhawks signing defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk impact how they approach the NHL Draft?

The Chicago Blackhawks made a sneaky acquisition on Tuesday afternoon, signing defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk to an entry-level contract. The 23-year-old was a former seventh-round pick of the Flyers in the 2017 NHL Draft, and Philadelphia lost exclusive rights to him last month.

Kalynuk stands at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, and is a left-handed shot. He’s an offensive-minded defenseman who is capable of running the power play, according to his coaches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“He was our go-to offensive defenseman,” said Badgers head coach Tony Granato. “He got the most minutes on the power play, he was the guy we wanted the puck to go through. He’s an elite offensive defenseman that has the ability to run a power play. We asked a lot of him.”

Serving as the Captain of the Badgers hockey team, Kalynuk scored seven goals with 21 assists for 28 points in 36 games last season. The Blackhawks have had their fair share of struggles at the blue line over the last several seasons.

Accompanied with the decline in Brent Seabrook’s play and cap casualties like Niklas Hjalmarsson, the Blackhawks have had a difficult task of restocking talent at the position. 2018 first-round pick, Adam Boqvist, made his debut in Chicago this season, scoring four goals with nine assists for 13 points in 41 games.

The Blackhawks also have a whole slew of promising, young defenseman, but it’ll take time for the likes of Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin, and eventually Ian Mitchell to become effective at the position. However, the addition of Kalynuk does two things: it obviously adds another promising prospect to the blue line, and it potentially paints a clearer picture as to what the Blackhawks might do in the draft.

With a 12.5 percent chance to land Alexis Lafraniere with the number one overall pick, the Blackhawks would be foolish to opt for defense when the best draft pick in the world is on the board. However, if they have a pick at number eight or later, they have some options.

A defenseman doesn’t appear to be as pressing as before the Kalynuk signing. Last year, the Blackhawks chose offense in the form of Kirby Dach with the third overall pick, instead of Bowen Byram, which is fine. Dach is going to be a great player for many years in the NHL; however, it was painfully evident that the issues at the blue line remained at the forefront.

But no longer do the Blackhawks need to hone in on the likes of Jake Sanderson, Jamie Drysdale, or Braden Schneider, among other defenseman, but they can elect to choose more offensive firepower. And he’s been mocked to the Blackhawks several times, but Yaroslav Askarov is one of the best goalie prospects in quite some time. Would the front office consider him as a potential long-term replacement for Corey Crawford?

The Blackhawks will have to assess all that after the playoffs, which begin on August 1 and Kalynuk is not eligible to participate.