The Blackhawks ended up with 11 draft picks in the 2011 draft. After looking at the following, it'll be really difficult to argue with their selections.
These 11 players have combined for:
1,568 games
306 goals
723 points
4 Stanley Cups
… not too shabby.
Before we get into the "Re-Draft" for the 2011 Entry Draft, let's review why we're here and what the purpose of this series is all about.
In my first edition, I looked at the 2010 draft; the draft immediately after the 1st Stanley Cup victory since 1961 for the Chicago Blackhawks.
In chronological order, I will be reviewing (and looking at re-drafting) the Blackhawks drafts as we lead up to the 2019 excitement where the Hawks will select 3rd overall. Here is the schedule:
May 3 - 2010
May 10 – 2011 ( <- Yes, I know I'm late)
May 17 - 2012
May 24 - 2013
May 31 - 2014
June 7 - 2015
June 14 – 2016
The purpose of doing this isn't to rip apart Mark Kelley and Stan Bowman for the players they chose to take over the years – that would be too easy because, well, you would be able to do the same exercise for every team in the NHL.
No, we're here to discuss trends in the Blackhawks drafting results, as well as take a stroll down memory lane and cringe at a few picks.
Let's first set the scene as the Hawks headed into the 2011 draft. I think Wikipedia summed it up best:
"The team was nicknamed the "Hangover 'Hawks" for having to recover from winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 49 years while adapting to the loss of several players from that team due to salary cap restrictions."
… Or some of you might remember "They slayed the dragon" call when Alex Burrows OT goal sent the reigning Stanley Cup Champions home in the 1st round.
Those were dark times. The Hawks FINALLY got good… then they FINALLY win the Cup and are forced to dismantle their team due to the salary cap.
This left them with new faces like Victor Stalberg, Fernando Pisani, Chris Campoli, Marty Turco, Michael Frolik and Jeremy Morin.
Meanwhile, they said goodbye to legends like Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Brent Sopel, Colin Fraser, Ben Eager and Antti Niemi.
Stan Bowman and Co. stuck with the plan though, even though they barely snuck into the playoffs and were outed in the 1st round.
Bowman continued to tweak and teardown at the 2011 draft as he sent Brian Campbell and his massive salary to Florida for Rusty Olesz. He also was able to fetch a 1st round pick for Troy Brouwer.
There were also some minor moves along the way that led to the Hawks having 11 picks in this draft. Kelley and his scouts did a great job – for the more part – drafting some players like Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw that were instrumental in the Blackhawks capturing the championship in 2013 and 2015.
Now, moving on to the draft as a whole; here is how Round 1 and 2 shook out:
An impressive group of players with the first 10 selections all playing 400+ games.
Here are a couple of awards:
Best Value Pick – Nikita Kucherov, 58th overall (Tampa Bay Lightning) Worst Pick – I have to just say the Toronto Maple Leafs as a whole; Tyler Biggs and Stuart Percy ended up being terrible selections. "Oh Hey, I Forgot About Him" Pick – Mark McNeill
Yes, Mark McNeill is my forgettable award winner for 2011. The Hawks were lucky to get a 1st round talent in Brandon Saad or this draft could have been a black eye for the Hawks.
The Phillip Danault pick looks like a great one. It would have been great if he was still on this team too. I'm going to leave Danault and that trade alone because it's been talked about in length on the message boards.
I will just say this; I followed Danault from the time he was drafted, I watched him live as a prospect and always thought "this was a player you win with." He was always a player with a high hockey IQ, played the centre position so well and had a super high-motor. Terrible trade by Stan and we all know it.
Moving on, Mark McNeill at the time looked to be a nice pick at 18. He was a big bodied centre (6'2 / 200+ lbs) and was coming off an 81 point season in the WHL.
Well, to this date, he's only played 2 NHL games and his future of ever playing another game in the show is highly unlikely at 26 years old. He's also not only a 30-40 point player in the AHL and has had a lot of injury problems. Look for him to head to Europe soon.
McNeill was a miss, but those happen.
Outside of Saad, Andrew Shaw was the real gem for the Hawks. Shaw is my kind of player and the player you (clearly) win with. Whether he was sticking up for teammates or scoring goals off his body, he was a huge part in the Hawks winning their last 2 Stanley Cups. I will never forget his first NHL game with Chicago.
He did this:
Oh, and he did this:
Overall, a great draft for Chicago. McNeill didn't work out and Danault should still be on this team but to get guys like Saad and Shaw, as well as other present and former NHLers Clendening and Dahlbeck is a nice haul.
Let's not forget that Maxim Shalunov is still under contract with Chicago and could still come over for the 2020-21 season once his KHL contract is up.
Another bonus was that the Hawks now also have the 20th overall selection from this draft in Connor Murphy.
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