I'll buy it, but other than Q riding the livin crap out of his vet's, whatever you seen these 1st 2 games from any of these young guys,Kool aid aside? Me, nothing!
If anything, Q should call a spade a spade, he already knows who is in and who's not. Q should line em all up, tell them one by one, the sooner the better ,even if it means just having 6 rookies left in camp, whether they got a shot this year or not and either release them or send them to Rockford, that Motte kid everyone is fantasizing over so far.............Drew LeBlanc or Matt Carey, take your pick. And Rosy is D ON E!
- wonthecup10

Eh, I definitely haven't seen anyone who is jumping out to fill out the top 6, but a handful of guys look like they can be good bottom 6 guys. Seriously, do you not remember before 2013 when the team was looking at Stalberg (has stone hands), Bickell (couldn't seem to stick), and Shaw (who??) coming in to be the missing 3rd line? I'm not saying any of the prospects and other players will be that type of line, just that it's hard to tell at this point what is going to work. Also, idt many people are fantasizing over Motte - he just had a good game after a bad one and people noticed. Personally, I'm going to wait to make up my mind about any of the prospects until they've at least played some time with the real team. Who knows who will click with Kruger or whoever once it's all said and done. Maybe no one will, but it's hard to know currently.

Schmaltz seems to fade as the game goes on, that's a bit worrisome. Kero finished strong and Desi played well.
- DarthKane

That observation on Schmaltz fading as the game goes on is a concern. I remember in a July blog when JJ shared someone's comprehensive overview of his impressions on prospect camp. One thing that this person highlighted was the observation of Schmaltz looking gassed after each drill and often knelt on a knee or leaned on his stick. Giving the benefit of the doubt, that could just mean Schmaltz goes all out on every drill and every shift. Good thing if true. But the alternate analysis is that Schmaltz has sub-par conditioning. What you and others have observed so far in the pre-season seems to support the latter theory. Not good if that is true.

Love hearing about Kero making a case for himself as a reliable defensive forward. He could be one who snags a bottom 6 spot. I wouldn't call him a sleeper, though, since he had the longest cup of tea amongst the forward prospects last season (15-20 games). Doesn't matter if he's a sleeper or whatever else. If he earns the job, then he deserves it.

And I personally wouldn't expect anything less from Desjardins. He's solid as a 4th liner who can also play 3rd line if needed. He and Kruger are the only 2 bottom-6 forwards you can pencil in now for the starting lineup.

Watch the Preds this year if Rinne has a bounce back year! And STILL no LW for Jonathen Toews, at least not to his liking!
- wonthecup10

I agree the Preds will be very good, i think Rinne will play well and their D is outstanding. And yes, our 4th best top 6 winger behind Kane, Panarin, and Hossa might have to be somebody named Schmaltz or Panik....but i think all teams have weaknesses and that isn't anything that we can't overcome given our strengths.

I agree the Preds will be very good, i think Rinne will play well and their D is outstanding. And yes, our 4th best top 6 winger behind Kane, Panarin, and Hossa might have to be somebody named Schmaltz or Panik....but i think all teams have weaknesses and that isn't anything that we can't overcome given our strengths.
- SimpleJack

The Predators do have a solid defense and a great goalie who could be elite if he didn't choke when it matters most. I agree, all teams have weaknesses and the overall team strength, experience, and leadership could be pivotal in compensating for any holes.

With that said, though, do you (or anyone else) think the Hawks D this year could stack up well against the Predators D? One could argue that the Predators can claim they have the best defense in the NHL, but they haven't won anything and only Josi played in the WCH (if you want to use that as a metric). In comparison, the Hawks D has 11 Cup rings (3 each for Keith, Seabrook, and Hjalmarsson and one each for Campbell and van Riemsdyk) or 13 if you include Roszival (2 rings). Plus, the Hawks had 3 players chosen for the WCH (Hjalmarsson and Kempny as well as Keith who ended up sitting out the tourney).

As far as goalies, Crawford is greater than Rinne in my book, even without his 2 rings to prove it. I guess one could argue that Crawford has choked as much as Rinne given the totality of his career, but that's where he can just show off his rings as Exhibits A and B to state otherwise.

For top 6 wingers, who is greater: Kane, Panarin, Hossa, and let's say Panik or Schmaltz vs. Forsberg, Neal, Wilson, and Smith?

[quote=kwolf68]Yea, it's really boring to watch a team win the Stanley Cup. You celebrate meathead hockey like it's worth a damn. What's worth a damn is winning, and the way you do that these days is with speed and skill. Not a bunch of lumbering slugs bashing their hands on the top of a plastic helmet. To say the Penguins (or any team that win the Cup) didn't have any passion or aggression is ridiculous. You don't get to lift the Cup WITHOUT the required amount of passion.

I am sure you're excited with Ryan Hartmann tonight. He had a fight. Whoopie!!! Other than that wonderful accomplishment he did absolutely nothing of substance that tells the Hawks he can be a productive hockey player on a Cup contending team. Now, had he made some plays, scored a goal, then we'd be talking, but he didn't do that...he "dropped the gloves"...mission NOT accomplished.

