I was reading an article (in Swedish, located
here) where the author talked up the way in which the Blackhawks drafted players that have become integral parts of their cup-winning teams.
Of the players on the ice in the Stanley Cup winning team, 11 were originally drafted by the Blackhawks:
2002: Corey Crawford and Duncan Keith (Second round 52, 54)
2003: Brent Seabrook (14th overall)
2004: Dave Bolland and Bryan Bickell (Second round, 32nd and 41st overall) .
2005: Niklas Hjalmarsson (fourth round)
2006: Jonathan Toews (First round, 3rd overall)
2007: Patrick Kane (First overall)
2009: Marcus Krüger (Fifth round)
2011: Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw (Second round and fifth round)
I was surprised by how many how these players that were drafted relatively late. Of course, they also managed to draft stars like Toews and Kane really early in the first round.
For a club that in 2004 was voted as the most mismanaged club in North America they've gone through quite a turnaround. Some might want to point to the fact that the club changed ownership before the 2007/2008 as playing a big part in it. This board isn't a stranger to such demands either.
At any rate, Blackhawks' story certainly shows that hope isn't lost just because you're currently sucking. At least that's something for us to look to in these dark times.
Edited because the list contained Swedish. Sorry!