8 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks start to the offseason

The Chicago Blackhawks need a lot of volume when it comes to their prospect pool.

The Blackhawks need quantity over quality right now when it comes to their prospect pool. Getting 11 draft picks with eight of them in the top 100 is one way to give their prospect system a jolt.

The Hawks are in the early stages of collecting talent much like what the franchise did in the early 2000s. Those were rock bottom days for the franchise. The Hawks started building up their prospect pool which eventually helped them win the 2010 Stanley Cup.

If the Hawks can stack draft classes as they did 20 years ago, it will go a long way towards getting back into playoff contention. Also, having more spins at the draft wheel gave the Hawks more chances that a couple of these prospects could turn out to be solid-to-great NHL players.

That is what happened two decades ago. The Hawks got Duncan Keith and Adam Burish in the 2002 draft. Seabrook, Crawford, and Dustin Byfuglien were added in 2003.

Dave Bolland, Bryan Bickell, and Troy Brouwer were taken in 2004. Finally, Niklas Hjalmarsson was picked in 2005 before the Hawks picked Toews in 2006 and Kane in 2007.

Also, the Blackhawks have identified that they want to get faster. They went out and acquired a lot of speed in the draft.

If they want to mirror the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche, they will need to get more prospects who can skate like the wind. So this draft is just one of a few more draft classes the Hawks need to go through to address their need for speed.