What a wasted 1st rd pick.

Meh, the same draft yielded Saad (major role in two championships), Shaw (major role in two championships), and Clendening (traded for Forsling in what draftniks are calling an all-time steal). It's almost funny that the very first pick the Hawks had in 2011 was the one who flopped. It's less funny if you think about passing on Ty Rattie or Nikita Kucherov, so don't do that.

The real shame of that draft class was flipping Philip Danault, who was being groomed to replace the inevitably overpriced Marcus Kruger, in a package for Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann, who did fuck-all while Kruger, sure enough, was paid far over market value to send the puck down and force draws.

_________________

FWIW - There's a great full page/fully colored 2016-17 Blackhawks' Schedule in today's sports section of the Trib.

_________________
"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

I just remember a little excitement when he was drafted in the 1st rd.


Hindsight is 20/20, I can not blame Bowman for trying to go for it. That trade was more about TT than those 2 guys.

I remember far more excitement for Brandon Saad, who we were overjoyed to get as late as we did (and having drafted McNeill, Danault, and Clendening ahead of him). He had plummeted right before draft day because scouts said he was lazy and had a bad attitude, but then it turned out he was coming off an injury and the flu or something that explained away both things and we got a bona fide first-line power forward in the middle of the second round. Then we pawned him off to Columbus for Artem Anisimov and a pile of crap. Thanks, Syria.

_________________