Chicago Blackhawks Notes: A GREAT No. 2 Debate, Thoughts on Vosters, Welcome Rick Ball, Draft Talk, and Other Bullets (2024)

I wanted to open my bullets this morning with some thoughts about the Blackhawks making a significant change to their television broadcasts, moving on from Chris Vosters to long-time NHL play-by-play guy Rick Ball. The team announced the change on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting things weren’t all great behind the scenes.

The Blackhawks’ sudden firing of Chris Vosters was the result of a change of heart in the team’s view of his broadcasting and a strained relationship with Darren Pang, sources tell the Sun-Times.
Story by @Jeffa*grest: https://t.co/stNxnVPerB— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) June 6, 2024
See Also
Chicago Blackhawks Notes: Stanley Cup Final Finally Begins, No. 2 Talk, Carolina Buzz, Buffalo Shopping 11, and Other Bullets Chicago Blackhawks Notes: Happy Anniversary, Levshunov Impresses, a Game One Shutout, Expansion? and Other Bullets

I worked around and with Vosters for the last two years, and I’ll echo what a few others beat writers have said on their social media accounts. He’s a good dude who worked incredibly hard at his craft. He didn’t come into a great situation — replacing Pat Foley and learning the game while calling games for a bad team in transition — and I credit him fully for the effort he put in. Fans didn’t warm up to him as quickly as the organization wanted and they responded by making this change. I hope for nothing but the best for Vosters in whatever comes next in his career.

The Blackhawks are bringing in a fabulous play-byplay voice in Rick Ball, whose work over the past two decades has been solid. Here are some good examples of this work for those who aren’t familiar with him:

Rick Ball is one of the most underrated play-by-play announcers in the NHL.
Here are some of his calls from the Calgary-Chicago game on Jan. 27, 2024. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Wnf850L0ag— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) June 6, 2024

We’ve got a couple draft-related pieces from the team at The Athletic to dig into this morning. The first one I’ll highlight is exactly the story I’ve been praying to get from them for weeks now: Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman debating who the Blackhawks should take at No. 2 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft.

If you’ve read my mock draft roundups, I’ve been keeping an eye on these two for a couple significant reasons. First, I have a great deal of respect for their work and evaluation of prospects. They’re a couple of the best in the game, and their thorough consideration and consistent work on the draft for months leading up to the actual selections is tremendous. Second, they don’t agree on what the Blackhawks should do at No. 2, and have very different opinions on Ivan Demidov.

Here are a couple comments from each of them on Demidov:

Wheeler on why they should take Demidov: “I see first-line, game-breaking-level skill. A potential running mate for Bedard at five-on-five and on PP1. I’m talking point-per-game upside. They’re going to need another one or two of those around Bedard (every top team has two at minimum and sometimes three or four) and the best way to find that is to draft it because those guys are almost never available in free agency.”

Pronman on explaining his lower evaluation of Demidov: “I can buy Demidov at No. 2 if you see a potential next [Artemi] Panarin or [Karill] Kaprizov. That’s a superstar. I couldn’t get there with him this season as I could with, say, Matvei Michkov, who Demidov has size and compete edges on but his offensive touch is behind at the same point and times. For me, the comps for Demidov have been names like Lucas Raymond, Kevin Fiala and Jeff Skinner.”

Finally, here’s what each said about the why/why not on taking Artyom Levshunov at No. 2:

Pronman on taking Levshunov at 2: “Levshunov is the choice for me at No. 2. He ticks every box. He has an NHL frame and skating ability. He has great hands and offensive sense. He makes a ton of plays, showing more offense in the Big Ten as a draft eligible than either Owen Power or Quinn Hughes at the same age. He also played tough minutes and killed penalties for Michigan State even if his defensive play isn’t the main thing I like about him. He had arguably the best modern-era season ever by a draft-eligible defenseman in college, he just happened to do it in the same season in which Zeev Buium was arguably better. He looks like a potential No. 1 defenseman in the NHL in my book. He has some Brent Burns in him.”

Wheeler on why not: “There’s still some rawness to Levshunov’s game that does come with some projection risk. The athletic tools are clearly there. He’s talented. He impacted play offensively and defensively at a very high level this season as a teenager in college hockey. I think it’s close, too, and there’s a real chance he becomes the more impactful NHLer. But he’s going to have to take some important steps to be a truly elite player, like Demidov will.”

