The Chicago Blackhawks had three first-round picks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and used them all to add even more great pieces to an already deep prospect pool.

Chicago drafted Artyom Levshunov at No. 2, Sacha Boisvert at No. 18, and Marek Vanacker at No. 27. Those weren't the only players the Blackhawks were looking to draft in the first round last year though. There were rumors that Ivan Demidov was a key target, but the team wasn't able to swing a deal.

According to Pierre LeBrun, the Blackhawks tried to draft Demidov at No. 4, but they couldn't acquire the pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blackhawks reportedly offered Columbus their unprotected 2026 first-round pick (that will likely be a lottery pick again) for the Blue Jackets' fourth overall pick in 2024.

This would've seen the Blackhawks grab two elite prospects and two other good ones in the first round, speeding up the rebuild just a little and setting them up very nicely for the future.

The Blue Jackets ended up taking their chances and instead of drafting Demidov themselves, selected Cayden Lindstrom. This allowed Demidov to fall to the Montreal Canadiens at fifth overall, and thus see him excel in the KHL this season and make his way over to the NHL and the Canadiens as they are slated to clinch the playoffs for the first time since the COVID season (2020-21).

We can't yet tell how this will play out long term for the Blackhawks as there should be some future stars at the top of the 2026 draft, but Demidov has proven himself outside of the NHL already and is going to be very good. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks just couldn't swing a deal.

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