DRAFT: Davidson, Doneghey 'Couldn't Be Happier' with Draft Outcome

Following the completion of the 2023 NHL Draft, Blackhawks Kyle Davidson and the Blackhawks hockey operations staff are thrilled with their 11 total selections over the two days.

With the selection of Connor Bedard and Oliver Moore in the first round, the team continued to build their prospect pool with speedy forwards, but also added a bit of size in the later rounds.

"I couldn't be happier with how this worked out," Davidson said. "I loved that we were able to add late too, just [to add] a different flavor to the mix with some serious size towards the back end of the draft there. So, it was great, I'll leave Nashville extremely happy."

While he knows all of the picks might not play for the NHL team, Director of Amateur Scouting Mike Doneghey set out to find players who have the skill level and the ability to play across different roles on the roster. In order to build the team that they envision, they have to stick to the prospects that play the style they want.

With that in mind, the Blackhawks selected forwards like Moore and Martin Misiak who can provide speed to their team along with some other strong characteristics.

"We added some size and some toughness at the end, some guys who have been through some drafts, some guys with one name and so it was good couple days," Doneghey said.

With Chicago's first pick of the second round at No. 35, they selected the first goalie of the draft with Adam Gajan. The Slovakia native spilt time between the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers and NAHL's Chippewa Steel with 24 wins and two shutouts in 40 games played between the two teams.

After going undrafted in the 2022 NHL Draft, the netminder impressed the Blackhawks scouting staff with his ability to step up in high pressure situations, especially with Team Slovakia in the 2023 IIHF World Junior tournament.

"We loved his athleticism, his ability to play the puck and be a game player," Davidson said. "It was great for Slovakia the World Juniors was excellent and everywhere he played this year in the NAHL in the USHL up in Green Bay so just loved his play, but it's his athleticism that stood out to us. We really like his path committed to Minnesota-Duluth, so we're really happy with that."

At No. 44, Chicago sleected Roman Kantserov, who skated in 45 regular-season games with Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk (MHL) where he led the club in goals (27) and points (54) and ranked second in assists (27). What stuck out most to the staff was how accurate his shot is.

"He's one of the top scorers in that league and he can flat out shoot it like he's accurate quick release," Doneghey said. "Skating is really good and powerful [as well]."

Misiak went 55th overall for the Blackhawks after he helped the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms win the 2023 Clark Cup Championship. He led the USHL with eight assists, while his ten points (2G, 8A) shared second among all league skaters and totaled 17 points (6G, 11A) in 27 games played.

Davidson compared his playing style to first-round selection Oliver Moore where he can be a two-way forward but used as a versatile player who can step up when needed.

"He's really strong and physical who can play a two-way game and can probably drop down to your bottom six," Davidson said. "But also, in the playoffs for Youngstown he played up as their first line center, so he's really versatile."

In the third round, Chicago chose Nick Lardis at the 67th selection. The forward spent the season spilt between the Peterborough Petes and the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL where he registered, fittingly, 67 points (37G, 28A) in 69 total regular-season games."

"When he got there, he just flourished," Doneghey said. "He had 38 goals in the OHL, which is hard to do. Most of those goals came with Hamilton but he also played for Canada with the U-18 team this past April in Switzerland. He can fly. He meets our speed element, but he also has that scoring attribute."

To close out their selection in the third round, the team selected Jiri Felcman at 93rd overall. He dressed in 40 games with Langnau U-20 in the Swiss-Jr. league with 31 points (10G, 21A). He also notched a goal and an assist in five games with Czechia at the IIHF World U-18 Championship.

"Everything really came together for him this year," Doneghey said. "He projects as a bottom six center but he gives us size and hockey IQ down the middle."

As the team's lone fourth round pick, Alex Pharand joined the group as the 99th pick. He posted 39 points (18G, 21A) in 67 regular-season OHL games with the Sudbury Wolves and also took home a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF World U18 Championship, posting one assist in seven games.

"He's got that fighting ability and he's very competitive who looks out for his teammates, but he's really good skater too," Doneghey said.

Marcel Marcel joined the Blackhawks in the fifth round of the draft as the 131st pick. He secured 32 points (14G, 18A) in 52 games with the Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) this past season and posted eight points (3G, 5A) in 13 postseason contests. He also helped Team Czechia capture a silver medal in the World Junior tournament.

"He's 6-foot-4 and almost 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds but he gets around the ice really well," Doneghey said. "He played in the World Juniors and was very successful there as a winger. So, he fits our profile and he brings some size to the table"

With the 167th selection, Milton Oscarson finished the season with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) where he tallied three points in 45 regular-season games and also logged six points (4G, 2A) in 13 postseason contests.

"He takes up a lot of ice," Doneghey said. "He has a very good IQ and probably more penalty killer than anything but he's very responsible defensively."

To finish the draft out, the Blackhawks finished the event with the selection of Janne Peltonen at 195th overall as their only defenseman out of all 11 picks. The blueliner ranked fifth among all Karpat U20 blueliners with nine points (3G, 6A) in 40 games last season.

"He meets our traits of skating with a good size at 6-foot-3 and is competitive player," Doneghey said.