Why not post this in the actual forums?

Anyhow, that's a lot of questions so I'm going to start with the steal of the draft: Alex Vlasic, at least so far he seems to have a high ceiling and if the 'Hawks can pull their normal magic I see him being the best defenceman the Blachawks have in a couple years.

I'm an Alexis Gravel fan, and think Lankinen has potential, but goalie is hard position to tell until you actually see how they do against your own players, I say they take a gamble and test a couple of them out.

Versteeg, on an AHL contract (though who knows, if he scores he might be signed pretty cheap, he just wants to play hockey) and I think he's going to teach those AHL guys how to put the puck in the back of the net and teach Dach how to actually use his body.

Just figured out how to do that . It is posted now

I'm game for this discussion and enjoy reading other peoples' thoughts. Thanks for posting.

1.) Too early to tell. At the time of the draft I was a Bowen Byram guy. I can admit that. I did see a lot of posts saying the COL was going to draft Dach almost hands down, but we'll never know if that's true. I'm happy with what I've seen. Obviously, I like his size. I've been impressed with his speed. He's not going to out pace McDavid or Larkin, but being able to run down another much smaller forward is solid speed.
2.) The Best steal of this past draft? Hmm.... Again too early to tell. I liked Moberg's Friday scrimmage. I wasn't expecting much, but noticed him...whatever that means 3-4 years from now.
3.) The Hawks go best available in 2020. Their positional depth is pretty solid right now.
4.) Good question. He's going to get a full year in Rockford and learn how to be a middle 6 player IMO. He has a shot of making the team next year, but keep him with Reece Johnson and let them develop together. He's an example of a guy not to rush. Let him develop slowly.
5.) Skogs was really good. I hope they sign him. That might mean Nalimov requests a trade...or Stan just lets him leave, but who knows. Maybe Nalimov never comes over at all???
6.) I think Gravel and Slavin are the (2) biggest under-rated players in their system. People know about Kurashev now...he was my pick last year and I'm excluding him now. 3rd place under-rated is Galvas.
7.) Solid question and I think it's different for everyone, but that's kinda the answer. Their flexibility. Strome was moved around a ton in AZ. I don't just mean line to line...I mean city to city...coaching staff to coaching staff. In Strome's case it was providing consistency was key. Also, realizing that if you're a #3OA pick...you should have them in a Top 6 role. Maybe that's Top 6 in the OHL or AHL, but don't put him on the 4th line in the NHL. That's not who he is and those shouldn't be his type wingers. Another example is Panarin. Don't forget that he went undrafted. Yeah yeah, his talent is obvious now, but let's give credit to pairing him game 1 with Kane. There's a reason Panarin gave Kane a Rolex. It's putting him in a position to succeed. Saad next to Toews/Hossa? Again, a position to succeed.
8.) Dach/Boqvist is the answer. I also want to see Slavin at Colorado College and Ian Mitchell. 5th is Aleski Saarela.

I wouldn't considered him a hidden gem but I saw Jake Wise in person during drills at Prospect Camp. He is unbelievable with his skill and work ethic, however he was very much absent in the scrimmage. He plays at BU so he will develop over the next two years and will likely become a huge piece in the Blackhawks pipeline. With the log jam of Centers for the Hawks such as Dach, Barratt, Entwistle, and Aleksi Saarela (guys that have better developed over the past year or so) he could be packaged in a trade, but that's just my opinion I think he can be a nice 3C with some scoring potential.

As for the steal of the draft I would say look no further than Alex Vlasic. The kid reminds me of a cheaper version of Colton Parayko, a great defensive defenseman with a little bit of offensive upside he is easily going to be a great player for the Hawks as a possible Top 4D paired with someone like Boqvist or Mitchell. He needs to work on skating but he is attending Boston U for two years so he can work on it there.

Finally with the 2020 draft approaching scouting the potential prospects will start in a couple weeks with U20 rosters starting to be decided. Expect the Blackhawks to be picking anywhere from #12 to #19 (Borderline Playoff position) and I don't know maybe we get lucky with the lottery again lol. But if the Blackhawks pick oh lets say 16 (based on last years standings with this years point projections) the one player is say the Blackhawks should get is Antonio Stranges. Currently ranked 33rd by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS, he is a left shot LW and can play C or RW. He plays for London in the OHL with Boqvist. He is very good offensively reminding me of Marner and Kane without the superstar potential, but don't take that as a knock to himself he only played one year in the OHL after spurning his hometown team of the USNDTP. He is great on offense and has great skating ability. His stock is likely to grow and many predict him to be a middle first round pick. If he can spend time developing in the OHL and Minors he would be a perfect winger to compliment Dach in the future as a skating playmaker. Stranges is also fitting the Blackhawks future by having big counterman and smaller wings. Be on the lookout for him and also watch some of his highlights on Youtube, you'll be fascinated with his raw potential as a Top 6 winger.

Thanks for the read let me know what I missed.

EDIT: Jake Wise was dealing with Injuries this year at BU so that limited his time at the scrimmage

I'm glad everyone is enjoying. I am now posting on Forums with the title "What Now Discussion". There will be plenty more of these for all teams and all different topics. I am happy to united those who are as interested in hockey as I am.

To me, the hard part about the forums are that you don't get see a lineup. Sometimes it's easier to see how people fit on the hawks team if you can move around other players and get a visual.

@exo2769 I see you too much on these threads, I just split screens so I can look at the FULL roster and others teams while I type.