NASHVILLE — The final rounds of the NHL draft have begun.
Before things started Thursday, the Chicago Blackhawks acquired a 2026 second-round pick and forward Josh Bailey from the New York Islanders for future considerations.
The Hawks have four second-round picks in this year’s draft.
General manager Kyle Davidson tried to be aggressive in the first round, but no teams traded their picks in what’s considered a deep draft.
“I think a lot of people just liked the players that are available to them, with respect to maybe the picks aspect,” he said. “It seemed everyone always had someone left on their board. If I have my players left, I’m going to pick. And everyone picked.”
Still, Davidson said they’d reevaluate their draft board and consider whether to work the phones to consolidate picks to move up or fall back on Day 2.
“That’s what we’ll figure out tonight,” he said after the first round. “Potentially, yeah, something we’ll assess when we get back to the meeting room.”
Here’s who the Hawks selected at the 2023 NHL draft.
- Round 1, No. 1: Center Connor Bedard
- Round 1, No. 19: Forward Oliver Moore
- Round 2, No. 35: Goalie Adam Gajan
- Round 2, No. 44: Forward Roman Kantserov
- Round 2, No. 55: Forward Martin Misiak
- Round 3, No. 67: Forward Nick Lardis
- Round 3, No. 93
- Round 4, No. 99
- Round 5, No. 131
- Round 6, No. 167
- Round 7, No. 195
No. 1: Connor Bedard
The Blackhawks took about a minute and a half once the clock started during Wednesday night’s NHL draft to select Bedard with the No. 1 pick, christening him as the “cornerstone” of their attempt to build the next Chicago sports dynasty.
With fans at Bridgestone Arena chanting, “Let’s go, Hawks,” general manager Kyle Davidson stepped onto the podium and said: “I’d like to say hi to all the Blackhawks fans back in Chicago, Blackhawks fans here today and Blackhawks fans watching around the world.
“And with the first overall selection in the 2023 NHL draft, the Chicago Blackhawks are very proud to select, from the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League, Connor Bedard.” Read more here.
No. 19: Oliver Moore
Davidson looked sheepish when he said, “Honestly, to add Oliver Moore, so cliché — like, ‘We didn’t think he was going to be there. Blah, blah, blah, blah’ — but it wasn’t even a scenario we thought of. … I couldn’t be happier.”
Moore said he had a lot of good talks with the Hawks and knew they were interested, but as for landing there, “It’s unbelievable.”
He’s another speed guy to go with 2022 first-round pick Frank Nazar and Bedard.
“Thinking about that, that would be crazy,” Moore said when asked to ponder that future lineup. “I know Frankie pretty well too. Our billet families were friends. I’m really pumped to see him at development camp.”
Moore said he prides himself as “a fast, competitive, two-way forward who has an offensive side to his game. More offensive and can really do a lot of things for his team. Obviously speed is my biggest attribute.”
No. 35: Adam Gajan
Gajan was the first goalie selected in the draft. The 6-foot-3 pound netminder from the NAHL Chippewa Steel is committed to play at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
He had a 53-save performance in the World Junior semifinals for Slovakia before falling to Bedard’s Canadian team.
NHL Central Scouting says he’s “very strong, quick and (has) efficient crease movements. A complete goaltender who never gives up on a play and is very athletic and quick. Very smart at reading the play and very good positionally.”
No. 44: Roman Kantserov
The Hawks took the left-shooting right wing from Magnitogorsk, Russia, with their second pick of the second round. There’s some risk with Russian players, both with limited scouting and visa problems.
No. 55: Martin Misiak
The left-shooting right wing (6-1, 200 pounds) played for Nove Zamky in Slovakia’s top men’s league before transferring to USHL’s Youngstown, where he had six goals and 11 assists for the Phantoms’ Clark Cup championship team.
Central Scouting says he’s “physically ready to play on this level, does not shy away from any situations. … Good skater with speed, quickness and balance. Smooth hands, smart andeffective in traffic.”
Born in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, he was a member of the country’s gold medal-winning team at the 2022 under-18 World Championship.
