DRAFT: 2023 NHL Draft to Bring Impact Beyond First Overall Pick

Entering the 2023 NHL Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks will select the first overall with the potential to gain an impactful prospect.

"I think you're allowed to be excited when you get the first overall pick and the NHL draft is about optimism and hope for the future," The Athletic's NHL Prospect Analyst Corey Pronman said on this week's episode of the Blackhawks Insider Podcast. "There's a chance that this player can really help turn your franchise around."

No matter who Chicago picks at No. 1 from the names at the top of the 2023 NHL Draft class -- Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson or beyond -- the work for Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson is done.

"That doesn't change the fact that we have to build a team," Davidson said following the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery. "You look back at any Stanley Cup team, they have great players, but it's not just one person that wins it. You need many great pieces and many important pieces and players that gelled together and can play within a team concept. And so, that work is going to continue."

While it's not always a guarantee that a young player can speed up the process of a rebuild in a sport like hockey, it can definitely help set a new foundation for the franchise that can develop him into an impact player. After making that first pick on June 28 in Nashville, the focus for the franchise will turn to finding the right players to build their roster holistically.

Davidson said that in order to be a successful team, they have to be prepared for anything, especially if they want to be a playoff contending team in the future. Instead of relying on one player, some of the most recent Stanley Cup Champions produced rosters that could rely on their entire roster and win with different outcomes.

"What we're doing here is building a team," Davidson said. "We're not just picking one player and making one selection, and our job's done. I think the essential to winning in the NHL is depth of talent and building a team that can win in multiple ways, and not just through one player, through one line, or through one style."

Outside of this group, Pronman described this year's group as one that offers a unique skillset to any team they get drafted to.

Some of the top players in this year's draft class have been compared to Pittsburgh Penguins' forward Sidney Crosby, Edmonton Oilers' forward Connor McDavid and New Jersey Devils' forward Jack Hughes with their playing styles. While it's hopeful to see top talent in younger players, Davidson and the Blackhawks hockey operations team also want to see how they can develop their playing style to the NHL level after playing for their respective junior or college team.

"There's some players that are elite talents and that's exciting," Davidson said. "Whether they come out of the gate and do something like that we'll see but we're not banking on that. We'll just kind of let these players come in and excel or succeed at their own pace and we'll do what we can to support their development and make sure they're put in situations to succeed."

Pronman notes that this year's draft class is a forward-heavy group, with a small number of defenseman within the first round. He believes that most of the defenseman will be selected within the first few picks of the draft board.

As for the Blackhawks, he predicts that the team could also select a forward with their No. 19 overall selection with a variety of players available to help team can help fill in some missing pieces but also add a new mix into the prospect pool.

"With Kevin Korchinski in the mix added last season with the seventh overall pick, there is a need for forwards," Pronman said. "So, I think, [they're] going to be looking at a variety of options."

Davidson emphasized that even though they made have control of the draft board, it doesn't guarantee an accelerated path success, but it surely doesn't hurt the process. The team will continue to build the roster to make a competitive, Stanley Cup-contending team, a path they're fully embracing.

"Getting the first overall pick [doesn't] mean that our job's done," Davidson said. "We've got a lot of work to do and we're aware of the job we have and the difficulty in that job, and we're embracing it."