Breaking down Blackhawks' picks on Day 2 of NHL draft
LAS VEGAS — The Blackhawks are completing their 2024 class of NHL draft picks Saturday at the Sphere.
Their Saturday picks join their three first-round selections from Friday: defenseman Artyom Levshunov, center Sacha Boisvert and winger Marek Vanacker.
Analysis of every Day 2 pick can be found here:
Pick No. 67: John Mustard, forward
Besides having a name that will fit perfectly in Chicago — as long as no ketchup is included — Mustard is known as one of the best skaters in the entire 2024 draft, which also fits perfectly with the Hawks' preferences.
He tallied 56 points in 60 games with the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks — another funny coincidence — this past season and is committed to Providence for college. He has experience playing both center and wing, but more of the latter.
"I’m a pretty dynamic forward," Mustard said. "I like to play with a lot of speed and energy. I like to create plays."
Pick No. 72: AJ Spellacy, forward
Spellacy's athleticism is evidenced by the fact he played both hockey and football up until 16 years old — and had a promising future in both sports.
On the football front, he was actually a three-star free safety with offers from schools like Iowa State and Toledo, but he opted to head to Canada to play for the OHL's Windsor Spitfires instead. He plays hockey with intense speed and physicality like one would expect from a free safety, too.
"That comes from football, just having that mindset, being a killer out there," Spellacy said. "[That] goes with wearing the other team down. If you play that hard, you get in their head. If they’re scared of you they’re not going to do their best against you."
A Browns fan as a kid, his favorite player was Nick Chubb. But his NHL role model is Capitals pest Tom Wilson, which also indicates a lot about his playing style.
He's a thoroughly confident kid who tallied 38 points in 67 games for Windsor last season.
"I thought I was going to go a bit earlier [in the draft]," he said. "Once I started getting down into the third round, I was getting a little nervous. But I knew whoever picked me was going to get someone good...so I’m happy to be in Chicago."
Pick No. 92: Jack Pridham, forward
The Hawks traded their 2025 third-round pick to the Hurricanes to acquire this pick and draft Pridham, yet another speedy guy who described himself as a "skilled forward with good hockey sense."
His father Brandon works in the Maple Leafs' front office as a salary-cap guru, so Pridham is already quite familiar with the NHL. He was the runner for the Leafs' table at the 2015 and 2018 drafts and is training this summer with the Leafs' development staff.
He will return in 2024-25 to his BCHL club West Kelowna, where he tallied 49 points in 54 games last season, before going to Boston University in 2025-26.
Pick No. 138: Joel Svensson, forward
In the fifth round, the Hawks continued loading up with forwards by taking Svensson, a 6-2 Swede in his second year of draft eligibility.
He tallied 33 points in 25 games for Vaxjo HC's junior team last season while adding one point in seven games with the big-league team. His sister, Hilda, is one of Sweden's best women's hockey players.
Pick No. 163: Ty Henry, defenseman
The Hawks completed their draft class by, in the sixth round, taking a defenseman for the first time since Levshunov.
Henry is a 6-4 left-shot defenseman who tallied seven points in 54 games with the OHL's Erie Otters last season. Scouting director Mike Doneghey described him as "more athlete than hockey player," but there will be time for the latter aspect to develop.
This story will be updated.