You're standing in a graveyard wishing to life a bunch of dead bodies of bad skating enforcers who can't play worth a poop and are no longer valuable to winning hockey. Not only does it not win, it's not longer what the NHL is trying to promote to future fans. The days of the NHL being on par with WWF and staged sports is over no matter how loudly you whine about guys that "lack

The 80s and 90s must of been hard for you to watch. Done crying yet? Speed finesse Corsi hockey's become boring not wrong in my assesment the world cup was a flop as well.

The 80's and 90's were fun becasue the Hawks had really good teams...up until the latter half of the 90's anyway.

Ultimately they were unsatisfying though as the Hawks won nothing. I'll take the Hawks current run of "boring" hockey and 3 Cups, thanks.

Yes, it's only exhibition games, so it's not something to get too concerned about ... but, 120 minutes of hockey and 0 goals. That's bad no matter what the situation is. The not so secret dirty little secret is the Hawks prospects are not very good, which means the Hawks prospects for sustained success are also not very good, at least not with this gaggle of 4th liners and career AHL'ers.

Yes, it's only exhibition games, so it's not something to get too concerned about ... but, 120 minutes of hockey and 0 goals. That's bad no matter what the situation is. The not so secret dirty little secret is the Hawks prospects are not very good, which means the Hawks prospects for sustained success are also not very good, at least not with this gaggle of 4th liners and career AHL'ers.
- EbonyRaptor

Hard to argue any of this.

The deadline trades (especially last years), years of drafting late, missing on after 1st round picks, trading away of future #1 picks have drained the organization of guys to fill in.

Some younger guys seem like they might be OK in 3-4 years, but the above moves have left a gap in system depth now. Need to draft well for a few years, and keep some picks.

Makes it tough, you have to decide when is the time that you can't win cups anymore, and start to move some core guys out before you end up with 8 guys who are 35 and you can't trade them.

I appreciate the 3 cups, it would be nice to get a 4th, but I think the time is winding down rapidly on that.

The fan in me thinks they have one more cup in them, core isn't over the hill yet, the support guys who have been so important to cups don't seem to be there. Its only two games, they had no vets, maybe a Vinny, Motte, Schmaltz look better with two vets on their lines.

Time will tell soon.

Yes, it's only exhibition games, so it's not something to get too concerned about ... but, 120 minutes of hockey and 0 goals. That's bad no matter what the situation is. The not so secret dirty little secret is the Hawks prospects are not very good, which means the Hawks prospects for sustained success are also not very good, at least not with this gaggle of 4th liners and career AHL'ers.
- EbonyRaptor

Well the good news is other than 1LW we're not counting on any of them to fill out the remaining 5 of the top 6 fwd spots.

Right now that's mostly all that's needed out of the Hawks fwd prospects is to replenish some of the bottom 6 spots. Panik may not be a true top 6 forward but I think he'll fare ok there this season. Time of course will tell.

6 periods and 0 goals -no problem because it is only our kids and AHL'ers. Oh wait. That is what the other side is icing too.
(Except for Daley. Why is he up against our kids both games? Are they trying to make someone look bad?)

When we go up against St. Louis, I will be grimacing every time Fabbri lines up against Schmaltz.

6 periods and 0 goals -no problem because it is only our kids and AHL'ers. Oh wait. That is what the other side is icing too.
(Except for Daley. Why is he up against our kids both games? Are they trying to make someone look bad?)
- 67hawks

That is a concern that our prospect team can't score against other team's prospects. And I do believe Daley and Kunitz laced them up for the Penguins. Kunitz scored both goals in the 1st game. I chalk that coaching decision to skate them is because they need the reps (i.e. Daley needs them as rehab from his playoff injury and Kunitz needs them because he's an older player who could be very well in his final season).

When we go up against St. Louis, I will be grimacing every time Fabbri lines up against Schmaltz.
- 67hawks

Do you mean Fabbri playing physical against Schmaltz? If that is the case, I hope our hard-hitters like Hartman blow up Fabbri. Good player but he needs to be put in his place before the regular season war between the Hawks-Blues begins.

That is a concern that our prospect team can't score against other team's prospects. And I do believe Daley and Kunitz laced them up for the Penguins. Kunitz scored both goals in the 1st game. I chalk that coaching decision to skate them is because they need the reps (i.e. Daley needs them as rehab from his playoff injury and Kunitz needs them because he's an older player who could be very well in his final season).

Do you mean Fabbri playing physical against Schmaltz? If that is the case, I hope our hard-hitters like Hartman blow up Fabbri. Good player but he needs to be put in his place before the regular season war between the Hawks-Blues begins.
- AEL_Fox

With Fabbri, I was referencing to us passing on him and trading up to get Schmaltz in the 2014 draft. I did not like the move then and even more so now.

With Fabbri, I was referencing to us passing on him and trading up to get Schmaltz in the 2014 draft. I did not like the move then and even more so now.
- 67hawks

Cool, got it. Thanks for clarifying.

