On May 8, the Chicago Blackhawks won the first-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft. This is, to say the least, one of the biggest moves ever in Blackhawks history—here’s why.

The NHL Draft is an annual event that this year will take place on June 28 and 29. In it, teams are chosen by the luck of the draw to draft young college talents from across the world. There are seven rounds in the draft, with each round introducing slightly worse players. This year, the #1 prospect on the ticket is certainly Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats of the WHL. In stats, talent, and overall performance, he is referenced over and over in the hockey world as “the next big one” and a “generational talent.”

The way in which the draft is set up is that teams that played badly throughout the season have a better shot at getting better future players. The Blackhawks, being the 30th (out of 32) team on the rankings this season, had 11.5% of winning first place, and yet, under such circumstances, successfully pulled it off. This now secures them the chance to select the great Connor Bedard, who has been compared to some of the best players to have ever played, from Gretzky to Jagr.

After a frankly disappointing last couple of seasons for the Hawks, this is a major shift and one that is poised to have huge consequences for the future. Clubs such as the Edmonton Oilers or perhaps the Washington Capitals a few years ago are often built around one or a cadre of big stars, and that certainly seems to be the path that the Blackhawks are choosing to take.

Overall, with Bedard guiding the offense and the Blackhawks having relatively recently freed their salary cap of the older core of Kane, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, and Crawford, the future definitely seems bright. All the team needs to avoid now is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, as they usually do. From the atrocious trades of Panarin or Lehner to letting Stan Bowman run the team as he pleased for too long, the Blackhawks certainly have a history of screwing things up, but if they can avoid it this time, then fans are certain to be satisfied.