Do The Blackhawks Have Their Eye On A Goalie In The Draft?

Petr Mrazek and Arvid Soderblom. Jaxson Stauber and Drew Commesso. The Blackhawks should be set at goaltender for the next decade, right?

Wrong.

Despite Chicago projecting to have their NHL and AHL duos lined up for the coming season, the Blackhawks may still be looking to add a goaltender to their system. That player could come over via a trade or free agency, but there’s reason to believe a goalie could fall to them in the draft at the end of the month.

What’s wrong with the goalies they have?

Nothing. All four names currently slated to play in the NHL and AHL are great talents, and they have more than their fair share of upside. However, it’s simply an issue of quantity. The NHL, now more than ever, is a two-goalie league. Very few goaltenders log more than 60 games for their team in a given season anymore, as the league has transitioned into a more rotation-friendly one. The Blackhawks and IceHogs both expect to play two goalies, but the odds of all four staying healthy and being successful are slim. It never hurts to get an extra body in the room.

Additionally, the clock starts now on developing the men between the pipes in the future for this team. Goaltenders traditionally take significantly longer to develop than skaters, as it can sometimes take several years to form an NHL-caliber talent. Additionally, the Blackhawks’ relative turmoil between the pipes isn’t expected to completely end. While they hope to be able to feature young players like Soderblom, Commesso, and Stauber for a long time, Mrazek is 31 years old and scheduled to hit free agency at the end of this season, so he won’t be around forever. If they’re able to successfully develop one more talent, they’ll have a variety to choose from to fill out their NHL roster year in and year out.

The draft class of goaltenders this year isn’t spectacular, which could benefit the Blackhawks. There isn’t an elite first-round talent, as the first names off the board at the position are expected to go somewhere in the second round. The class seems to be deep, however, and Chicago could easily spare one of its picks to round out one of the most important positions on the ice.

Jacob Fowler

Fowler, who committed to Boston College for this season, will have the opportunity to compete for a championship with one of the best rosters college hockey has seen in quite some time. With plenty of first-round talent on the team, Fowler may be able to grow his confidence as he aims to eventually transition to the AHL.

Thomas Milic

Milic played alongside multiple Blackhawks prospects for the Seattle Thunderbirds last season, where he posted a .928 save percentage in the regular season and .933 in the playoffs. The Blackhawks front office saw plenty of him in his most recent season while watching Kevin Korchinski & Co. He doesn’t come out to challenge skaters much, but his speed and control more than make up for it.

The Blackhawks have 11 picks in this year’s draft, and while they’ll most likely look to package some of them in order to move up in the first round, they may plan on using one of them to flesh out their goaltender room. Despite the lack of high-end talent in this year’s draft, there are plenty of names in the mid-to-late rounds that may be enticing.