After reading all the concern about the lack of scoring in the first two games I'd have to agree on the surface. But perhaps it could be somewhat explained by the fact that they all know there is real opportunity this year as opposed to just getting a sniff and they're playing a little tight. And maybe they are concentrating on the defensive side as they know that coaches are concerned about that especially. One exception to all this is Fortin, that kid has a clue offensively and isn't too tight to show it. And I think Kero has offensive talent but is more aware of the defensive side. Hopefully when the regulars get sprinkled in the passing will be a bit more crisp and the kids that are most ready will be more apparent. It's like they are constipated right now and when they let go watch out. And then again, they might all suck. Hope not.

Agree with those who call for Q to prove his hall of fame worthiness. But let's not forget he just got back from the world cup so he's behind a little.

Air is getting crisp and it's game on. Love this time of year.

Too early to make a prediction, but looks as if Schmaltz will make the team. If he continues to play well, he might find himself on the second line (just skepticism). Didn't catch the game last night, heard and read mixed reviews so far. Any news on Johnson, Gustafsson, Desi?

Too early to make a prediction, but looks as if Schmaltz will make the team. If he continues to play well, he might find himself on the second line (just skepticism). Didn't catch the game last night, heard and read mixed reviews so far. Any news on Johnson, Gustafsson, Desi?
- 93Joe

A few weeks ago there was a lot of optimism that McNeill would be up with the Hawks to start the season, so much for that

A few weeks ago there was a lot of optimism that McNeill would be up with the Hawks to start the season, so much for that
- Sundevil

He might still have a chance. Still a couple of games left. I don't know where he played yesterday, but maybe if he plays with more offensively gifted players, he can succeed? Still pulling for him, I'm not underestimating him yet.

I see some of the big boys are playing tonight against the Blues. The beat writers had these lines in practice today:

Schmaltz-Anisimov-Kane
Panarin-Hinostroza-Panik
Motte-Kruger-Hartman
Mashinter-Rasmussen-Tootoo

Here's hoping Schmaltz looks good with 15-88 which might mean 72 would solve the problem of Toews' missing LW.

The Blues lines for tonight:

Porter-Berglund-Rattie
Agostino-Jaskin-Paajaavi
Nystrom-Brodziak-Reaves
Caron-Barbeshev-Ferraro

The Blues playing none of their stars tonight. Let's hope we can get at least 1 goal.

I see some of the big boys are playing tonight against the Blues. The beat writers had these lines in practice today:

Schmaltz-Anisimov-Kane
Panarin-Hinostroza-Panik
Motte-Kruger-Hartman
Mashinter-Rasmussen-Tootoo

Here's hoping Schmaltz looks good with 15-88 which might mean 72 would solve the problem of Toews' missing LW.
- EbonyRaptor

I see some of the big boys are playing tonight against the Blues. The beat writers had these lines in practice today:

Schmaltz-Anisimov-Kane
Panarin-Hinostroza-Panik
Motte-Kruger-Hartman
Mashinter-Rasmussen-Tootoo

Here's hoping Schmaltz looks good with 15-88 which might mean 72 would solve the problem of Toews' missing LW.
- EbonyRaptor

- 93Joe

more like the coaching staff is re-ordering their prospects sandwiched around a few nhlers, no more, no less...

That is a concern that our prospect team can't score against other team's prospects. And I do believe Daley and Kunitz laced them up for the Penguins. Kunitz scored both goals in the 1st game. I chalk that coaching decision to skate them is because they need the reps (i.e. Daley needs them as rehab from his playoff injury and Kunitz needs them because he's an older player who could be very well in his final season).

Do you mean Fabbri playing physical against Schmaltz? If that is the case, I hope our hard-hitters like Hartman blow up Fabbri. Good player but he needs to be put in his place before the regular season war between the Hawks-Blues begins.
- AEL_Fox

Anyone who knows more about hockey think it's his skating stride? Is it inefficient? I remember Morins stride was terrible just gassed him by the end of each shift? Or is it simply that Schmaltz conditioning is not up to NHL standards? We have one of best staffs around think they'd address that if it was.

more like the coaching staff is re-ordering their prospects sandwiched around a few nhlers, no more, no less...
- wiz1901

Provides entertainment and brings some good activity after a hockey hiatus. That's all. Should be interesting.

Yes, it's only exhibition games, so it's not something to get too concerned about ... but, 120 minutes of hockey and 0 goals. That's bad no matter what the situation is. The not so secret dirty little secret is the Hawks prospects are not very good, which means the Hawks prospects for sustained success are also not very good, at least not with this gaggle of 4th liners and career AHL'ers.
- EbonyRaptor

ugh only watched about 1 period of each game...but seriously does any of these forward hawk wannabees look like they wannabee...

signed

very very concerned

Just as important, I think - as you said about Schmaltz above - I'd like to see those players playing WITH legit NHL players.
- StLBravesFan

^^^^This

Great players make tjose around them better. Playing with 19, 88, 81 etc might just might make some of these guys look NHL ready.