Chicago did not clinch a postseason berth until the season's final game, needing an overtime goal by Troy Murray against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Blackhawks proceeded to defeat the higher seeded divisional rivals, the Detroit Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues before falling in the Campbell Conference Finals to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames.
Roenick completed his junior year of high school before the draft, and made his NHL debut later that season scoring 18 points in 20 games.
The Hawks were hoping that 1987's first round draft choice Jim Waite would be the answer, but he failed to win a game, ending with a 0-7-1 record and a 5.22 goals against average.
In March, with Denis Savard out of the lineup due to injury, coach Mike Keenan named forward Dirk Graham as the new captain.
After three straight years of first-round defeats in the playoffs, the Blackhawks raised their level of play considerably by stunning the Detroit Red Wings in six games.