LAS VEGAS — The Blackhawks chose forward Sacha Boisvert with the No. 18 pick in the NHL draft Friday, making him their second selection of the first round.
He joins defenseman Artyom Levshunov, whom the Hawks took second overall, in the Hawks’ ever-growing prospect pool.
It made sense the Hawks would target offense with the selection, and Boisvert certainly provides that. He tallied 68 points in 61 games last season with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, and more than half of those points were goals, demonstrating his shoot-first style.
At 6-2, he also adds some size to the Hawks’ forward prospect corps while simultaneously matching their established preference for players with high-level skating ability. He’s heading to North Dakota to play college hockey this coming season.
Early surprises
The Sharks surprised nobody by selecting forward Macklin Celebrini with the No. 1 overall pick, a choice that seemed written in stone for months.
After the Hawks took Levshunov, however, some surprises took place. The Ducks used on the No. 3 pick on forward Beckett Sennecke, who wasn’t even considered a possible top-10 pick until the past week or so. He looked stunned while standing up to hug his parents seconds later.
The Blue Jackets’ selection of forward Cayden Lindstrom at No. 4 and the Canadiens’ selection of forward Ivan Demidov at No. 5 followed the expected script, but the new Utah Hockey League then went off the board at No. 6, drafting forward Tij Iginla — the son of Jarome Iginla whom many expected to fall to the Flames at No. 9.
This story will be updated.