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Blackhawks: Luke Richardson talks like someone who wants to draft a big defenseman

 Andrew Taylor
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Blackhawks: Luke Richardson talks like someone who wants to draft a big defenseman
Credit: Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images

There are only a few weeks left before the NHL draft. The Canadiens, drafted fifth, are hoping to draft a forward, so they’re hoping the clubs ahead of them will take defensemen.

Because if Ivan Demidov and Cayden Lindstrom are drafted before the Habs’ turn to speak, Kent Hughes might just trade his pick.

Macklin Celebrini will (almost certainly) go first, but after that, it’s more complicated. The Ducks (3rd) seem to have more organizational needs on defense, but the Blackhawks (2nd) and Blue Jackets (4th) could go either way.

Yet, more and more, the idea of the Blackhawks taking a defenseman is the talk of the town… and during his appearance on the Coming In Hot Podcast, Luke Richardson talked like a guy who wants to draft a big defenseman :

We’re looking for big defensemen who cover space, who can defend and who can move the puck. – Luke Richardson

Richardson also mentioned that he’s looking for speed and talent on offense, but only briefly. It ‘s mainly on the subject of defensemen, whose importance he clearly sees in the current series, that he’s come a long way.

Obviously, we shouldn’t think this confirms that the Blackhawks want a defenseman, but when you consider that they’ve been linked to Artyom Levshunov(a youngster they’ve been watching a lot this year), you’d think he’d fit Richardson’s description. Anton Silayev and Sam Dickinson are no slouches either.

Let’s not forget that Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman recently did a mock draft for The Athletic, and the latter mocked Levshunov to the Blackhawks for one simple reason: if you have a choice between a winger and an impact defenseman you’ve seen play for two years in North America, it’s legitimate to opt for the defenseman.

And it’s a scenario like this that would help the Habs get their hands on Demidov or Lindstrom in the fifth spot: they have to hope that the clubs ahead of them fall in love with the defensemen or have doubts about the forwards.

Right now, the Blackhawks’ decision seems to be a true 50/50 between Demidov and one of the auction’s big defensemen (Levshunov, Silayev, etc.). But if Luke Richardson puts his fist on the table for a defenseman, he could be giving his former Montreal team a nice gift in the process.


In a gaggle

– Oops.

– Should the Habs try to get Seth Jarvis instead of Martin Necas?[BPM Sports]

– Well done.

– Nikita Zadorov was in fine form today. He taunted the Flames (his former team) and the Oilers in a matter of minutes,

– It’s surreal that one team has to issue a statement about another team’s players.

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