The Blackhawks can find impact players in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft from College Hockey

For the first time in a while, the Chicago Blackhawks were sellers at the trade deadline.  They sent forward Ryan Hartman to the Nashville Predators and received a 2018 1st and 4th round pick as well as Swedish prospect Victor Ejdsell.  After a disappointing season, the Blackhawks realize that age has suddenly caught up with them and that they need to get back to building their team through the draft.

The 2018 NHL draft is considered to be very deep with good prospects including generational defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.  It’s possible the Hawks could land a lottery pick to select him, Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov, or Czech winger Filip Zadia.  But if the season ended today, the Hawks would be selecting 8th and 29th overall, probably putting them out of reach of the top three players mentioned and Boston University’s Brady Tkachuk.

There are however a few college hockey or college hockey-bound players Blackhawks fans should be aware of.  Let’s take a look and preview some of the names you should be familiar with.

Photo courtesy of The Athletic.com

Quinn Hughes – LD – 5’9 170lbs – Michigan

The Blackhawks drafted two defenseman last year in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the 2017 draft when they took Henri Jokiharju and Ian Mitchell, but you can never have enough defenseen.  Quinn Hughes is an Orlando Florida native that played his junior hockey with the US National Development Team under 17 & 18 teams.  He currently plays for the University of Michigan Wolverines.

Hughes is a smaller defenseman at 5’9 but his strengths in skating and vision make up for his size.  He has the ability to create his own rush and make space for forwards to cut to the net.  In his highlights, you see flashes of Duncan Keith in his own end.  By that I mean that he is patient with the puck and finds openings in the opposing defense to weave through on the rush.  This is a player that is very active on the back-end and could help on the power play unit where the Blackhawks are ranked near the bottom of the league.

Hughes is projected to be drafted around pick six so the Blackhawks would be fortune if he fell to them at eight.  Although this player isn’t intimidating in his own end, he is the kind of puck-moving defensemen the Blackhawks coaching staff dreams about having.

Oliver Wahlstrom – C/RW – 6’1 200lbs – Harvard

Similar to how Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin or ‘D-Boss’ would like to not be known anymore for his famous YouTube videos he made as a kid, Oliver Wahlstrom is going through something similar.  As a kid, Wahlstrom became internet-famous when he performed a trick-shot at a Boston Bruins game when he was 9 years old.  Since then, he has become one of the best US-born prospects in the country.

Wahlsrom is playing for the US development program and currently has 17 goals and 11 assists in 17 games.  He is described as a pure goal-scorer that is extremely strong on his skates.  His ability to find seams from anywhere on the ice and score creatively makes him a player anybody would want on their team.  Wahlstrom has committed to play for Harvard University next season.

K’Andre Miller – LD – 6’3 195lbs – Wisconsin

Miller is the kind of defenseman the Blackhawks don’t have too much of.  He’s a big, physical defenseman who can skate very well.  Miller switched from forward to defense a couple seasons ago but has adjusted well.  He isn’t known for his offense but he can put a lot of power behind one-timer shots from the point.  He currently has four goals and nine assists with the US Development team and has committed to the University of Wisconsin for next season.

To be brutally honest, this has the St. Louis Blues or Nashville Predators pick all over it, but maybe he could fit into the Blackhawks system.  If he can form his game into something similar to Brent Seabrook’s, he could find a niche.  Especially if he’s responsible in his own end.  In an article from USAhockey.com, Miller talks about how he loves playing defense because of how he can start and get into rushes.  He would get a lot of those opportunities in this system in Chicago.

Mattias Samuelsson – LD – 6’3 205lbs – Western Michigan

Samuelsson is another big defenseman not known for his scoring but for his defensive responsibility.  He is committed to Western Michigan University that is in the NCHC, one of the most competitive conferences in college hockey.  Samuelsson has the potential to be a top four NHL player but could use improvement with his skating.  This season he has two goals and six assists in 14 games with the US Developement program.

In his stats this year, you notice a positive +/- of 12 but a large number of penalty minutes with 48.  The Blackhawks get frustrated with young players who commit penalties that make their team short-handed, but if Samuelsson can walk the line between playing hard and foolish, he’d make a great addition to the Hawks prospect pool.

Thanks for checking out our early draft preview.  The-Rink.com will have plenty more analysis on the Draft as it gets closer.