\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFebruary 10, 2026\u00a0\u00a0(9:51)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t ![\"Oct](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/640987.webp.webp\" "\\"Oct")
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Photo credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Keaton Verhoeff suddenly feels like the Chicago Blackhawks\u2019 kind of top-five swing, and the draft lottery drama just got louder.<\/p>\n
That matters; if the Panthers keep sliding, Chicago will ultimately lose their pick.<\/p>\n
If that pick rolls to 2027, Chicago still controls its own first-rounder and could be right back hunting another franchise piece.<\/p>\n
The Blackhawks sit sixth-worst right now, and selling a veteran or two could keep them in the top-five conversation into spring.<\/p>\n
They already added Anton Frondell in 2025, a 2025 first-rounder taken third overall by Chicago, and he\u2019s still only 18. The pipeline is real, but you never stop stacking elite.<\/p>\n
Verhoeff is the cleanest \u201cswing for the blue line\u201d name in this range, a right-shot defender playing at North Dakota. He\u2019s 17, draft-eligible in 2026, and scouts talk like he\u2019s a potential top pick.<\/p>\n
Chicago can point to Connor Murphy and Artyom Levshunov, but the right side always needs more bullets, especially with roster turnover coming.<\/p>\n
Keaton Verhoeff could reshape the Chicago Blackhawks<\/p>\n
Blackhawks fans are tired of waiting, but you can feel the optimism when a legit top-pair ceiling is even on the board.<\/p>\n
If the organization thinks Murphy is heading out before the draft, a 6-foot-4 righty who defends with reach is the kind of bet that ages well.<\/p>\n
The pure power-forward option here is Ethan Belchetz, a 17-year-old 2026-eligible winger with Windsor. At 6-foot-5, he brings the size Chicago\u2019s forward group still lacks.<\/p>\n
The production pops too, 53 points in 49 games this season, which is exactly why he\u2019s in the top-five orbit.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s Gavin McKenna, 18, 2026-eligible, and the highest-upside wild card if he actually slips within reach. His 129 points in 56 WHL games a year ago still hang over this class.<\/p>\n
The complication is the off-ice noise, including the aggravated assault charge that was later withdrawn, which has clearly muddied the conversation around him.<\/p>\n
For Chicago, this top-five pick is about fitting next to Connor Bedard long-term, and the next milestone is seeing how hard Kyle Davidson sells at the deadline to protect those lottery odds.<\/p>\n
Previously on Chicago Hockey Insider<\/p>\n
POLL<\/p>\n
12 HOURS AGO|67 ANSWERS<\/p>\n
Chicago Blackhawks no longer interested in selecting Gavin McKenna: One clear choice remains<\/p>\n
Should the Chicago Blackhawks draft Keaton Verhoeff with a top-5 pick?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PUBLICATION Sam Walker February 10, 2026\u00a0\u00a0(9:51) Photo credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images Keaton Verhoeff suddenly feels…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5115],"tags":[521,37,96,5263,21433,766,5,181,2529,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-453998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-blackhawks","8":"tag-blackhawks","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","11":"tag-chicagoblackhawks","12":"tag-ethan-belchetz","13":"tag-gavin-mckenna","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-hockey-news","16":"tag-keaton-verhoeff","17":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116049847011302946","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}