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Rockford Auditions Continue With Shaw, Olsen

January 4, 2012, 2:37 PM ET [ Comments]
John Jaeckel
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
2009 first round draft choice D Dylan Olsen and 2011 5th round pick C Andrew Shaw were recalled from Rockford today, replacing the injured Marcus Kruger and Steve Montador.

Both players handled themselves well in prospect games over the summer. And prehaps unlike a lot of the eariler callups, both players have a legitimate chance to stick.

After earlier appearances by Brandon Pirri, Jeremy Morin, Ben Smith and Jimmy Hayes (still with the Hawks) Shaw's call up is the first of a true bottom 6, grinding type forward. Shaw has good numbers in his first pro season at Rockford, but don't let that fool you. In an organization full of (mostly) finesse forwards, this guy is all heart, work and effort. And at roughly 5'10", he will drop the gloves occasionally too.

When the Hawks drafted Shaw out of the OHL this past summer, I heard from a number of regular observers that this kid could be special. An Adam Burish type with maybe some extra offensive game around the net. Thus far, at Rockford, that is exactly what the 20 year old Shaw has shown.

This is also a nice chance for Olsen, who is probably best compared to Niklas Hjalmarsson in terms of size and style. With Montador out and Sami Lepisto and John Scott best described as an adventure, the Hawks third pairing likely has one to two openings right now. It's probably a longshot that Olsen will eliminate the need for acquiring another veteran defenseman. But when the playoffs roll around, you can never have too many experienced, somewhat capable defensemen in your organization.

All for now, Flyers preview in the AM.


JJ
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