Chicago Blackhawks' Boom or Bust: Ranking the First-Round Picks Over the Years
The Chicago Blackhawks have had 51 first-round selections since the NHL instituted a draft in 1963. The expectations of a first round pick are immense, especially with some of those picks still in the Blackhawks system.
The first round pick recently under scrutiny is Jack Skille, the Blackhawks seventh overall pick in 2005 who was traded to Florida last week for Michael Frolik (himself a former first-round selection).
When the organization's two first-rounders that proceeded you are productive NHL defensemen (Brent Seabrook and Cam Barker) and the two that followed you sparked the resurgence of hockey in Chicago (Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane), you definitely can feel like the middle child.
Jan Brady, meet Jack Skille.
Skille is just getting his first extended taste of the league this season. While he hasn't had the impact Toews and Kane have had, he is only 23 years old. He is showing signs of a game that could keep him around the league for a while. Will he ever be a top-six forward? Time will tell.
The fact that Skille has made it to the NHL puts him over a lot of past Chicago first rounders. 15 players picked in the first round by the Blackhawks failed to match Skille's current total of just 81 NHL contests.
Let's take a look at the first round draft choices made by the team over the years.
FIrst Round Prospects: The Jury Is Out
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Skille reaching the NHL full-time this season means that there are currently three recent first-round Chicago picks that have yet to reach the league. It's way to soon to judge their careers, but we can comment on them.
Kyle Beach, LW (11th in 2008): The one first rounder in the top twelve from that draft not to appear in the NHL at the current time. With Skille's departure, Beach is the new man in the cross hairs. He has 11 goals and 15 assists in Rockford. Like Skille, he isn't a natural checking forward, but he is big and isn't afraid to chase the puck. Beach has a reputation as a hothead who can be distracted from his game rather easily, though he is slowly improving in that regard.
Would John Carlson look good patrolling the blue line right now for Chicago? He was selected by the Capitals 16 spots after Beach. For now, the 21-year old isn't a bust, but if he's not up with the Hawks sometime next season he may start to hear whispers about a change of address.
Dylan Olsen, D (28th in 2009, pictured): Academically ineligible at Minnesota-Duluth, the Hawks signed Olsen to an entry-level contract so they could continue to develop the big blueliner. They probably weren't planning to have him in Rockford this soon, but like Nick Leddy, he could be up earlier than expected.
Kevin Hayes, RW (24th in 2010): Hayes is a freshman at Boston College. The Hawks should be content to let him develop there for awhile.
Current First Rounders With The Blackhawks
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Skille's trade also means that just three of the Hawks last ten first-rounders are currently playing for Chicago. But what a trio they are.
Jonathan Toews (3rd in 2006) and Patrick Kane (1st in 2007) both signed five-year extensions last season.
Brent Seabrook (14th in 2003) is negotiating with the organization for an extension of his own.
Cam Barker (3rd in 2004), Anton Babchuk (21st in 2002) and any other recent draft pick with less than five years of NHL time will not be included in my rankings. That leaves 42 draft picks to rank.
When ranking the players, I considered the following:
How long did the player last in the league? How many all-star games did they play? A good first-rounder should be expected to play in the NHL for eight to ten years. Did they have that longevity?
Ultimately, I ranked these players by judging their full careers, regardless of how much time they spent with the Hawks.
Let's get started...
Chicago's First Five Cracks At The Draft (1963-1967)
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42. Art Hampton, D (5th in 1963)
41. Richard Bayes, C (4th in 1964)
40. Andrew Culligan (2nd in 1965)
39. Bob Tombari, LW (7th in 1967)
38. Terry Caffery, C (3rd in 1966, pictured): Went scoreless in 14 NHL games (although he was the WHA's top rookie in 1972-73).
The Hawks got little help from the early years of the draft. In fact, only two of the organization's fourteen picks overall even got a sniff of the NHL. Not a productive run to say the least, but hardly surprising.
Until 1969, the draft was primarily for players not already signed with an NHL team. Logically, most of the top players were already signed and playing on junior teams sponsored by the parent organization. Starting with the 1969 draft, any player under the age of 20 was eligible to be selected.
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The Rest Of The Bottom: Flat-Out Busts
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37. Eric Lecompte, LW (2th in 1993): Career minor-leaguer.