My summary: they agree Levshunov might be the safer pick at No. 2 overall. Pronman believes he can be a true No. 1 defenseman and PP1 QB; Wheeler feels he’s more of a No. 2 defenseman with great tools and skill but needs work (all defenseman do, by the way). Where they differ is on the likelihood of Demidov reaching the Panarin/Kaprisov ceiling vs. the Raymond/Skinner floor (which is still a 70-point winger by the way). Wheeler believes to bet on the ceiling; Pronman believes you take the top defenseman. This is a great discussion. Highly recommend.

. @scottcwheeler and I debate who Chicago should take with the second pick in the 2024 NHL draft https://t.co/k4rji*zJrMI
— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) June 7, 2024

This is a terrific draft-focused mailbag from Scott Wheeler at The Athletic that I highly recommend. Here are a couple nuggets that stick out a bit for various reasons from a Blackhawks perspective.

Comparing a couple puck-moving defensem*n who could factor into the top 10-12 overall picks, Zeev Buium and Zayne Parekh:

They’re both the same size and that contrasts them against the length of Artyom Levshunov, Anton Silayev, Sam Dickinson and Carter Yakemchuk. They’re also viewed as power-play, offensive types.
But their games are very different in tools/makeup and how they use them. Buium is a stronger skater and uses his skating to create the bulk of his offence and defend at a higher level than Parekh.

On the wide range of perceptions/rankings of Michael Hage (someone who interests lots of Blackhawks fans at No. 18 overall) and how hew views the prospect:

I actually think he has a real competitive spirit and find he’s engaged physically (I’ve seen him knock his fair share of guys over) on top of those other tools you hinted at (range, speed, playmaking, scoring, position, etc.).
I think he’s going to have a great summer of steady training and then surprise some people at Michigan and into the NHL.

And which players does he feel are “true” first-round players (in any/most years) in this draft:

Let’s list them out. Macklin Celebrini, Ivan Demidov, Artyom Levshunov, Zeev Buium, Zayne Parekh, Sam Dickinson, Cole Eiserman, Berkly Catton, Anton Silayev, Konsta Helenius, Cayden Lindstrom, Tij Iginla, Carter Yakemchuk, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Beckett Sennecke, Trevor Connelly. That’s 16 easy ones. I think you can probably add Michael Hage, Adam Jiricek, Stian Solberg and Liam Greentree (though Greentree does have some skeptics, it’s hard to imagine him as a second-rounder with his size, production, the “C” in Windsor, etc.) to that list as well. So that’s 20. Some might push it to 21 or 22 by arguing for a player like Sacha Boisvert or Jett Luchanko, but I think that’s where you’d start to lose a consensus in an “any year” categorization.

2024 NHL Draft mailbag: Zayne Parekh vs. Zeev Buium, 2023 risers, 2024 fallers and more ⤵️https://t.co/GoXOyqYH4e
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) June 6, 2024

Speaking of the draft, Hockey Prospects Radio is promoting their draft shows on Sirius/XM radio coming up this weekend. Their rankings have a series of changes from a lot of what we’ve seen from other outlets, most notably having Adam Jiricek at No. 10 in front of both Zayne Parekh and Carter Yakemchuk. I’m interested in hearing their profiles to hear their thinking in these rankings.

2024 @NHL Draft Special on the @SIRIUSXM App will have all 4 @NHL Preview Shows and Prospect Profiles from @HpRadio on @SiriusXMNHL this week and weekend. Search for "NHL Draft Special" on your @SIRIUSXM APP pic.twitter.com/LRaqci8DMe— Shane Malloy, PhDc, MBA, CHP (@ShaneMalloy) June 6, 2024

Finally, since we love tracking the progress of recently drafted players on the ice, let’s do it on the diamond as well.

Big Night for the Cubs' Top Two 2023 Pitching Draft Picks, Will Sanders and Jaxon Wigginshttps://t.co/aNWwionVuS pic.twitter.com/vgCba8q1jG
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) June 7, 2024

written by

Tab Bamford

Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the author of two books about the Blackhawks: "100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagram/Threads at @The1Tab