LAS VEGAS — Even after taking defenseman Artyom Levshunov with the second pick and forward Sacha Boisvert with the 18th pick in the NHL draft Friday, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson didn’t turn off his phone.
After several failed attempts to trade up for another first-round pick, he finally found a taker in the Hurricanes.
Davidson sent both of the Hawks’ second-round picks — 34th and 50th — to Carolina in exchange for the 27th pick, which he used to select forward Marek Vanacker.
“There were some tense moments where we didn’t know if Marek would make it to us,” Davidson said. “We don’t think he would’ve been there at No. 34, but we just had him high enough on the list and [saw] enough value in him as a player where it was a no-brainer to try and move up.”
It made sense the Hawks would target offense with their later first-round selections, and Boisvert and Vanacker certainly should provide that.
Boisvert breakdown
Boisvert, a North Dakota commit, tallied 68 points in 61 games last season with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks. More than half of those points — 36 of them — were goals, demonstrating his shoot-first style.
“I’m always trying to look for the better play, but I have confidence and I believe in my shot,” he said.
Considering his combination of offensive and defensive consistency and the fact he’s heading to North Dakota to play college hockey this coming season, the comparisons to Jonathan Toews will be inevitable.
But he has actually modeled his game after a somewhat similar player, Kings star Anze Kopitar.
Looking at his USHL production, meanwhile, Hawks scouting director Mike Doneghey noticed similarities to the draft-year seasons produced in the past by now-Jets star Kyle Connor (the 17th pick in 2014) and now-Canucks star Brock Boeser (the 23rd pick in 2015). Boisvert turning out like either of those players would obviously be a massive coup.
At 6-2, he adds some much-needed height to the Hawks’ forward prospect pool, but gaining the strength and mass to match that frame will be crucial for him over the coming years.
“There’s so much room to fill out, so much room for growth,” Davidson said. “He plays with a real edge and real physicality. There’s a lot of appeal around both the offensive side and the abrasiveness that he plays with.”
His skating ability is considered above-average overall, but he has been criticized for having too upright of a stride. He plans to address that in his summer training, hoping to get lower and more flexible.
Vanacker analysis
Davidson was en route to Brantford, Ontario, in mid-January to watch Hawks prospect Nick Lardis when he received bad news. Lardis had suffered a wrist injury.
The Hawks GM followed through on his trip, though, and while watching the game with Lardis, he noticed another Brantford forward standing out on the ice: Vanacker. During five or six subsequent viewings, he fell in love with Vanacker’s tenacity.
"[I] came away, every single time, really impressed,” Davidson said. “He always impacted the game very positively. [We] just love the mentality he plays with.”
Added Doneghey: “From the top of the circle down — along the boards [and] to the net-front — he’s the first guy in. He controls the play, controls the puck, [plays] ultra competitive and he can score.”
Vanacker ended up recording 82 points in 68 OHL games, surging in the second half of the season while Lardis was out.
That was in spite of the fact he, too, was hampered by a torn labrum in his shoulder. He recently underwent surgery to repair it and will be sidelined until roughly December as a result.
“I’m going to text [Nick] right away, and it’s going to be awesome,” Vanacker said. “He’s such a good player and a great guy.”
This and that
- The Sharks surprised nobody by selecting consensus top prospect Macklin Celebrini with the No. 1 overall pick. But the Ducks surprised everyone by using the No. 3 pick on Beckett Sennecke, who wasn’t considered even a top-10 pick until the past week and whose facial expression revealed his shock.
- The Hawks reportedly attempted to execute a blockbuster trade to acquire the Blue Jackets’ No. 4 pick, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported. That would’ve allowed them to take forward Ivan Demidov, who ended up falling to the Canadiens at No. 5, in addition to Levshunov. But it didn’t come to fruition.
- With their second-rounders traded away, the Hawks enter the second day of the draft Saturday owning four more picks: two third-round picks (67th and 72nd), a fifth-round pick (138th) and a sixth-round pick (163rd).
