The Chicago Blackhawks would give anything for another Connor Bedard or Macklin Celebrini to headline the 2025 NHL Draft.
As of today, the Blackhawks are aligned with another potential No. 1 pick – at worst the No. 3 pick. That would make for three consecutive years of top-three selections. They took Bedard first in 2023 and defenseman Artyom Levshunov second in 2024.
The Levshunov pick was heavily dissected. The Blackhawks were torn between Levshunov and forward Ivan Demidov and even attempted a trade to draft both. Demidov went fifth to the Montreal Canadiens. Blackhawks fans were all in on Demidov largely because he was a forward and seemed like a potential running mate for Bedard. The Blackhawks instead went with Levshunov with their rebuild focused on building from the back.
That brings us to another potential dilemma for the Blackhawks in 2025. Another defenseman, Matthew Schaefer, could emerge as the consensus top player in the draft. He was atop the NHL’s Central Scouting midseason rankings earlier this week. He’s also near the top of Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler’s rankings. If the Blackhawks win the No. 1 pick in the lottery and Schafer is the best player, will they pick him? Let’s analyze.
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The Blackhawks’ pipeline
The Blackhawks have invested a lot of early-round draft picks in defensemen in recent years. They took Levshunov in 2024, Kevin Korchinski at No. 7 in 2022 and Sam Rinzel at No. 25 in 2022.
Levshunov, 19, has spent the entire season in the AHL and has been adapting to professional life on and off the ice. The Blackhawks have been encouraged by his development, especially how his play has become more structured. Korchinski, 20, spent all of last season in the NHL due to his age and has spent time in the NHL and AHL this season. His defensive game has improved, and the Blackhawks continue to push him to be more aggressive offensively. The 20-year-old Rinzel was a project draft pick with a high upside, and he’s turning into what the Blackhawks hoped. He’s been one of the top defensemen in men’s college hockey this season as a sophomore at Minnesota and has put himself into the Hobey Baker discussion.
In addition, the Blackhawks already had several young defensemen they like in their system. Alex Vlasic, a 2019 second-round pick, has emerged as one of the NHL’s best young shutdown defensemen. Nolan Allan (first round, 2021), Wyatt Kaiser (third round, 2020), Louis Crevier (seventh round, 2020) and Ethan Del Mastro (fourth round, 2021) have played in the NHL this season or last season and are all 23 or younger.
What to know about Matthew Schaefer
Schaefer, who is 6 feet, 2 inches and 183 pounds, has been tremendous when healthy this season. He was arguably the best player at the Hlinka Gretzky and the CHL/USNTDP series. He was also Canada’s best player at World Juniors until he broke his clavicle. He plays for the Erie Otters in the OHL.
Schaefer’s main asset is his skating. He’s a powerful, effortless skater who will be able to close gaps and transition up ice at a clear NHL level. He uses his feet to attack often, leading and supporting rushes very well. He is a very intelligent defenseman with legit offensive skills. He creates a lot of chances with his skating, but he can also break down opponents one-on-one with his hands and finds a lot of seams to make plays.
Because of his athleticism, Schaefer closes on checks at a high level. He’s also a great competitor. He uses his size to make stops, gives a great effort every shift and projects to be able to stop top players in the NHL. He projects as a star No. 1 defenseman in the NHL.
Here are some clips of him from this season:
How Schaefer compares to Blackhawks defensemen
Schafer would be the best young defenseman in the organization. Levshunov is a great talent and projects as a top-pair defenseman. Schaefer arguably has just as much offense as Levshunov, maybe a half-notch below, but is clearly superior defensively. He is miles ahead of talents such as Korchinski and Rinzel, who are very good prospects.
Would the Blackhawks draft Schaefer?
The Blackhawks have been doing their homework on Schaefer and will continue to do so. They want to make sure they know him inside and out. They’ll weigh what he brings to the table against the available forward prospects. The Blackhawks don’t want to simply pass on Schaefer because he’s a defenseman. If they believe he’s a game-changer and potentially better than any other prospect in their system, they’ll consider him.
Drafting Schaefer would obviously complicate the Blackhawks’ defensive pipeline and potentially force them to consider trading another top defenseman in time. You can have only so many power-play quarterbacks and top-four defensemen. You also don’t want to be spending too much of your salary cap space on one position. The Blackhawks have to pay Bedard and plenty of other forwards in the coming years.
It’s also important to note Schaefer is not considered the runaway, no-doubt No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. He is a very strong candidate, but it would be reasonable for the Blackhawks to decide to lean in a different direction, be it for positional reasons or simply different player evaluations.
If the Blackhawks think it’s a close call, their pressing need to add skill and scoring could take priority. If it’s not close and they think Schaefer is the next, say, Miro Heiskanen, they’d take Schaefer.
Finally, there is also always the chance the Blackhawks could move back in the draft if Schaefer is the best player available and another team wants him more than the Blackhawks do. It can be difficult to get those types of trades done, as the Blackhawks learned last season, but it could be worth looking into if the scenario presents itself.
(Photo: Dennis Pajot / Getty Images)
