Blackhawks Draft: 3 defenseman to consider with the 19th overall pick

The Chicago Blackhawks are going to make the first overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft thanks to the fact that they won the 2023 Draft Lottery.

Of course, that is amazing for them as they will get Connor Bedard who has the talent to change a franchise forever.

Chicago also has the 19th overall pick as it was given to them by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Brandon Hagel trade. There are a lot of options for them with this selection.

If they want to do the route of a defenseman, that might not be the worst idea of all time. They have a lot of good defense prospects in the system but they aren’t very filled out at the NHL level at all. You can never have too many players at that position.

Trading up to select Axel Sandin Pellikka (the best defenseman in the draft) is an option but they might be content waiting for their slot at pick 19. If that is true, these are three defensemen to consider:

1. Mikhail Gulyayev

Mikhail Gulyayev is someone that the Chicago Blackhawks can consider.

The Chicago Blackhawks have a few options to consider with the 19th pick when it comes to a defenseman. Mikhail Gulyayev is an option to consider out of Russia.

Gulyayev is 18 years old and he spent time in the KHL and its affiliates during the 2022-23 season. He should spend all of 2023-23 with Avangard Omsk as he continues his development. The KHL is a very good league for players in Russia trying to come over to the NHL.

He has shown the ability to rack up points at some of the lower levels but he still needs to take that step when playing against older players. The talent is there to do so. If the Hawks took a chance on him at 19, that would be a great pick.