CHGO Blackhawks NHL Draft Diary Day Two: One More Sleep 'til Connor Bedard

Day Two of our Nashville trip was the busiest yet. It started early in the morning with the ALLCITY Network Mock Draft and concluded with some tunes and brewskis on Broadway. Time for day two of my CHGO Blackhawks NHL Draft Diary.

9:00 am | It’s Only Make Believe

After weeks of planning, then non-planning, then planning again, somehow, the ALLCITY Network Mock Draft came together.

The War Room at the ⁦ALLCITY NHL Mock Draft. ⁦@CHGO_Blackhawks⁩, ⁦@DNVR_Avalanche⁩ and ⁦@PHNX_Coyotes⁩ all participated. We’ll drop it later today. pic.twitter.com/VfF0O18UHb

— Jay Zawaski (@jayzawaski) June 27, 2023

Greg Boysen, Mario Tirabassi, Leah Merrall, Craig Morgan, Steve Peters, Shawn Depaz, Jesse Montano, Meghan Angley, AJ Haefele, Nathan Rudolph and myself all took part, each selecting a number of picks. When the smoke cleared, the 32 picks had been made. Here’s a look at the results.

1. Chicago: Jay: Connor Bedard

2. Anaheim: Rudo: Adam Fantilli

3. Columbus: Greg: Will Smith

4. San José: Leah: Leo Carlsson

5. Montréal: Petey: Matvei Mitchkov

6. Arizona: Craig: Dalibor Dvorsky

7. Philadelphia: Shawn: Ryan Leonard

8. Washington: Jesse: David Reinbacher

9. Detroit: Mario: Oliver Moore 

10. St. Louis: Meghan: Dmitry Simashev

11. Vancouver: Rudo: Zach Benson

12. Arizona: Leah: Matthew Wood 

13. Buffalo : Shawn: Tom Wallinder 

14. Pittsburgh: Jay: Brayden Yager

15. Nashville: AJ: Nate Danielson 

16. Calgary: Jesse: Gabe Perreault

17. Detroit: Mario: Axel Sandin Pellikka

18. Winnipeg: AJ: Samuel Honzek

19. Chicago: Greg: Colby Barlow

20. Seattle: Jesse: Otto Stenberg 

21. Minnesota: Petey: Cal Ritchie

22. Philadelphia: Shawn: Quentin Musty 

23. NY Rangers: Greg: Oliver Bonk

24. Nashville: AJ: Mikael Gulyavev

25. St. Louis: Craig: Daniil But 

26. San Jose: Leah: Eduard Sale

27. Colorado: Meghan: Gavin Brindley

28. Toronto: Mario: Andrew Cristall

29. St. Louis: Craig: Etienne Morin

30. Carolina: Jay: Bradly Nadeau 

31. Montréal: Petey: Ethan Gauthier

32.Vegas: Meghan: Beau Akey

11:00 am | Hello Hall

At long last, we were finally ready to sit down and do a podcast. It was our first time sharing our long-form thoughts on the Taylor Hall/Nick Foligno trade, and it was nice to chat about some hockey stuff instead of speculative stuff for the first time in a while.

1:00 pm | A Little More Chicken Fried

It was time for our CHGO Blackhawks party at Hopsmith Nashville, and it was awesome. Giant mozzarella sticks, killer wings, oh, and the company was pretty great as well.

We had guests from Toronto, Pennsylvania, Florida, and of course, Chicago at our get-together. It was an awesome time, and we’re so grateful for your support and for the opportunity to put some faces to some names.

6:00 pm | Meat and Potatoes, Man

I had to put on a button-down shirt and long pants, which typically would be unacceptable, but for the dinner we had at Luogo, it was worth it. We had the opportunity to dine with some members of the Blackhawks Beat and talk about things other than hockey, which was nice. If you’re looking for a classy meal in Nashville, Luogo (not Luongo) is the spot. It was excellent.

9:00 pm | Night Life

We finally got a chance to hit the strip, and as you’d expect, we had some encounters with some hockey luminaries, including Luke Richardson, John Buccigross, Meghan Hunter, Pete DeBoer, Cam Robinson and many more. Broadway was hopping, and I got to hear my favorite 90s country song, Chattahoochee, while at Tootsie’s.

Long-time Blackhawks fans might remember Tootsie’s as the spot where former coach Brian Sutter put forward Tyler Arnason up against the bar room wall.

12:30 am | Much Too Young (to Feel This Damn Old)

While the more youthful members of the ALLCITY Network decided to stay out and tear up Broadway, the old men in the party, Greg and I, decided to call it a night. Wednesday is Bedard Day, and we want to be rested.

One. More. Sleep.

Goodnight #Blackhawks fans! pic.twitter.com/WrBUa9zHpl

— CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) June 28, 2023

Talk to you tomorrow after what will be one of the biggest days in Blackhawks’ history.