Mock draft has Blackhawks eyeing offensive left-shot defenseman Carson Carels at No. 4

The Chicago Blackhawks have multiple ways to impact their roster-building timeline this summer, and a fresh mock draft option has them using their draft capital on a defenseman prospect whose junior profile reads like an answer to a very specific positional need. In a new projection, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler has the Blackhawks selecting left-shot WHL defender Carson Carels with the team’s fourth-overall pick if top options such as Ivar Stenberg are not available when Chicago is on the clock.

The pitch for Carels is built around upside and role projection. Carels, listed at 6-foot-2, is framed as a defenseman who can contribute offensively from the back end. In the WHL season cited in the mock draft scenario, Carels posted 20 goals, 53 assists, and 74 points across 58 games with the Prince George Cougars, a stat line that is difficult to ignore for a team looking for scoring support from its blueline.

That offensive production also helps explain why the mock has Chicago focused on the left side of the defense. The article notes that the Blackhawks “need help on the left side of their blueline,” and it connects Carels’ shooting side to the team’s longer-term fit. The underlying idea is that if Chicago is going to spend a high pick on a defender, it could be one who brings both puck-moving traits and the potential to develop into a top-pairing player later in his career.

The mock draft framework also underscores how much of draft strategy comes down to contingency plans. The scenario presented is not a certainty, but a conditional path based on availability. It assumes Stenberg is gone before the Blackhawks pick at No. 4, pushing Chicago toward Carels as a plausible alternative, while the mention of another top-five selection suggests the Blackhawks may still have room to address other areas of need within the first cluster of picks.

Even with the numbers and role logic, a mock draft is still an opinion about player value, not an organization’s final decision. Prospects can shift quickly as international tournaments, late-season performances, and offseason development plans change the way teams evaluate both ceiling and readiness. For Carels in particular, scouts will typically weigh how his offense translates against higher-end competition and whether his play-driving and defending balance holds up when opponents start game-planning specifically for his tendencies.

What to watch next for Chicago is the contrast between the team’s short-term defensive identity and what the prospect group can realistically deliver early. If the Blackhawks continue to prioritize adding a left-shooting defender with top-pair potential, Carels becomes a more coherent fit. If the draft board falls differently, Chicago could still pivot to another profile, especially given the team’s additional presence near the top of the first round. Either way, the key storyline is whether Chicago’s first-round choices keep pointing toward a blueline that can generate offense without compromising structure.

For fans, the simplest way to track whether this mock draft ages well is to follow Carels’ summer and his next slate of competitive games, alongside broader reporting on how Chicago’s decision-makers view the left side of their defensive depth chart. A player’s statistical output is only the starting point. The evaluation, in the end, comes down to fit, development trajectory, and whether a high pick translates into an NHL role that holds steady as the league adjusts.