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The Ballad of Igor Makarov

July 19, 2017, 9:38 AM ET [663 Comments]
John Jaeckel
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT



There are few things that rank up there with death and taxes as far as sheer certainty. But volumes of breathless hype coming out of Hawk prospect camp every year is starting to come close.

Just perusing my Twitter feed the last couple of days—not to mention the inane pronouncements of previous camps—there’s all kinds of excitement over how this prospect or that looks—in camp drills, with other Hawk prospects as comparators.

It’s sort of inevitable. And understandable. Bloggers and writers go to camp, they make observations based on nuances they see (in this particular context) and they want to relate it all to their readers. Great.

The problem is, it tends to spark a “BIG EXCITING NEWS” sort of narrative that goes something like this:

a) this prospect or that has an “NHL shot,” “great size and speed,” etc. And,
b) as a whole, there’s a tremendous amount of talent here and a lot to get excited about

The problem is, while typically, the things reported in "a” are true relative to the context of a prospect camp, the conclusion drawn in “b”—especially for a team that has drafted at the end of rounds for several years like the Hawks—is not.

Due to geography, family and work commitments, and a healthy dose of cynicism, I have not been to a prospect camp since 2009.

At that camp, I saw a young Marcus Kruger, fresh from Sweden, Kyle Beach and Dylan Olsen, among others. I spoke with scouts and other writers. My takeaways from that camp were as follows:

- Beach was a disappointment, fat, soft, slow. (hit)
- 2007 2nd round pick Akim Aliu, on the other hand, was a man among boys, big, fast and chiseled like King Kong. (miss)
- Kruger showed flashes in scrimmages of a smart pivot who could make plays in space. (hit)
- Another young Hawk prospect C (David Gilbert, I believe) was also impressive (miss)
- And Olsen looked like he had the basic tools to develop (ehhh, miss).

Point is, it’s a prospect camp. Yes, there likely will be a player or two who emerge as NHL contributors. That’s 1 or 2, maybe 3, who will play in the NHL for a “competing” club like the Hawks.

I heard last night someone proclaimed this the “Camp of (Alex) DeBrincat.” I’ve also heard from someone whose judgement I know and trust, that the much-hyped OHL scoring champ has not looked special in camp thus far: “definitely has hands and a shot, but needs to improve his skating and effort.”

Anyone reading this who has seen the (great) film Hoop Dreams may know where I’m going. And if you haven’t seen it, please do so and thank me later.

NHL talent development—from scouting kids at 12-13 years old, to juniors, to the draft and minor pro hockey—is a marathon, a long, arduous slog up a steep hill with lots of twists and turns. And often the outcome does not follow the “script” suggested by a couple of big scoring seasons in junior or a high draft spot.

For every prospect camp wunderkind—Ryan Garlock, Alex Kojevnikov, Adam Berti, Igor Makarov, Aliu—there’s typically a long barely audible sound like a balloon deflating over the next couple of years.

Last year’s phenom—in both prospect camp and pro camp—was not Debrincat (who was “there”). It was an undrafted winger out of the QMJHL who has basically been a point a game player in that league (nothing special, mind you as far as the Q goes) named Alexandre Fortin.

Fortin is sitting out this camp due to recent minor surgery—and he battled injury last year after being returned to his junior club.

Still, he is in Chicago with the prospects and in an interview yesterday, one could divine some things to get mildly excited about.

On camera, it appeared Fortin has put on some muscle mass since last year (one estimate I heard last night was 20 pounds. Typically, when I hear that, knowing how hard it is to add muscle mass even in a full year, I get a little skeptical, but . . .). There was a maturity to Fortin’s comments. One in particular, in answering a question about where he’s improved and what he’s worked on over the last year:

“Mostly (things) away from the puck and defense.”

For a kid who can flat out fly and showed a lot of skill and ability to set up and finish plays in pro exhibition games last year, that comment—if legitimately true—is both commendable, and exciting.

This is a prospect quietly committed to doing the actual things necessary to be a pro hockey player, especially with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Will he?

As much as I like Fortin (and let me be clear, I do get a little excited at the potential thought of DeBrincat becoming another Marty St. Louis as Patrick Kane’s career winds down, or Wouter Peeters becoming another Henrik Lundqvist), the actual odds still are he won’t. And that very few of these prospects—even among those who are most hyped— really will.

Or, the ones that do will be among those not initially expected to.

So, sorry if I’ve blunted anyone’s enthusiasm.

And if any of these skills flashed in prospect camp carry over to pro camp and exhibitions later this summer and into the early fall, maybe there is more reason to get "pumped up."

‘Til then, take it all with a grain of salt and enjoy the weather.


JJ
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