"Fifteen defensemen were drafted before the Blackhawks selected Duncan Keith with the 54th overall pick in the 2002 NHL draft.

As there are every year, there were good picks and bad ones. Take the Hawks' selection of defenseman Anton Babchuk in the first round that year.

Jay Bouwmeester, Joni Pitkanen and Ryan Whitney went three, four and five to the Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. All three are solid NHL players. So is Keith Ballard, who was selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the 11th overall pick.

But the evolution and rise of Keith remains a sign of the importance of good drafting and committing to those players. Neither Bouwmeester, Pitkanen, Whitney nor Ballard are with the teams that drafted them. That's not to say those wouldn't want them now. It just speaks volumes about Keith's value and the potential the Hawks apparently saw in him.

Keith, a first-team NHL All-Star this season, is a cornerstone of the Hawks. He's signed long-term and became the first player to win an Olympic gold medal, the Stanley Cup and the Norris Trophy in the same year. He is by far the most accomplished blue-liner from the 2002 draft."