BLOG: Davidson Shares His Two Good Luck Charms During Draft Lottery

Before the NHL Draft Lottery began on Monday evening, Hockey Insider Frank Seravalli reached out to Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson to get a sense of how the organization felt heading into the show with the third-best odds of receiving the No. 1 pick in this year's draft. Instead of a written response, Davidson sent a picture of his two good luck charms that he felt would give the him and the team the best chance on lottery night.

The 34 year old showed two special names written on the inside of his hand: his four-month-old daughter, Willa, and Emmy, the child that he and his wife lost midway through a pregnancy in 2021.

Throughout his career, Seravalli has heard of similar stories ranging from players, general managers and owners, but none who were willing to share their stories like Davidson has.

"Not everyone's as front and center with something, especially like that, with Emmy, that is heartbreaking," Seravalli said on the latest episode of the Blackhawks Insider Podcast. "He was willing to share it and I appreciate that."

Seravalli believes it speaks to the transparency Davidson operates with as Blackhawks GM, and how open he is even with his own life that to be able to share a private moment that he and his family went through.

Not only does it show how open he is as a person, but also the honesty that he shares with the progress of the team.

"I think that's one of the things that I've appreciated most about my interactions with Kyle and the Blackhawks organization in the last few years," Seravalli said. "They have a real concern for process and how they're doing things. They want to do it the right way."

Seravalli believes that once the team drafts the No. 1 overall pick this summer, the hardest part of the rebuild is over. For the Blackhawks, they'll have the highest talent at their disposal, a position no other team has access to.

After they decide on who they will select on June 28, the fun will begin as then select 10 other picks from a deep draft class and start to see everything come together.

"Now that you have the pick of the litter, that just provides so much more flexibility," Seravalli said. "I think I'm really confident, and a lot of people are, in knowing what direction they're going to go down."