You have Gustafsson, Jokiharju, Krys and Beaudin in the system on the left side (and Murphy and Boqvist on the right), with Keith and Seabrook to mentor them, and you're going to take another LhD with the third overall pick?!?!? I would have thought that Podkolzin was a perfect linemate for Anisimov.

Agree, this makes zero sense. The ONLY way Hawks take Byram is if they trade Beaudin which for the record, is not a bad strategy depending on the return. MTL's #14 pick for Beaudin and either Perlini or Sikura or Forsling?

Jokiharju is on the right. Gus is a UFA after 19-20, and a lot of folks don't see him being re-signed. Byram has a higher ceiling than any d prospect in our system, and he's the type of defenseman the Hawks need in the pipeline.

Podkolzin may or may not come over, and 21-22 looks like it will probably be the earliest. If we don't take Byram, I imagine it's Cozens.

Byram is not a wise pick for the Hawks. He will need time to marinate. The pick at #3 has to be Cozens.