Who will the Blackhawks make a selection with the 17th pick out in Tuesday’s NHL draft?
Publicly, the listing of probabilities is lengthy. Internally, it’s no longer.
Scouting director Mark Kelley believes he is aware of who the primary 12 gamers off the board shall be. That leaves simply 4 unsure groups earlier than the Hawks arise, wisdom which permits him to slender the listing of choices considerably.
Of route, Kelley gained’t proportion the highest 12, or who the Hawks are thus taking into account. But he’ll proportion his ideas when requested about explicit gamers.
Below are the North American gamers plausibly in play at No. 17, with analyses from Kelley. Tomorrow’s tale will highlight the European gamers viable at No. 17.
Dawson Mercer — Center, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
Mercer’s inventory fell quite from a projected top-10 pick out over the latter part of his 2019-20 season, which might figure out brilliantly for the Hawks. The 6-foot ahead has nice palms and playmaking imaginative and prescient, however most effective moderate skating.
“When you watch him play, the first thing that comes out is he has a pro game, he’s good on both sides of the puck,” Kelley mentioned. “Offensively, he runs numbers, and then defensively, [he’s] very responsible.”
Dylan Holloway — Center, Wisconsin (NCAA)
Holloway, 6-foot-1 and 203 kilos already, scored 17 issues in 35 video games as a freshman at Wisconsin. He’s a formidable guy who skates rather well and wins each and every puck struggle, however he’s no longer as dynamic offensively as different first-rounders.
“We watched him…right up the road in Madison, and we have a great pipeline there,” Kelley mentioned. “If you watched Dylan play and you didn’t know who he was, you’d easily locate him. He plays with a lot of energy, a lot of power, he likes the puck, he goes hard in corners and hard to the net.”
Brendan Brisson — Center, Chicago (USHL)
Brisson was once a part of one of the crucial dominant U.S. junior groups in historical past ultimate season with the Chicago Steel in Geneva.
The son of one of the most NHL’s maximum outstanding brokers, he grew up across the Hawks’ dressing room. He’s an offense-all-the-time middle with nice taking pictures and passing skill, however he wishes so as to add weight.
“This year, he made great strides,” Kelley mentioned.
Braden Schneider — Defenseman, Brandon (WHL)
One of the few defenseman viable for the Hawks’ pick out, Schneider makes use of his 6-foot-2 body and succeed in rather well in his personal zone. He’s bodily and sensible, however he gained’t give a contribution a lot alongside the offensive blue line.
“Schneider is almost a little bit of a throwback player,” Kelley mentioned. “He’s a good two-way defenseman but has a great presence in the defensive zone. He plays with an edge.”
Seth Jarvis — Right Wing, Portland (WHL)
Jarvis exploded to attain 98 issues in 58 video games ultimate season, an overly spectacular overall even within the scoring-inflated Canadian junior leagues.
His skating pace is phenomenal, and he dietary supplements that singular elite ability with sufficient first rate different attributes that he’d be a scouse borrow at 17th.
“[Jarvis] probably had as good a year as anyone in junior hockey from November on,” Kelley mentioned. “He’s a gamer, another player who’s efficient at both ends of the ice.”
Connor Zary — Center, Kamloops (WHL)
The foil to Jarvis within the WHL, Zary’s offensive portfolio is loaded with many nice talents — taking pictures, passing, imaginative and prescient, creativity — however he’s held again by means of reasonably deficient skating.
“Zary has a lot of similarities with Dawson Mercer,” Kelley mentioned. “[He] has a real presence on the ice.”
Other probabilities
Center Jack Quinn is projected within the early teenagers, however could be very attractive if he falls to 17th… Center Hendrix Lapierre’s inventory has dropped because of well being problems and is usually a dangerous pick out at 17th… Right wing Jacob Perreault is excellent offensively however deficient defensively… Kaiden Guhle is a defensive defenseman in the similar mildew as Braden Schneider.