Chicago Blackhawks: The 2023 NHL Draft is officially in the books

That is it! The 2023 NHL Draft is officially in the books. The Chicago Blackhawks and the rest of the league will now start gearing up for free agency.

Things went well for the Chicago Blackhawks. They selected nine forwards, one defenseman, and one goaltender over the course of the seven rounds.

It was exciting to see some of the picks realize their dream. It was also exciting to see that the Hawks clearly have a vision that they are acting on.

Of course, it all started with the first overall pick. Chicago selected Connor Bedard and now their franchise is changed forever. He is one of the greatest prospects who ever lived and now it is time to see what he can do in the NHL.

The Chicago Blackhawks did a lot of good work at the 2023 NHL Draft.

At pick 19, Chicago selected Oliver Moore. That pick was given to Chicago by the Tampa Bay Lightning and now they will be happy they did that trade for Brandon Hagel.

Moore is the fastest skater in the draft and uses that speed to create offense. There is a little bit more development needed for him but he will be in the NHL at some point. Seeing these two first-round studs together in the future will be must-see TV.

The Hawks kicked off the second round by drafting a goaltender named Adam Gajan. Selecting a goaltender was a surprise but having a lot of goalies in the system that you like is a good idea.

After that, the Hawks selected forwards Roman Kantserov, Martin Misiak, Nick Lardis, Jiri Felcman, Alex Pharand, Marcel Marcel, and Milton Oscarson to go with defenseman Jaane Peltonen.

That is a lot of prospects to join the already huge talent pool that Chicago has built up. It is pretty clear that GM Kyle Davidson has done a great job up to this point.

Chicago also made three trades over the course of the two draft days. Right before round two started, they acquired a 2024 second-round pick and Josh Bailey from the New York Islanders in exchange for future considerations.

Later on day two, they made a pick trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. They sent pick 51 to Philly in exchange for pick 167 and a second-round pick in 2024. That second-round pick originally belonged to the Los Angeles Kings.

They also acquired the UFA rights of Corey Perry from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a seventh-round pick. Based on that, you’d think Chicago and Perry come to terms for at least a year.

Overall, it was a great event for the Hawks. They drafted a generational game-changer in addition to a lot of other players that they hope to develop into contributors. The future is bright for Chicago hockey again.