Blackhawks to Pick 4th in 2026 NHL Draft: Takeaways From Davidson’s Post Lottery Presser – The Hockey Writers – Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks were guaranteed at least a top-four pick in the NHL Draft for the fourth year in a row. That’s what finishing near the bottom of the standings will do for you. For reference, Chicago won the lottery in 2023 and selected Connor Bedard first overall. In the 2024 NHL Draft, they picked defenseman Artyom Levshunov second overall. In 2025, the Blackhawks selected Anton Frondell with the third overall selection.

At the 2026 Draft lottery Tuesday night (May 5) the lottery balls didn’t go their way this time around, and the Blackhawks will have the fourth overall selection in the 2026 Draft on June 26. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the first drawing of the lottery, and own the first overall pick. The San Jose Sharks won the second drawing, and will select second overall. This dropped the Vancouver Canucks to third and the Blackhawks to fourth.

We spoke to Blackhawks’ general manager Kyle Davidson immediately following the draft lottery. Here are some notable takeaways from his press conference.

Implications of the Blackhawks 4th Overall Selection

It appears the theme has continued. After picking first in 2023, second in 2024 and third in 2025, the Blackhawks will select fourth overall in 2026. I guess you could look at this as “losing” the lottery, but it’s still the fourth overall draft pick! Obviously, Davidson spoke highly of the pedigree the team will get, regardless of being fourth overall versus first overall.

I think we were expecting, based on the odds that we were gonna be three or four. We’ve picked 1-2-3-4 in my tenure here, so we’ll complete the set.

We’re gonna get a great player. We’re gonna get a really good player. I think we’ve had, if you asked me a couple days ago, how many players could be in contention for something like this, I think I probably could have put five or six guys into the mix. And so we’re going to get a player that we absolutely love, that we see is a very important piece of this moving forward.

Davidson wouldn’t play his hand on whether the Blackhawks would pinpoint a certain type of player, such as a forward or defenseman. He just said they’ll be looking for the best available player when the board gets to their turn.

He also said he wouldn’t be adverse to trading the pick. “I’m open to talking to anyone about anything. Up, down, out; who knows, right? You have to be open to anything and consider it. But it’s pretty rare that those kind of picks are traded.”

The top two projected prospects, Gavin McKenna from Pennsylvania State (NCAA) or Ivar Stenberg of Frolunda HC (Swedish Hockey League) will most almost certainly be gone by the fourth overall pick. Could center Caleb Malhotra from the OHL Brantford Bulldogs still be available? This is the same OHL team Nick Lardis played for, and the Blackhawks also have two other prospects (Marek Vanacker and Parker Holmes) who currently play for the Bulldogs as well.

It could be an opportunity to keep things in the fold! Malhotra, a center, has been super hot this season, registering 29 goals and 84 points in 67 regular season games. He’s also added 13 goals and 26 points in 15 playoff games.

Caleb Malhotra mixtape just dropped 🔥 #NHLDraft

(🎥: @BulldogsOHL & @OHLHockey) https://t.co/bekteFWgjq pic.twitter.com/NzFfeH2y43

— NHL (@NHL) May 3, 2026

The Blackhawks could also opt to add a defenseman to their prospect pool, which doesn’t have a whole lot of depth outside of the current defensemen that have all recently graduated to the NHL (Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Kevin Korchinski). Some names among defensemen the Blackhawks could look at include Chase Reid (right-shot, Soo Greyhounds), Keaton Verhoeff (right shot, University of North Dakota) or Carson Carels (left shot, WHL Prince George Cougars).

As mentioned above, there’s also the possibility the Blackhawks trade their fourth overall pick. If that happens, things could certainly get interesting!

Bedard Contract Updates & Not Attending the World Championship

In other news, Bedard announced to the hockey world last Friday (May 1) that he will NOT be attending the upcoming World Championship for Team Canada. He indicated he really wanted to go, but felt it was the best decision to skip the tournament and give his shoulder more of a chance to rehab.

“When you get the opportunity (to play for Canada), it’s hard to say no,” said Bedard. “But at the end of the day, my number one focus is the Blackhawks and being the best player I can be come October. I feel like this is going to be beneficial to me in that way.” (from ‘Connor Bedard explains decision not to play for Team Canada at World Championship’, The AthleticCHI – 5/2/2026)

Davidson, for his part, said that was ultimately Bedard’s decision. But he was fully supportive of the choice.

We support him in that decision. I think it’s a little bit of a different circumstance than last year, where it was specifically just taking his option not to go, and working on his game. This year, it’s a little more that he’s got the shoulder he just wants to make sure is in in a good place now that the games have ended. So we certainly support him in that, hoping he has another offseason like he did last year.

Bedard certainly had a positive offseason last year, working on his speed and explosiveness and coming back a much more dynamic and dangerous player. Hopefully he can continue on this positive trajectory, and come to training camp completely healthy.

On Kantserov Potentially Coming Over From Russia

Blackhawks’ top prospect Roman Kantserov’s KHL team, Magnitogorsk Metallurg, was eliminated from their playoffs on Sunday (May 3). Chosen in the second round (44^th overall) of the 2023 Draft by the Blackhawks, the Russian winger has really taken off this season. He’s notched 36 goals and 64 points in 63 games this past season, and added four goals and eight points in 15 playoff games.

Kantserov hasn’t made any commitment that he’s headed over to the United States for the upcoming 2026-27 season. But it’s expected he will. After all, Davidson and the Blackhawks can pretty much guarantee the 21-year-old a top-six spot on an up-and-coming young and talented team.

The Blackhawks general manager weighed in on Kantserov’s play, and the forthcoming contract negotiations.

Had a great season, nice playoff run. Probably ended a little sooner than than he wished, obviously. But I think over the next couple weeks or so, hopefully we can chat with his representatives and just kind of see what they’re thinking.

While fans might be disappointed with the Blackhawks selecting fourth overall in the draft, it certainly would be a positive boost if the Blackhawks could get Kantserov in the fold sooner rather than later.

Davidson Encouraged by Young Teams Competing in the Playoffs

In one final note from Davidson’s press conference, he was asked if he was encouraged by other young teams, such as the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks, and Montreal Canadiens doing well in the playoffs.

Absolutely … every team’s very unique. And we certainly are a unique case, given how young we are on the back end, and how much volatility that brings from game to game. But the league is so tight and there’s so much parity that night in and night out, you don’t know how it’s going to go and which way it can go. And that lends itself to this unpredictability where, one injury, two injuries, you tumble down the standings. Or a couple players get hot, or take a step at a young age, and you start rocketing up the standings. And so that’s an exciting piece, because for us, I feel it’s all upside. We’re a very, very young roster that’s only going to improve, and that’s exciting moving forward.

Davidson seems to be hinting at when both Bedard and Frank Nazar got hurt in mid-December of last season. Before their injuries, the Blackhawks were in the playoff hunt. So it is encouraging for Chicago that other young teams are showing positive progression and making waves in this year’s postseason.

Could it possibly be the Blackhawks next year?

Things will be busy between now and the official 2026 NHL Draft on June 26 and 27 (at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY). Besides the No. 4 selection, the Blackhawks have three picks in the second round, one selection in each of the third and fourth rounds, and two selections in the seventh round. Davidson and the Blackhawks’ scouting staff will be busy reaching out to players and making final assessments. The Draft Combine is also scheduled from May 31 – June 6 at LECOM Harborcenter, also in Buffalo, NY.

Keep it here at The Hockey Writers, as we’ll have more draft analysis, player content and 2026-27 season previews throughout the offseason.