The Chicago Blackhawks have plenty of young talent on the ice and in the pipeline. But a new name added to the list might be the most unique prospect yet. Mason West, selected 29th overall by the Blackhawks last month, not only thrives as a hockey player but also quarterbacks the Edina Hornets, his high school football team in Minnesota.
That’s a sentence you don’t read very often concerning draft-eligible, up-and-coming hockey players.
Related: Blackhawks’ Prospect Mason West Has a Unique Background
The selection surprised many, particularly because, unless you study hockey prospects in depth, West wasn’t a predicted first-round selection. In fact, The Athletic‘s final 2025 NHL Draft Rankings had him 44th overall, which would have placed him halfway through the second round.
Clearly, general manager Kyle Davidson and staff see something special in West. Davidson admitted he’s betting on a hunch. The latest episode of Every Shift, the Blackhawks’ behind-the-scenes series, revealed how Davidson’s plan developed and exactly how eager he was to draft West.
Davidson’s Plan Unfolded at the Last Minute
During the draft, viewers watched live as Davidson traded away the Blackhawks’ 34th and 62nd overall picks to the Carolina Hurricanes to select West in the first round. After the draft, Davidson spoke freely concerning how highly he values West, saying:
The raw tools are something you don’t see that often…at that size, that athleticism, that skating ability, that talent, the sky’s the limit.
Until this latest episode of Every Shift, fans didn’t know that Davidson’s plan almost didn’t come to pass. Viewers can watch Davidson lean in his chair as the draft moves closer to the 29th selection. “Do we want to try and move up at all or just sit?” he asks his staff.
You can tell he’s itching to make a move.
“The next two teams are picking, Winnipeg and Washington, and then Carolina hasn’t gotten back to me,” Davidson informs the team.
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets selected 27th and 28th overall, respectively, so they were the final two teams before the 29th overall pick, which belonged to the Hurricanes.
Davidson was running out of time.
The Blackhawks knew that a team with a selection between 30th and 33rd overall planned to take West, warranting Davidson’s urgency to hear back from Carolina.
A few anxious-filled minutes passed until Davidson looks down at his phone and says, “Boom. Got ’em.”
Dream come true. Thankful to so many who helped along the way, and extremely excited to be apart of the @NHLBlackhawks organization. pic.twitter.com/loH9k5Hs1M
— Mason West ‘26 (@MasonWest2026) June 29, 2025
The Hurricanes agreed to the trade. Davidson immediately stands up, points to Hudson Chodos (manager of scouting and player development), and walks over to share the details.
“F***in right, Kyle,’ mutters Norm Maciver (associate general manager) with proud satisfaction.
West’s Future as a Hockey Player
Reading Davidson’s excitement about West paints only a black and white picture of how badly he wanted this move to work. Watching it unfold on camera live during the draft provides the color words sometimes can’t. You can see the tension in Davdison’s posture while he waited for the Hurricanes’ response. And you can watch the triumph carry him across the room after he strikes the deal.
Suddenly, Davidson’s quotes about why he traded up for West carry much more weight:
I wanted to trade back into the first round to take a grand-slam hack. I’m swinging for the fences.
The Blackhawks’ selection of West stirred skepticism, especially because many weren’t sure if he would play hockey over football. It wasn’t as risky a move as many initially thought, though. West committed to playing hockey at Michigan State.
Furthermore, West revealed in an interview with former NFL coach John Gruden that, “Just going straight into the draft before the combine I had a really good conversation with [the Blackhawks]…then going into the draft, right when they traded up, I had a good feeling.”
Clearly, West wasn’t surprised.
The Blackhawks got their guy, and West became a first-round NHL draft pick with a chance to play for an Original Six franchise. That’s called a win-win.
While West will return to Edina to finish his senior year as a quarterback, he stresses it’s about the opportunity to win a state championship, make memories, and develop his hockey IQ from a quarterback’s perspective. He will play hockey full-time after he finishes.
Blackhawks fans need not worry. Instead, Davidson’s confidence and emotions show that West has hidden-gem potential. Meanwhile, West’s dual-sport athleticism highlights his raw ability that, molded correctly, could transform him into a difference maker for the Blackhawks.
