What came before :
30. New Jersey Devils : Kasperi Kapanen 29. Los Angeles Kings : Brendan Lemieux 28. Tampa Bay Lightning : Julius Honka
Now :
27. The Chicago Blackhawks select Centre Conner Bleackley of the Red Deer Rebels in the WHL
6’0, 197lbs, 1996-07-02 : 17 years old
71 – 29g – 39a – 68p
So originally I had a very different player in mind for Chicago when I began writing this up, but the more I reflected on it, it was just too much of a stretch to happen. So I scrapped it and went with somebody a lot more close to the consensus who still seems like a solid fit. Plus, nepotism be damned!
Bleackley is a versatile centre who had a very solid year and showed enough glimpses of improvement that his stock as a prospect going forward is much higher than it is simply entering the draft. By this I mean he basically had a 50 point improvement on his rookie year in the WHL, got himself named Captain of the Rebels and showed himself to be a vocal leader both domestically and internationally. He and Sam Reinhart were the only draft eligible players to suit up for the WHL at the Super Series against Russia, something that tells you about the trust people have in him. He’s a player who never stops skating and brings a ton of effort every night. His versatility comes with that level of effort and he showed he was just as effective playing on the second line at the U18’s as he was playing as the top centre in the WHL. His commitment to all three zones is another aspect of his game that will help him, primarily because he just never quits on a play. He’s the guy the Rebels relied on the most, he takes every important draw, he plays in all situations and Brent Sutter isn’t afraid to push his ice-time past the 25 minute mark when he needs to. One thing that really stands out is his play on the power play, he never stops moving which opens up a lot of space and makes him hard to predict, he ended up with 10 PPG’s and 23 PPP’s tops for his team.
The offensive skills are obviously there, the bigger question is how much will they transfer over? Some scouts seem uncertain whether he will be just a solid energy forward or whether he has that extra little something. Considering his rather young age for this draft and his meteoric improvement from his 16 year old rookie campaign, I think it’s safe to say that the best from Bleackley is yet to come.
As for the Blackhawks, their drafting has been relatively straight forward due to high levels of contention; outside of Terà¤và¤inen they have made pretty safe picks in the late first. Guys who more or less are expected to be very good third line players to infuse youth into their bottom-6 continually as their top-6 “core… pulls the load. I think Bleackley fits into this mold, but with slightly more upward mobility than some of their previous picks in this position. If he’s still available at 27, which is still up in the air, this could be a match made in heaven.
Comparison : Joe Pavelski (Not the 40 goal level one)
Thanks for reading. Les habitants prochaine.