36. Dan Sping, W (12th in 1971): Only first round pick that year not to play in the NHL.
35. Greg Vaydik, C (7th in 1975): Injured knee that season, played five games with Hawks in 1976-77.
34. Adam Munro, G (29th in 2001): 4-10-3 in two seasons with the Blackhawks.
33. Ty Jones, RW (16th in 1997): 14 NHL games, no points.
32. Adam Bennet, D (6th in 1989): Played 21 games for the Blackhawks with two points.
31. Mikhail Yakubov, C (10th in 2000, pictured): 40 games as a Hawk, scored 11 points.
Falling Short Of First Round Expectations
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30. Bruce Cassidy, D (18th in 1983): Blew out a knee in the summer of 1984, missed the next season, played 36 games over six seasons.
29. Dmitri Nabokov, C (19th in 1995): Played 55 games for the Hawks and Islanders, then took his act back to Russia.
28. Pavel Vorobiev, RW (11th in 2000, pictured): The Hawks had the 10th and 11th overall picks and whiffed on them both. Vorobiev played in four more games (57) than Yakubov.
27. Ken Yaremchuck, C (7th in 1982): Spent parts of six seasons in the NHL, two decent years with the Hawks. Best year was in 1985-86 when he had 14 goals and 20 assists.
26. Jimmy Waite, G (8th in 1987): Spent 11 seasons in the NHL, going 28-41-12 as a career backup. In his defense, Ed Belfour kept Dominik Hasek off the ice in Chicago too.
25. Everett Sanipass, LW (14th in 1986): Big power forward had 20 points in 1987-88, was part of the trade that brought Michel Goulet to Chicago in 1990. A back injury while playing for Quebec the next season ended his NHL career at age 22 after 164 games.
24. Jerome Dupont, D (15th in 1980): 214 games over six seasons. Saw most of his action from 1984-1986. The other Chicago first-rounder that year was more productive.
23. Steve Mc Carthy, D (23rd in 1999): 302 games over eight seasons.
The Mendoza Line
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22. Mark Bell, C (8th in 1998) is the first round selection I decided to use as my benchmark for expectations of a first-round pick.
Bell played in seven seasons, including four full campaigns for the Blackhawks. He recorded 45 and 48 point seasons for Chicago before and after the NHL lockout. Bell has had his troubles with alcohol and wasn't the same player after the Hawks traded him to the Sharks.
Bell played in the Swiss National League last year, but he's just 30 years old and has been out of the NHL for nearly three years.
Bell played in 445 NHL games and had four pretty quality seasons. That's where I will draw the line between a first-round bust and a productive player. Into which category does Bell fall? What do you think?
Solid NHL Players
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The fact is, about half of the Hawks first round selections have turned out to have productive NHL careers. Here are some names that may not have been superstars, but made their mark in the league.
21. Sergei Krivokrasov, RW (12th in 1992): parts of 10 NHL seasons, played in 1999 all-star game.
20. Tuomo Ruutu, C/LW (9th in 2001): Currently has 43 points with the Hurricanes. Has played seven seasons and 435 games, but it's fair to say he should eclipse the Bell line before the end of this season.
19. Karl Dykhuis, D (16th in 1990): Played just 18 games for the Hawks, but logged 12 seasons, mostly with the Flyers and Canadiens.
18. J.P. Bordeleau, RW (13th in 1969): Nine seasons with the Hawks, topped 30 points four times.
17. John Marks, LW (9th in 1968): 1976 All-Star, 657 NHL games.
16. Dan Cleary, LW (13th in 1997): In his 13th NHL season, recently came back from an injury for Detroit.
15. Ethan Moreau, LW (14th in 1994):solid defensive forward for the last 15 seasons.
14. Dean McAmmond, C (22nd in 1991, pictured): 17 seasons, including two stints with the Blackhawks. Quick penalty-killing center who played for nine teams, consistently putting up 20-25 points a season.
13. Grant Mulvey, RW (16th in 1974): 574 games for the Hawks, scored 39 goals in 1979-80.
12. Tim Higgins, RW (10th in 1978): 11 seasons, consistent 25-30 point scorer.
11. Dan Maloney, LW (14th in 1970): One all-star game in 11 seasons, mostly with Kings, Wings and Leafs.
And now, the Chicago Blackhawks top-ten first rounders...
10. Keith Brown, D: 7th Overall In 1979
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Brown, a rugged two-way defenseman, logged 14 of his 16 seasons on the Chicago blue line. His 812 games played with the Hawks is fourth among defensemen. He also is fifth among all Chicago defensemen in points with 330.
