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Training Camp Names To Watch. And Why.

September 13, 2016, 2:25 PM ET [401 Comments]
John Jaeckel
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT



Barring a highly unlikely trade between now and the official opening of Blackhawk training camp, there has not been a season with as many questionmarks going in for Chicago since really 2008.

Actually, the goalie and blue line depth charts are deep and settled and—well—maybe better than they have been in a couple of decades. So what's the problem?

Forward.

Where the Hawks had issues all season last year—one dependable (albeit very good) scoring line, overall weak 5-on-5 production, a glut of natural left wings and a dearth of port-siders.

A year later and the Hawks have subtracted three significant blames from the roster since Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs: Andrew Ladd, Andrew Shaw, and Teuvo Teravainen. Yes, they've added a couple of bottom 6 players—but the would-be replacements for the aforementioned players are uncharacteristically young and unproven and maybe not even looking good on paper, let alone in actual NHL action.

The reality for the Hawk coaching staff and front office is they are still in Cup window mode—yet they may not have the horses today at forward to realistically fulfill that. But this is not a team that should be rebuilding wholesale with youth—at least not without legitimate blue chip youth (like a Brandon Saad in 2013).

More and more, the Hawks have to hope for a truly unexpected breakthrough performance by a young player (or TWO), or a veteran PTO, in camp. Or see what camp tells them as far as where they may have enough depth to trade for that which they are missing.

Hence, the following players to keep an eye on, and why they are important.




Michal Kempny, 26, LHD


The sooner Kempny acclimates to North America and the NHL, the better and deeper the Hawks will be come playoff time (barring injury). Signing Brian Campbell not only takes situational and minutes pressure off of Duncan Keith, it gives Kempny and the coaching staff leeway to develop him slowly. The Hawks don’t absolutely need Kempny to deliver this year—but if he can, it’s a big plus. He can defend and along with Campbell, he adds a plus-left handed point shot to the power play.

Martin Lundberg, 26, F

The Hawks can probably cobble together a serviceable bottom six from Marcus Kruger, Jordin Tootoo, Andrew Desjardins, Dennis Rasmussen, and some combination of Nick Schmaltz, Ryan Hartman and/or Mark McNeill. But if Lundberg is ‘as advertised,’ a tough as nails, versatile checker and defender, it will be a nice veteran add and help the Hawks possibly be tougher to play against—and not in the dumb, “Ryan Garbutt tougher to play against” way.


Nick Schmaltz, 20, F

The Hawks are high on Schmaltz and would like to see him earn a spot on the club—like Kempny with lower expectations as a bottom six player to start. If Schmaltz proves he belongs there—not a small accomplishment for any 20 year old with no pro experience—then he could inject some scoring into the third line and help the coaching staff regain their matchup mojo, lost in the summer of 2015.


Ville Pokka, RHD, 22
Gustav Forsling, LHD, 21


Stan Bowman is talking a lot these days about going 10-12 deep on defense in the playoffs. But, let’s just say, Bowman has learned a thing or two at this point about playing GM Poker. And he knows as well as anyone that going 10-12 deep on D wiil likely be a moot point come April after 82 games of Richard Panik at 1LW. It is increasingly likely the Hawks will need to trade, again this year, to address LW. And even more likely they will deal from the strength of a deep NHL and AHL blueline.

They are especially overloaded with right-hand shooting defensemen. Some theorize that Michal Rozsival was re-signed simply to wet nurse countryman Kempny. But you don’t have to give up cap space and an NHL roster spot to do that. Just put an ad in the Daily Herald for a CzechMate at $25 an hour.

Rozsival was signed to play. Some.

And the more he plays, the more likely Trevor van Riemsdyk is in the pressbox—because with Kempny and Campbell added in, Joel Quenneville can effectively end the TVR on the left side experiment. No room at the Inn.

If either Pokka, whose stock rose dramatically last year, or Forsling, can show enough to project either could be NHL ready by April, that could be a ticket to another organization for TVR.

No, TVR by himself, doesn’t bring back a top 6 LW, but maybe TVR and Viktor Svedberg, or a draft pick, does. That is the luxury of a 10-12 deep blueline.


Lars Johansson, G, 29

Another head-scratcher signing. And one that could portend a larger, long term plan.

This one feels a little like the signing of a Euro named Antti Niemi in 2008—when the Hawks had a pretty respectable (and very expensive) NHL tandem in Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet.

Two years later, Niemi had his name on a Stanley Cup and seemed positioned to hold the Hawk #1 job for another 5 years—but that is another story for another day.

But when the Hawks signed Niemi and Huet the same summer, it pretty much pointed to the end of the line for Khabibulin after his deal expired in 2009.

Now, it could be, Johanson is being brought in merely to provide quality depth as a starter in Rockford, and a potentially nice insurance policy should Corey Crawford or Scott Darling go down.

But it raises questions, why would the 29 year-old SEL Goaltender of the Year want to come to North America for a league minimum deal just to play in the AHL—and in Rockford no less.

Could well be this is a year-long audition, with the goalie situation to be sorted out by expansion next summer.

But if Johansson delivers early, does it give Bowman another trade chip? Since joining Frolunda HC three seasons ago, Johansson’s numbers improved each year—last year registering a 9.27 save% and a 1.74 GAA. With 7 shutouts in 37 games.

Johansson certainly does not fit the trend in the NHL toward “so big he blots out the sun” goalies. He’s about 6’ tall. What little scouting available on him is that he may be sort of the Jocelyn Thibault or Niemi type goalie—small but fast—and a bit of a rebound machine at times. Time and an NHL training camp and preseason action may tell us more.


More as I hear it,


JJ
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