Blackhawks acquire 27th pick in 2024 NHL Draft from Hurricanes for 34th and 50th picks

Two picks were not enough for the team from the Windy City.

Late in the first round at Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday night, the Chicago Blackhawks acquired the 27th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from the Carolina Hurricanes. In return, the Hurricanes received the 34th and 50th selections.

The Blackhawks ended up taking Brantford Bulldogs winger Marerk Vanacker.

It was the team’s third pick in the opening round in Sin City. Chicago selected Michigan State standout Artyom Levshunov with the No. 2 pick in the draft, before taking Sacha Boisvert from the Muskegon Lumberjacks 18th overall.

The move does not give the Hurricanes a pick on the opening day of the draft. However, they have a chance to grab a few good players during the second round on Saturday. With the 34th overall pick, talented forwards like Yaroslavl’s Egor Surin and Ryder Ritchie of the Prince Albert Raiders can bolster the team’s organizational depth at the forward position. Defensively, Leo Sahlin Wallenius from Swedish Under-20 squad Vaxjo might be a guy new general manager Eric Tulsky looks at taking a swing at, as well as U.S. National Team Development Program standout Cole Hutson.

With the 50th overall selection, it is anyone’s guess which top players will be available at that point. Daily Faceoff draft expert Steve Ellis has Baie-Comeau Drakker forward Justin Porier as the 50th-best player on the draft board, with London Knights forward Sam O’Reilly as the No. 51 available prospect. Matvei Shuravin from the MHL’s Krasnaya Armiya and Oshawa Generals d-man Ben Danford could also be a couple of blueline options.

As a result of the trade, the Blackhawks have seven scheduled picks in this year’s draft, while Carolina has 10, including three in the second round.