Blackhawks’ 2026 Second Round Picks Were Great Bets

We’re now a few days removed from the 2026 NHL Draft, and draft grades have been released for most teams. While the Chicago Blackhawks didn’t have a selection in the first round after the Bowen Byram trade, they did have two selections in the second round.

With their two second-round selections, the Blackhawks took left-shot defenseman Xavier Villeneuve with the 34th pick and left winger Ryan Roobroeck with the 35th.

While the two selections are completely different builds and positions, each of their scouting reports had a few similarities. Both Roobroeck and Villeneuve had some significant flaws that created a very boom-or-bust pick.

In Roobroeck’s case, something that was noticeable for scouts was a big compete level problem. The Hockey Writers’ own Lukas Bernasiewicz said in Roobroeck’s draft profile:

There were times he he looked disinterested and disengaged on the ice. He put up a lot of points, but that was because his skill level was miles ahead of his peers. On multiple occasions this season, Roobroeck floated and did not look engaged.

With Villeneuve, there is a mix of opinion on his complete level, but where the undisputable flaws come are in the defensive zone. With his smaller frame, he isn’t the most physical prospect, and at times, he can try to make extremely risky plays, which may be a problem at the pro level.

Although there are flaws, there is also some serious upside with both of these prospects. Villeneuve is an elite skater; there is no denying that. He can also create a lot of opportunities with his vision, passing ability and shiftiness while carrying the puck.

The pros in his game give him the upside of being a top pair, dynamic offensive defenseman, but this is the definition of boom or bust with the flaws in his size, defensive game and a little bit of an injury history as well.

With Roobroeck, what stands out is his shot. Most scouting reports I’ve seen rave about it, and with his big frame, that’s really intriguing to me. The skill he possesses is what makes him arguably a first-round prospect.

Why These Are Good Bets

When you’re drafting in the second-round, even in the late first round, you’re never going to find flawless prospects. The flawless prospects are going to top three, so you’re going to have to live with some weak points in the game of the prospect you’re drafting.

To me, what matters is the tools they possess. Both Villeneuve and Roobroeck possess tools that can make them top-end NHL players; whether they actually develop into that is a different conversation, and we’ll have to wait on it.

Why these bets are worth making is that the Blackhawks have such a loaded prospect pool, plus an extremely young roster. As of right now, the Blackhawks’ average age on their roster is just 25.04 years old, which would’ve made them barely younger than the 2025-26 Montreal Canadians, who were the youngest team in the NHL.

The reason why this matters to the context of the draft is that with such a young roster, plus a loaded prospect pool, why do they need another mid-tier prospect? There is already a little bit of a logjam of young players trying to make the team now.

Anton Frondell is playing his first full season in the NHL, Sacha Boisvert got his first taste of NHL hockey last season and Roman Kantserov is someone the Blackhawks are really excited about. Those are just three names to look forward to.

Taking big swings on real boom or bust players is what Blackhawks general manager (GM) Kyle Davidson should be doing. If Villeneuve ends up being a top-pairing defenseman, then it might be looked at as the pick of the draft, while if he’s a bust, it won’t make or break the future of their current prospect pool.

I love when GMs draft for high upside rather than trying to go for safe picks. While I’ve been hard on Davidson so far, I think he made two smart picks in the second round.