The Chicago Bulls have secured the next piece of their future, selecting French standout Noa Essengue with the 12th overall pick. Now the focus shifts to the Chicago Blackhawks. Their draft starts on June 27th. With the 3rd overall pick, they once again have a chance to get a legitimate difference-maker for a roster that needs them. It feels like for weeks, the general consensus was that the first two picks were locked in. Defenseman Matthew Schaefer would go #1 overall to the Islanders while forward Michael Misa would land in San Jose at #2.
It appears things are shifting.
Top hockey insider Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects dropped a considerable bombshell on Wednesday. He now believes that Anton Frondell, the center from Sweden, could go to the Sharks instead.
He didn't back off the statement, either. A fan asked if he was pivoting from his original statement that Misa was going at that spot. Robinson responded emphatically.
If this is true, Misa will fall to #3, handing the Blackhawks what most experts agree is the best offensive player in the entire draft. Last season in the OHL, he scored 62 goals in 65 games for Saginaw. Pairing him with Connor Bedard would be straight cheating.
The Chicago Blackhawks should pray for this outcome.
While there are other good options at #3, Misa is everything they could want. The best way to unlock Bedard is to find another offensive presence that other teams can't ignore. That is what happened with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. A closer comparison might be Kane and Artemi Panarin. Kane had the best season of his career in his first season with the eventual four-time All-Star. Bedard's silky passing would make sweet music with Misa's lethal intelligence and shot. They would feed off each other in ways that would make the Chicago Blackhawks a team nobody wants to play. Maybe the Sharks have second thoughts at the last minute. It has happened before. If Frondell is indeed their guy, the Blackhawks catch a massive break.
