Blackhawks ready to 'branch out' with draft decisions as debate over No. 2 pick continues

BUFFALO, N.Y. — When the regular season ended, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson felt further along in the scouting process than he did at that time the past two years, when he and his front-office staff were still learning the most efficient ways to gather the information they want.

But as of Friday, with the NHL scouting combine winding down and the 2024 NHL Draft — June 28-29 in Las Vegas — just three weeks away, the Hawks' internal debate over whom to select with the No. 2 overall pick was still raging.

That's entirely a reflection on the quality of the options — namely Belarusian defenseman Artyom Levshunov and Russian forward Ivan Demidov — and how difficult it is to determine which one possesses a better skill set and a brighter future than the other.

"The debate is still very real," Davidson said. "I thought we would have maybe a decision at this point, which is not a bad thing at all, but there are some really good options out there. So it's something that we're knocking around. We'll take a little bit of a break after the combine, revisit that in 7-10 days and start going through things again."

One thing potentially holding up the decision is the fact the Hawks haven't gotten to meet face-to-face with Demidov yet, as Russian players were not invited to the combine. That will finally happen later this month at an event in Florida organized by agent Dan Milstein.

The Hawks also have to devote significant thought to the No. 18 overall pick, their two second-round picks (Nos. 34 and 50 overall) and their two early third-round picks (Nos. 67 and 72 overall). They also own fifth- and sixth-round selections. They're "getting close" to finalizing their full draft rankings.

Davidson is aware the public pick-valuation models didn't consider their trade with the Islanders a few weeks ago — when they gave up picks No. 20, 54 and 61 for picks No. 18 and 50 — a fair exchange. The Hawks' internal pick-valuation model did, however, consider it advantageous. Davidson isn't sharing what variable accounts for that difference.

"We've had a lot of volume [of picks] in the last two drafts, so it just made sense," he said. "It wasn't a precursor [to another trade] or anything like that."

That doesn't mean the Hawks absolutely won't flip the No. 18 pick to move up further at some future point, though. Davidson unsurprisingly called it "very unlikely" the Hawks could trade down from No. 2, but he also unsurprisingly expressed willingness to trade up from No. 18 if the right trade presents itself.

The Devils' No. 10 pick and the Sabres' No. 11 pick have been rumored to be available, so those would be the most likely landing spots if the Hawks did ascend further.

Meanwhile, the fact the Hawks have already stocked up their prospect pool so substantially — drafting 22 guys in just two years — means Davidson might take some higher-risk, higher-reward swings in this year's draft.

"I feel like we're much more free to go in different directions and get creative with things," he said. "It's not necessarily taking more risk in our selections, but we've just given ourselves the freedom to branch out and go elsewhere if we feel it's advantageous.

"We're willing to sacrifice some areas for others. Because our prospect pool is pretty strong in one aspect, maybe we need something else. Whatever that is, we're open-minded and willing to...stray from what people think we've especially focused on in the past."

The Hawks have prioritized players with elite skating and strong compete level under Davidson so far, although he has repeatedly referred to the perception that he only drafts those types of players as a "runaway train." It would make sense if they targeted some larger, more physical players this year, though, since many of their elite skaters are on the smaller side.

Moreover, the NHL's 50-contract limit means the Hawks will only be able to sign so many of these prospects down the road. If they can convert their eight selections this year into two or three high-end players instead of five or six borderline NHL-caliber players, that would probably be preferable regardless of type.

Then again, the draft is too inexact a science to think quite like that.

"It’s hard enough to just find NHL players to then get so specific with [like], 'We’re just going to find a No. 1 center or a No. 1 defenseman,'" Davidson said. "Because at that point, you’re probably making [up] players — you’re creating your own wishlist — versus evaluating what’s actually in front of you. That’s my philosophy on it."

This story will be updated.