Maybe I'm not being as alarmist as I should be, but I look at Hawks roster and I see a lot of old guys without longterm commitments. I don't want to see Bedard frustrated of course but he's a grownup, he'll be fine if his points start flowing again.
Being at the bottom of the standings is a better case scenario than finishing in 24th place. I like the top of the draft but it doesn't seem like the kind of draft that's 15 players deep if you know what I mean.
If my instincts are right, they will give Nazar, Dach and Slaggert all opportunity to be regulars on next year's roster. Added to Bedard and Reichel, that would give the 2025-26 Hawks Five 23 And Under (born 2002 or later) Forwards, to add to a list of young defensemen, with more 1st/2nd/3rd round picks likely to come.
Would love to see the Hawks walk away with a high impact player from this Draft, which likely does require a high pick. I want the Hawks to be competitive and well positioned during Bedard's RFA years. Where they are in five years matters to me a lot more than the fact they keep losing games in which they trail by 1 goal in the third period late.
