2013 Blackhawks Entry Draft Class

Less than a week removed from a Stanley Cup win, the Hawks front office were right back to work at the NHL draft. The Hawks made a few deals and ended up selecting 8 players. Here are the deals they made:

First of all, Dave Bolland was sent to Toronto for 51st and 117th overall selections in this year’s draft, and a fourth round pick in the 2014 draft.

The second deal was a little more unexpected. Michael Frolik was sent to Winnipeg for their 74th and 134th overall selections.

The third deal was a trade with San Jose. They swapped picks #117 and #151 for #111 and the SJ 5th round in 2014.

Also in Hawks news, during the fourth round, it was made official that the Blackhawks had signed Bryan Bickell for $16 million over 4 years. I’ll weigh in more on this later.

This is the final tally of picks:

Ryan Hartman – By all accounts Ryan Hartman is cut from the Andrew Shaw and Garrett Ross cloth. If the NHL fans out outside of Chicago hate the Blackhawks now, just wait until Hartman, Ross, and Shaw are all playing at the UC. NHL Central scouting says the following, “He’s not the biggest guy (5’11″, 185), but he shows no fear of getting involved and battles for the puck. He can hit hard and is aggressive on the forecheck. He sees the ice well, gets the puck through traffic with creative passes and offers a very good shot that he gets off quickly”. Check out this scouting report for yourselves:

Carl Dahlstrom – Tall (6’3″) thinner (191) defenseman from the Defenseman factory known as Sweden (which became a pattern for the Hawks Sunday).

John Hayden – Big, American kid that can play Right Wing or Center. Just one of a slew of American kids that the Hawks picked Sunday. John Hayden Scouting Report

Robin Norell – Average sized Defenseman from Sweden. Looks to be a puck moving type of player. Not much out there about him. Robin Norell statistics

Tyler Motte – Smallish and another player that can play Right Wing/Center. Looks to be a steal, according to UnitedStatesOfHockey.com:

“One of Team USA’s best players in the tournament, Motte was making an impact in all zones and in all situations. He led Team USA with five goals, but was also an expert penalty killer for a team that allowed just two power-play goals against. He did a lot of the little things like blocking shots, jumping passes and stripping a lot of pucks to show that despite his relative lack of size, he can contribute defensively. Motte also has very good speed and solid puck skills to go along with a good, accurate shot. The size factor may hurt his final draft position, but whoever selects him is going to get an incredibly competitive forward with some good offensive upside.”

Luke Johnson – ANOTHER smallish US kid (5’11″ 165). Based on his stats, he’s a goal scorer. Committed to University of North Dakota.

Anthony Louis – At 5’6″ and 191, he sounds like a short stocky sniper. Maybe a Martin St. Louis type? This is what UnitedStatesOfHockey.com had to say about Louis:

“Though similarly sized to Kelleher, Louis is drawing a touch more interest from scouts and still appears to have an outside shot at getting drafted. The big thing about Louis is that he engages very well for a player at his size. He showed some good creativity, creating time and space for himself and teammates and making good feeds in the offensive zone. He scored the biggest goal of Team USA’s tournament with the late game-tying marker against Russia in the semifinal. Louis somehow dove and connected with the puck to knock it under the Russian goalie in a net-front scramble. That goal was somewhat indicative of Louis’ tournament. He wasn’t afraid to pay the price for offense and at times he was rewarded. He’ll still have the doubts about his size, but his competitiveness could win a team over late.”

Robin Press – Last guy selected. About the only thing he has on his side is that he’s yet another Swedish defenseman. He’s 6’2″ and about 190, and judging by his stats, he’s a puck mover and offensive D-man.