NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Connor Bedard is an absolute.
Time will tell if he ever reaches the super, super, superstar mark he’s set for, but it’s safe to assume he’ll be more than fine in the NHL for years to come.
Bedard is a key piece of Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson’s rebuilding puzzle. Picking the No. 1 lottery and doing so in a year that has a potential generation player like Bedard available is just the kind of luck Davidson needed to give real hope to his rebuild.
Davidson understands this perfectly. As much as he dismantled the Blackhawks enough to put them on the mathematical scale to win the lottery, much had to go in Davidson’s favor.
“It’s lucky,” Davidson said Wednesday night. “That’s it. I had no part in winning the lottery. That’s just luck. We’re very lucky.”
And that fortune should, in a way, ease the future for Davidson. He has a core to build his lineup around. Davidson can shape a power play around Bedard’s strengths and add wingers that fit Bedard’s playstyle. Taylor Hall was brought in for exactly this purpose. Being able to do that is a luxury. Since there are picks outside of the first pair in this draft, Davidson probably thinks he may have to put together a lineup that doesn’t include any absolute stars. You think of a team like the Carolina Hurricanes, where depth of talent matters more.
Bedard’s arrival also ensures that the Blackhawks’ owners and front office are unlikely to get impatient with Davidson’s rebuild any sooner than hoped. Bedard will fill enough spots and sell enough jerseys that the departures of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will hardly be felt. Davidson can largely stick to his plan.
But for Davidson, the future isn’t just about candy and ice cream. There is also additional pressure in the drafting of Bedard. Above all, the expectation that Davidson will get his rebuild done has increased. Many fans were divided over whether Davidson could almost completely destroy the Blackhawks and rebuild them significantly better. For this reason, a 6 to 8 year timeframe for reconstruction did not seem far-fetched. Now Bedard is bringing Davidson’s vision to life.
“The players that can reach star potential are the hardest to fill when building a team and the positions are the hardest to fill and obviously first overall is a place where you hope you can achieve that, and I feel like we have a player.” “With Connor, he has every chance of being that type of player for us,” Davidson said.
However, Bedard alone will not win any trophies. There are many general managers who have drafted players like Bedard but haven’t figured out how to build a cup-level team around this star. How often are the current Edmonton Oilers or Toronto Maple Leafs cited as examples of imperfect roster construction?
To prevent that, Davidson needs to get the other steps right. He’s got this absolute star, but now what? It’s the way Davidson surrounds Bedard that will determine how far the Blackhawks go. The other parts aren’t easy to assemble, but Davidson now needs fewer of them.
The Blackhawks are likely to be in rebuild mode for a few more seasons and could likely use another top-five pick in next year’s draft to further strengthen their future roster. Some of Davidson’s short-term decisions revolve around using his space and surrounding Bedard and other youngsters with strong veterans. Davidson will likely have an NHL roster next season that’s mostly filled with players he can leave in a couple of years. The contracts of about 75 percent of the squad expire in the next few seasons.
At the same time, Davidson is continuing with its long-term plan. Design and development are important aspects of this plan. As Davidson churns out more veterans from his NHL roster, he’s banking on young players standing by to replace them. This is how the plan should work.
Bedard belongs to the absolute category. He will take over Toews’ role as the No. 1 center next season. Lukas Reichel is looking more and more like a definite top 6 player. But beyond that, the forward group is full of unknowns.
The Blackhawks must expect Oliver Moore, whom they picked Wednesday as their No. 19, to play as another top-six forward either at center or on the wing for the next two to three years. They hope that Frank Nazar, 13th overall last year, will also be in this group. If all goes well, they’ll be among the top 6 forwards. You have to imagine that another striker with a high first-round pick would be the target next year.
Taylor Raddysh and Philipp Kurashev could survive the rebuild and be among the top 9 forwards. Cole Guttman, Colton Dach, Gavin Hayes and Ryan Greene also have top 9 potential. Ilya Safonov, Paul Ludwinski, Samuel Savoie, Aidan Thompson, Jalen Luypen, Antti Saarela and Dominic James appear to have potential in the last six. The Blackhawks are likely to add more forwards in Thursday’s second round.
“I’ve said that before, I think we have a really good pool of potential defensemen,” Blackhawks director of amateur scouting Mike Doneghey said Wednesday. “That doesn’t mean we won’t sign a defender tomorrow; we’ll see what comes up. But here, too, we stick to the characteristics of speed and competitiveness. At the moment we are doing quite well to build that forward depth.”
It’s true that Davidson may be on the verge of having his future defender. Seth Jones will be one of the Blackhawks’ top four defensemen throughout his contract. Kevin Korchinski, who was #7 overall last year, was selected as the #1 defender. Alex Vlasic and Wyatt Kaiser are in Davidson’s long-term plans. Sam Rinzel, another first-round pick for 2022, has yet to develop, but they believe he can be another key NHL defenseman. They have a number of other prospects like Isaak Phillips, Nolan Allan and Ethan Del Mastro who have a shot at becoming NHL players. They will likely add another right-handed defender to the pipeline on Thursday.
Among goalies, Arvid Soderblom has what it takes to be the No. 1 goaltender and will have an opportunity to prove it in the NHL this season. Drew Commesso, a 2020 second-round draft pick, is a possible future No. 2 goaltender and will likely be No. 1 at Rockford next season. The Blackhawks could also try to sign a goalie early on Thursday. Adam Gajan is a possibility.
Much of what the Blackhawks “think” about their prospects will evolve into what they “know” in the years to come. When that happens, Davidson can see how he may need to tinker with his roster build to ensure success. This can mean continuing to nurture from within. That might also require going out and acquiring another key piece.
With Bedard, the Blackhawks have a better chance of success than without him. That’s a given. As lucky as the Blackhawks were to sign Bedard, Davidson has control over what the Blackhawks ultimately become with Bedard.
(Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today)