<p>Bowen Byram, the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks?_gl=1*6w99bc*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTgxMzg5NTU2My4xNzgzNjMxNDg1*_ga_K0F0MB46T8*czE3ODM2MzE0ODQkbzEkZzAkdDE3ODM2MzE1MDUkajM5JGwwJGgw" target="_blank" >Blackhawks</a>' new No. 1 defenseman, and Mason West, one of their many forward prospects, are not remotely similar players —&nbsp;neither in age, caliber nor position.</p><p>But for Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson, Byram and West are two data points that form the start of a pattern.</p><p>Davidson's impassioned <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2026/06/24/blackhawks-bowen-byram-elite-defenseman-chicago-trade-kyle-davidson?_gl=1*1qf0enw*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTgxMzg5NTU2My4xNzgzNjMxNDg1*_ga_K0F0MB46T8*czE3ODM2MzE0ODQkbzEkZzAkdDE3ODM2MzE0OTckajQ3JGwwJGgw" target="_blank" >explanations</a> and justifications of his trade for Byram — which represented something of a break in character for a man who likes to set expectations low and isn't usually brash with words —&nbsp;are actually reminiscent of his justification for trading up to pick West in the 2025 draft.</p><p>It was the end of a long, eventful, tiring June night when Davidson met with reporters after the first round of that 2025 draft, and it's common for NHL GMs&nbsp;to be most honest and unfiltered in situations like that (when their brains are fried).</p><p>Davidson certainly was when discussing his decision to give the Hurricanes two extra picks —&nbsp;second- and fifth-rounders —&nbsp;just to move up from 34th to 29th to <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2025/07/20/blackhawks-mason-west-nhl-prospects-hockey-football-edina-fargo-michigan-state" target="_blank" >select West</a>. The resulting quotes were some of the most memorable of his GM tenure.</p><p>"I don't know what you call it, the stats or the analytics of it, [but] the trade we made to get back in the first round was not that," Davidson said then.