Blackhawks Draft Scenarios: Staying Put, Trading Up, Trading Down in Big Splash Trade

The Chicago Blackhawks currently own the fourth overall selection in this year’s NHL Entry Draft. Even though they finished 31st overall in the standings this past season, the lottery balls did not fall their way back in May. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the first drawing of the Draft Lottery, and own the first overall pick. The San Jose Sharks won the second drawing, and will select second overall. This dropped the Vancouver Canucks to third and the Blackhawks to fourth.

As it stands, the Blackhawks are essentially at the mercy of the first three selections made ahead of them. Which is fine; they have the potential to receive a very good player. But what if they somehow trade up, or even trade down as a way to make a big-splash acquisition?

Let’s ponder some draft scenarios that could potentially play out for the Blackhawks.

Blackhawks Selecting at the No. 4 Spot

This is the most likely scenario for draft day. If no crazy swapping of picks or trades come to fruition, the Blackhawks can still feel positive about whomever they select. “We’re gonna get a great player,” said general manager Kyle Davidson after the lottery (May 5). “I think we’ve had, if you asked me a couple days ago how many players could be in contention for something like this, I probably could have put five or six guys into the mix. And so we’re going to get a player that we absolutely love, that we see is a very important piece of this moving forward.”

So just who are these five or six guys in the mix?

Well, all signs point towards Gavin McKenna not being available for the Blackhawks. Most pundits believe he will be taken by the Maple Leafs first overall. But after that, things seem to be up in the air.

For the second overall pick, it’s well known the Sharks need defense. So will they select defenseman Chase Reid (righthanded, RHD)? On the other side of the coin, they still need more strength at forward. Meaning winger Ivar Stenberg or center Caleb Malhotra aren’t off the table. The Sharks could go in a number of different directions, which could largely impact who’s available for the Blackhawks. More on this in scenario number two.

The Canucks, for their part, are rebuilding and need help everywhere. With the third overall pick, they could be very tempted to select Malhotra, especially since his father (Manny Malhotra) was recently named as the Canucks new head coach. However, nothing is a given.

With all this uncertainty, it’s in the Blackhawks’ best interest to consider all three of Reid, Stenberg and Malhotra as players that might be available at the No. 4 spot. If the top forwards and/or Reid come off the board, D-men Carson Carels (LHD), Keaton Verhoeff (RHD) and even Alberts Smits (LHD), could also be options. It might all boil down to character, handedness and projected fit with the Blackhawks’ roster.

In short, a dynamic winger in Stenberg or well-rounded center in Malhotra would certainly be ideal. But defensemen Reid, Carels, Verhoeff or Smits could also be solid options.

Trade Up Scenario With the Sharks

Here’s where we get a little crazy. What about this trade theory?! Since we know the Sharks need defense, what if they could get a defenseman or two that are more NHL-ready? What if the Blackhawks and the Sharks were to make a deal, swapping their No. 4 and No. 2 picks, respectively?

In this scenario, the Blackhawks might give up a few young defensemen. I could see either Wyatt Kaiser or Louis Crevier, who both had breakout seasons in 2025-26, being of value to the Sharks. Yeah, Artyom Levshunov or Sam Rinzel could be the price the Sharks are asking, since they both have higher ceilings. But I just don’t see the Blackhawks giving up on either of these blueliners yet.

Perhaps a bubble D-man such as Ethan Del Mastro or even Kevin Korchinski could also be thrown in as a sweetener. The Sharks could then still be free to select a defenseman at No. 4, who might take a little longer to make it to the NHL level.

The Blackhawks, for their part, would then be guaranteed the second overall pick, with which they could select Stenberg. There would be no guesswork about whether this top forward would still be on the board for their selection. The organization would then have two Swedish studs (Stenberg and Anton Frondell) in their arsenal. Stenberg is projected to enter the NHL as soon as this coming season, so he could potentially make an immediate impact for the Blackhawks.

Sure, it would be tough to see any of the above-mentioned blueliners go. But the Hawks have a plethora of defensemen in their system. Would it be worth it for more firepower at forward? While trading up might not be very likely, it’s still something to ponder.

Blackhawks Packaging Their No. 4 Pick in a Big Trade

A scenario that seems somewhat more likely is the Blackhawks packaging their No. 4 pick into a big trade. When Davidson spoke to the media on Friday of the Combine (Jun. 5), he indicated he’d received a lot of calls from teams who’d be interested in making a deal for this pick. (from ‘Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson says he’s motivated to make a major offseason move’, The AthleticCHI – 6/5/2026)

There’s been a lot of calls to move up. It’s been a lot busier, way busier, in terms of trying to inquire about our pick at No. 4 for teams behind us than any year I’ve been doing this. I didn’t really get many calls on Nos. 1 and 2; that’s a little high. No. 3 last year, [I got] one or two calls. This year, it’s been pretty heavy traffic.

Davidson also gave some insight into why he’s even more motivated to make a big-splash deal than he’s been in the past.

I think it’s just the maturation of our team. We have a better idea of where guys are starting to fall, what things are looking like moving forward, where we need to fill some holes, which was sort of where we wanted to understand where some of these players were after this year. And so, it’s just a better understanding of what we’re actually trying to fill.

So, where are the current holes? The Blackhawks would absolutely love to add a top-six NHL forward to the group, someone who could come in and help right away. A few big names that have been floated around include Matthew Knies and Jason Robertson.

But a veteran defenseman would certainly be helpful, to supplement a very young group on the back end. And either a forward or defenseman with some grit and physicality would certainly be on the wish list as well.

Who knows what a big trade would look like if the Blackhawks were to package their fourth overall selection in this year’s draft. But it sounds like Davidson is open for business. We could be in for some fireworks come Jun. 26!

Obviously, the above scenarios are just speculation about what could happen at the top of the draft for the Blackhawks. We won’t know how it will all play out until we actually get there. But it certainly is fun to come up with some different scenarios! What possible outcomes could you see playing out for the Blackhawks?!

For the purposes of this article, I’ve focused on the Blackhawks’ top pick. But don’t forget they also own three second-round picks, a selection in each of the third and fourth rounds, plus two picks in the seventh round (eight picks overall).

It should be an exciting draft for the Blackhawks, and hopefully one that will accelerate their path towards success.