Could the Chicago Blackhawks' draft night been better? I suppose it could. They could have bundled their buttload of picks and sent them to Edmonton for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, thereby solving the second-line center dilemma. They could have had the NHL slip them cap space under the table so they wouldn't have to trade Brian Campbell.

But overall? A damn fine draft.

Let's meet the newest names to be rattled off in the "DA HOCKS GOTTA BRING UP THE NEW GUYS" rants...

MARK McNEILL C (1st Round, 18th overall) - If you listened to this week's Puckcast, you know neither Chris Block nor I thought he'd fall to the Hawks, but if he did, Stan Bowman would have to nab him. Obviously, Stan listened to us. I actually thought McNeill and Brandon Saad were the two perfect guys for the Hawks, but they'd wind up with Jamie Oleksiak, but Oleksiak was off the board by the time the Hawks picked. Funny how these things work out. McNeill blew people away at the scouting combine with his strength, and he's got real good hands. He's a righty shot, so I wouldn't expect him to be pivoting Marian Hossa any time soon, but he's going to be so damn good that you might see Hossa move to Toews' line and Kane skate with McNeill in a couple years. He's damn near NHL ready right now.

PHILLIP DANAULT LW (1st Round, 26th overall) - The Hawks traded Troy Brouwer to Washington to get this pick. I honestly thought they were moving up to nab Saad. Shows what I know, they grabbed Danault. This kid's 18, and if he adds some bulk to his frame he could be an Andrew Ladd-type player. He's a couple years away. But the Blackhawks set the tone on their first night, taking guys who not only have good skill levels, but their work ethics were mentioned over and over.

Right around this time was when TSN broke the story that Brian Campbell was dealt to Florida for Rotislav Olesz. Olesz brings to the Hawks that overpaid healthy scratch they so sorely needed. But the key here was the cap space that was cleared. Everyone who has pissed and moaned about Soupy's cap hit, you got your wish. Deal with it. I must say, the $14 million in Cap space is intriguing.

ADAM CLENDENING D (2nd Round, 36th overall) - This one looks like it might be a reach. He's an offensive defenseman, but he still only checks in at 5'11 190 lbs. He's playing at Boston University, so the Hawks have time to let him fill out before they need to worry about bringing him up. Besides, they're ass-deep in Dmen in the organization, so there's no hurry. He also needs to work on his skating.

BRANDON SAAD LW (2nd Round, 43rd overall) - Damn, I like this kid. Another beast like McNeill, he's damn near NHL ready now as well. He doesn't turn 19 until October, so I'd expect him to return to the OHL. However, nobody expected him to play in the OHL to begin with, so who knows? He actually looks like a young Troy Brouwer at this stage.

MICHAEL PALIOTTA D (3rd Round, 70th overall) - A big kid at 6'3 198 lbs. Nothing flashy about his game at all. Projects out to be either a second or third-pair stay-at-home guy. Likes taking the body.

KLAS DAHLBECK D (3rd round, 79th overall) - Another stay-at-home guy, Dahlbeck is your basic shot-blocking, low-scoring Swedish Defenseman. No word on whether he also shops at IKEA.

MAXIM SHALUNOV RW (4th round, 109th overall) - 6'3 185 means he's a beanpole. But he's got passing skills and scored 22 goals in 39 games in the Russian Junior league. Let's see if the Hawks can actually develop any Russian players.

ANDREW SHAW C (5th round, 139th overall) - Shaw racked up decent numbers in the OHL, with 54 points in 66 games, and won the league's "Hardest Working Player" award. Again, it looks like Stan loves the guys who bring their lunch pail. Best of all, since his name is Andy Shaw, he can take over at Channel 7 from the guy who left there.

SAM JARDINE D (6th round, 169th overall) - The baby of the group, Jardine is still only 17. He played in the Alberta Junior League this past year, and got 22 points in 50 games. He's committed to attending Ohio State in the fall. Sorry, that's all I got.

ALEXANDER BROADHURST C (7th round, 199th overall) - From New Lenox...A LOCAL GUY!!! Seriously, this guy is listed as 5'10, 150 pounds. He's going to University of Nebraska-Omaha in the fall. I didn't even know there was a University of Nebraska-Omaha. If they're just going to pull guys off the board, you'd think Stan would have thrown me and CT a bone and drafted Chasen Ballsy, but he went to the Preds in the 6th.

JOHAN MATTSON G (7th round, 211th overall) - This was the last pick of the entire draft. I'm guessing someone whispered in Stan's ear..."Pssst...Stan...a goalie. We never got a goalie!" So welcome to the Chicago Blackhawks, Johan Mattson.

And there's your 2011 draft class. I'm going on record now and stating my man-love for both McNeill and Saad. If they don't pan out, you can give me all the shit you want. If they do, I'm a genius.