9. Darcy Rota, LW: 13th Overall In 1973
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Rota spent six seasons with Chicago before being traded to Atlanta. He was a steady 20-goal scorer who netted 42 in the 1982-83 season with the Canucks.
He was on pace to surpass those totals the next season, but soon after appearing in his first all-star game, he suffered a neck injury that ended his career. Rota played in nearly 800 NHL games and scored 495 points.
8. Tony Tanti, RW: 12th Overall In 1981
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After three games and one goal, Tanti was traded to Vancouver for Curt Fraser. Tanti scored 560 points in his next ten seasons. Tanti also played in the 1986 all-star game.
His best season came in 1983-84 when he tallied 45 goals and 41 assists.
7. Real Cloutier, RW: 9th Overall In 1976
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Cloutier never played a game for the Hawks. However, this talented scorer proved to be an important footnote in Blackhawks history.
At that time, teenagers could not play in the NHL, so Cloutier signed with the WHA's Quebec Nordiques at age 18 in 1974. Led that league in points twice, including the last year of the WHA, when he scored 75 goals.
Quebec traded Chicago their first round pick in 1980 so that they could keep Cloutier after the merger. Who did the Blackhawks take with that pick? You'll find out in a few moments.
Cloutier went on to play six NHL seasons to go with five WHA campaigns. He had four 60+ point seasons, including 97 in 1981-82. He also played in the 1980 all-star game.
6. Dave Manson, D: 11th Overall In 1985
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Manson topped the 25-point mark seven times and made two all-star appearances (1989, 1993) in his 16-year career as an NHL enforcer.
In 1988-89, he logged 18 goals, 36 assists, and 352 penalty minutes, all career highs. Manson was a big favorite in the old Chicago Stadium, and had surprising offensive touch for an enforcer.
5. Ed Olczyk, C: 3rd Overall In 1984
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The current Blackhawks play-by-play man book-ended his 16 year career with the Blackhawks. The Chicago native topped the 25-goal mark in nine seasons, scoring 42 of them with Toronto in 1987-88. He set a career-high in points the following season with 38 goals and 52 assists.
Olczyk's best season in the Indian sweater was in 1985-86, when he netted 29 goals and totaled 79 points.
4. Phil Russel, D: 13th Overall In 1972
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Russell spent 15 seasons in the NHL, seven of those with the Blackhawks. A three-time all-star, Russell was one of the most physical defensemen in the league in his career. Despite his reputation as a defender, he reached the 25-point mark in 12 seasons and the 35-point mark five times.
Big and good on his skates, Russell logged over 1000 NHL games and 2000 penalty minutes.
3. Doug Wilson, D: 6th Overall In 1977
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Wilson spent most of his 16-year career with the Blackhawks, retiring fifth all-time in scoring for a defenseman. Besides having one of the game's best slap shots, Wilson was a terrific two-way player who won the 1981-82 Norris Trophy and appeared in seven all-star games.
Wilson still holds Blackhawks season records for most goals (39) and points (85) by a defenseman. In fact, he has the top three seasons in goals and points.
2. Jeremy Roenick, C: 8th Overall In 1988
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Roenick spent eight of his 20 seasons in Chicago. A nine-time all-star, he recorded three 100-point seasons for the Blackhawks to go with a pair of 50-goal seasons.
Roenick is currently in the top-40 all-time in the NHL in both goals and points. One of the greatest American-born players of all time, he helped lead the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992.
1. Denis Savard, C: 3rd Overall In 1980
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Savard is currently the only Hawks first-round pick to be elected to the Hockey Hall Of Fame (2000). He is the owner of the franchises top four points seasons and reached the 100-point mark five times.
Savard played in seven all-star games in his 17-year career. Six of those were with the Hawks, where he spent parts of 13 seasons.
And yes, Savard was selected with the pick they received from Quebec so that the Nordiques could retain the rights to Real Cloutier.
Savard is 22nd all-time in assists and 27th in points scored in the NHL. Sort of makes up for selecting Jerome Dupont a dozen spots later, doesn't it?
Where Does That Leave Jack Skille?
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Again, Skille has reached the NHL, which moves him up quite a ways when you talk about Chicago first-rounders over the years.
Dale Tallon was right about Seabrook, Toews, and Kane so far. Who's to say he's wrong about Skille?
Is Skille a failure if he doesn't prove to be a superstar in the NHL? Based on Chicago's track record, probably not. A lot of guys have left here and become solid NHL performers. Good luck to Jack Skille as he tries to find his place in the league.
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