The Chicago Blackhawks entered the May 5th NHL Draft Lottery with the second highest odds of picking 1st overall. The lottery luck did not go the Hawks way at all as their pick slid back to 4th. With this allowing the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks to win the two drawings and pick 1st and 2nd overall. There was little to no talk about the Maple Leafs veering away from picking star Penn State forward Gavin McKenna 1st overall. He was undoubtedly the top talent in the draft and has been for years. The yearly prospect fatigue top talents are accustomed to throughout the year had him projected 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th in certain mock drafts around the hockey world. Pick 2 was different however, the Sharks had murky waters on what they would do with the pick. would the Sharks trade down? would they keep 2 and use it on a defenseman and reach for a player to fit a need but a lesser caliber prospect than Ivar Stenberg? Ultimately they made the smart choice every front office should make (ahem Chicago in the 2024 Draft) in their circumstances and take the best player available and figure the rest out later. Which they did when they selected defenseman Keaton Verhoff 9th overall in a trade with Ottawa for star forward Eklund days prior. The sharks also used another first round pick at 21st overall for defenseman Ryan Lin. This left the Blackhawks in a spot to use the 4th pick as a trading asset for Bowen Bryan before the draft. Once the writing was on the wall that Stenberg would not be there for Chicago at 4 the Hawks pivoted. The Blackhawks entered the 2026 draft with 0 first round picks, a pair of second round picks, a third rounder, and 2 seventh rounders. Let’s grade and analyze how they did with their first 3 picks in rounds 2 and 3.

Round 2 – No. 34 Overall, Xavier Villeneuve

Grade – B+

This was a great value and high upside pick for the Blackhawks. This is a different type of player the hawks have tended to avoid in Kyle Davidson’s tenure as a GM. He’s a very raw and toolsy defenseman (5’11 163 LBs) who doesn’t play the body, but has great puck skill, elite skating, and a great hockey sense in the neutral and offensive zones. The 18 year old defenseman posted 38 points (6G, 32A) in 37 games in the QMJHL and 14 points (6G, 8A) in 17 post season games. I love this pick for the Hawks, they did not spend a late 1st round pick, nor trade up and give up assets to get a player they targeted like they have in previous seasons. There’s some glaring holes in Villeneuve’s game however that hurt his value. Amateur scouts across the NHL landscape don’t know if his frame will allow him to compete in his own zone defensively at the NHL level. He will have years to develop that part of his game (Boston U commit) and fill out his frame before he is tasked to be manageable defensively in his own zone in the NHL. Villeneuve will make his living quarterbacking an NHL power play with his elite skating, puck moving, and hockey sense. His ability to break the puck out of his own zone will create instant offense in all 3 phases of the ice which teams look for on their backends now. This pick could also be a warning shot to the young Hawks defenseman along with the addition of Byram that they will no longer be okay with treading water in their development at the NHL level. I’m looking at your Korchinski, Rinzel and Levshunov.

Round 2 – No 35 Overall, Ryan Roobroeck

Grade – B

Roobroeck is adding something to the Blackhawks system which they seemingly lack, a large toosly forward. At 6’4 216 pounds Roobroeck has the size and raw skill combination that is very rare for an 18 year old to possess. He’s highly skilled with the puck, skates well, and has a highly developed shot for his size and age. Roobroeck had 58 points (30G, 28A) in 49 games for Niagara of the OHL in his draft year. He clearly produces offensively however the consensus hole in his game right now that all scouts can agree on is his motor and compete level. Even with his large size he doesn’t use it to his advantage physically dominating opposing defenses and doesn’t seemingly play the game “hard”. This doesn’t seem to be an issue for Davidson as he traded up from pick 37 in order to select Roobroeck. He has all the raw tools and offensive skill to be a top 6 scoring winger in the NHL. But his hockey sense and compete level aren’t enough at his current development to pencil him in as a sure fire 2nd or 3rd line winger on future Blackhawks teams. This is another anomaly for the Davidson Hawks as they typically have drafted off of motor, will, and speed rather than raw skill. I like this pick if his puck possessing abilities and shot can translate to the NHL. He just needs to use his frame and compete harder to make this pick a steal for Kyle Davidson.

Round 3 – No 66 Overall – Samu Alalauri

Grade – C +

Alalauri, (U20 SM-Sarja) tallied 25 points (6G,19A) in 40 regular season games for the Pelicans. He is a 17 year old 6’2 220 Pound RHD Defenseman who possesses great size and strength for his age. He is incredibly raw and doesn’t really possess any skills in either zone that makes him stand out, however he is steady and usable in all stages of his game. That will be his meal ticket to be able to make it to the NHL is his ability to be a steady defender in his own zone and knock pucks off the rush with his long reach. He can hold his own in the offensive zone with his good hockey sense and hard shot, even with his average skating. Scouts think if he makes it he can attribute that to his high compete level paired with his combination of above average hockey sense and size/legnth. He isn’t very psychical for his size however which could develop with age and coming over to the North America (Massachusetts Amherst Commit). I can’t really imagine him running a power play in the future for an NHL team, so he really to me projects as a bottom pair safe defenseman which is all you can really ask for picking where he was picked at.

Overall Grade – B

I like the Blackhawks taking swings on raw skills with their first two picks in the second round. It’s something we really haven’t been accustomed to with Davidson draft classes outside of the Levshunov pick in 2024. The Hawks have typically played it safe and drafted off of skating, compete, and a combination of size rather than pure skill. Picking these toolsy players could be flops but it’s worth the investment of a second round pick. I feel like one of the two will hit it big, I think it will be Villeneuve based off of his skill set and where the modern NHL is going with undersized skilled defenseman. For not having a first round pick due to it being traded I still feel as if the Blackhawks got 2 late first round talents here out of this draft, and Alalauri has the chance to be good organizational depth as well. Time will tell if these players develop or it’s another notch on the list of what could’ve beens for the Blackhawks.