What the Chicago Blackhawks Should Do if They Draw the Third Pick – The Hockey Writers – Chicago Blackhawks

The 2026 NHL Draft Lottery is a day full of wonder. What teams will move up and what teams will move down? Will there be a repeat like last year, when the New York Islanders moved up nine spots in the lottery and were able to take Matthew Schaefer? The possibilities are endless. Unfortunately for the Chicago Blackhawks, they find themselves back in this situation again, finishing this past season with the second-worst record in the league. 

That might not be the worst thing in the world, though. The Blackhawks need to get Connor Bedard some help, and drawing the second- or first-overall pick would help to spring them in that direction. Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg are the top two players in this draft class, and they’re both forwards. However, if the lottery balls don’t fall in the Blackhawks’ favor, and they draw the third or fourth-overall pick, what are the possible paths, and which one should they take? 

Drafting Caleb Malhotra 

It’s been reported that the Blackhawks are very high on forward Caleb Malhotra. Malhotra has moved up the draft board throughout the last couple of months and has impressed all scouts. Malhotra, by the time he’s drafted, will be 18 years old. With the Brantford Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League, he had 29 goals and 55 points, tallying up to 84 points in 67 games played. Next season, he will be playing for Boston University in the NCAA. 

Malhotra is touted to be the best pure center coming into this year’s draft. If Chicago drafts him, he’ll bring some size up the middle that is desperately needed, with his 6-foot-2, 183-pound frame. Bedard and Frank Nazar are both under six feet tall, so he will be complementing that nicely. 

The only downside to taking Malhotra is the fact the Blackhawks are currently loaded with centers who could be in the top six: Bedard, Nazar, and even Anton Frondell, who got his first crack at the position and performed well. While there may be a bit of a struggle to find where he really fits in the lineup, the Blackhawks really like Malhotra. If they do end up selecting him third overall, it won’t be a surprise. 

Drafting and Trading a Defenseman 

Drafting Malhotra would represent a solid addition to the pool of already top prospects; however, drafting and trading a defenseman is the option the Blackhawks should go with. Anything below the second-overall pick needs to be reevaluated; The Blackhawks could just trade the third-overall pick, or instead, they could make a blockbuster trade and a blockbuster pick. 

The first step would be to trade a young defender, such as Artyom Levshunov or Sam Rinzel, to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Matthew Knies. Levshunov or Rinzel would be the key piece going back to Toronto. The Maple Leafs claimed they wanted to retool, and this is the way to do it: adding a young defenseman who can play in the NHL and drastically improve over the next couple of years. Morgan Rielly is 32 years old and isn’t going to be there forever — they’re going to need a new leader on the defensive core sooner rather than later. 

No one should be giving up on Levshunov or Rinzel. Levshunov, the second-overall pick in 2024, struggled a lot last season but showed good qualities, and Rinzel came up from his stint with the Rockford Icehogs looking like a brand new defenseman. Defenders take more time to develop in the NHL, though; they both have bright futures ahead of them in the league and will be spark plugs within the next couple of years. It’s just that’s what is going to need to happen if this deal is going to get done. 

With the third-overall pick, the Blackhawks should select one of Keaton Verhoeff, Chase Reid, or Carson Carels to compensate for losing Levshunov or Rinzel. All three have a ton of potential. They’ll slot into a top role, whether it’s this upcoming season or the season after. The most important thing out of this would be finally getting Bedard some help with bringing Knies onto his wing. From there, the team could just let them do their thing and start winning some hockey games.