Analysis of Saturday’s five Blackhawks picks: Speed ​​remains a common theme

LAS VEGAS — The Blackhawks completed their 2024 NHL Draft selections on Saturday, making five new selections to join three from Friday: defenseman Artyom Levshunov, center Sacha Boisvert and winger Mark Vanacker.

Since they already have so many potential players in the system, they felt comfortable taking on some more raw players with longer development timelines ahead of them.

As usual, elite skating speed was a common thread among the picks. Hawks scouting director Mike Doneghey joked that he got “a few text messages saying we’re trying to build the fastest team in the league.”

None of the choices were goalkeepers, which is significant. Doneghey said the Hawks considered one in the third round but ultimately decided not to take him, believing strongly in the quality of next year’s crop of goalie prospects.

Pick No. 67: John Mustard, Forward

In addition to having a name that would be perfect for Chicago — as long as it doesn’t involve ketchup — Mustard is known as one of the best skaters in the entire 2024 draft, which also fits the Hawks’ preferences perfectly. Doneghey said the Hawks were “a little shocked” that he remained available at No. 67.

The 6-1 Ontario native scored 56 points in 60 games with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks — another funny coincidence — last season. He’s headed to Providence for college and has experience playing as a center and winger, but more so as the latter.

He plans to work on his defensive acumen and better utilize pucks on offense.

“I’m a pretty dynamic forward,” Mustard said. “I like to play with a lot of speed and energy. I like to make plays.”

Pick No. 72: AJ Spellacy, forward

Spellacy’s athleticism is evidenced by the fact that he played both hockey and football until he was 16, and he had a promising future in both sports. Doneghey called him a “freak athlete.”

On the football front, he was a wide receiver and free agent safety who fielded offers from schools like Iowa State and Toledo after just two years of high school, but instead opted to head to Canada to play for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.

He plays hockey with the incredible speed and physicality you would expect from a free agent defenseman.

“It comes from football, just that mindset of (being) a killer out there,” Spellacy said. “(It) goes hand in hand with finishing the other team. If you play that hard, you get in their head. If they’re afraid of you, they’re not going to do their best with you.”

As a Browns fan, his favorite player is Nick Chubb. But his NHL role model is Capitals pest Tom Wilson, which says a lot about his style of play. Last season, he scored 38 points in 67 games for Windsor in a role focused on defense and killing penalties.

“(He) had a lot of opportunities to attack with his speed,” Doneghey said. “But he’ll jump right up to the line in the paint battles. That’s one of the things we like.”

Pick No. 92: Jack Pridham, forward

The Hawks traded their 2025 third-round draft pick to the Hurricanes to acquire that pick and select Pridham, another speedy player who described himself as a “talented forward with a good hockey sense.”

His father, Brandon, works in the Maple Leafs front office as a salary-cap guru, so Pridham is already quite familiar with the NHL. He was a prospect with the Leafs in the 2015 and 2018 drafts and has been training with the Leafs’ development staff this summer.

He will return to his BCHL club West Kelowna for the 2024-25 season, where he scored 49 points in 54 games last season, before moving on to Boston University for the 2025-26 season.

“I like watching (Kings forward) Adrian Kempe and (Golden Knights forward) Jack Eichel,” Pridham said. “I’m obviously not one of those players, but I think they both have really strong assets as far as skating and hockey sense.”

Pick No. 138: Joel Svensson, Forward

In the fifth round, the Hawks continued to add forwards to their lineup, selecting Svensson, a 6’3″ Swede who was a draft-eligible sophomore.

Last season, he scored 33 points in 25 games for the Vaxjo HC junior team, as well as one point in seven games with the main league team. His sister, Hilda, is one of Sweden’s best hockey players.

Pick #163: Ty Henry, linebacker

The Hawks finished the draft class in the sixth round, acquiring a defenseman for the first time since Levshunov.

Henry is a 6-4 left defenseman who had seven points in 54 games with the OHL’s Erie Otters last season. Doneghey described him as “more of an athlete than a hockey player,” but that last bit remains to be seen.