One thing I'm glad the Hawks did is shut down 19 & 50 once we were pretty much out of the playoff race. We could easily be 3 spots worse in the draft if we 'lost with pride' or some BS that wouldn't help us next year.

Now we're guaranteed at least the 10th overall pick, and that guarantees us one of these guys:
1. Rasmus Dahlin, D
2. Andrei Svechnikov, RW
3. Filip Zadina, LW
4. Brady Tkachuk, LW (Could go back to college)
5. Adam Boqvist, D
6. Oliver Wahlstrom, RW (Committed to Harvard)
7. Evan Bouchard, D
8. Quinton Hughes, D (Could go back to college)
9. Noah Dobson, D
10. Joe Veleno, C
11. Joel Farabee, LW (Committed to BU)

If they pick someone who isn't committed to college next season, they could make a decent impact on the Hawks. Next year we'll see a somewhat more progressive Q, as he knows that his job is on the line and that all hands must be on deck. All of these guys except maybe Hughes could make an impact on this middling Hawks team without getting ragdolled.

Remember the excitement when Saad made his debut? All of a sudden the Hawks were back to rolling 3 potent lines and 1 shutdown line. It could happen.
- ObeseOprah

And we ended up with 3 impotent lines and 1 line shutdown.

I agree up to a point.
- What do you think is the right price? (not overpaying) imho $1mil max.
- Does he need to win a roster spot in camp? imho yes.
- Is he a C, RW, LW or is he plug and play where we need him. imho Not C. Either wing on 3rd or 4th line.
- -Doh-

I see him as a 13th forward on a good team. He does not have the grit of a Sharp, the scoring touch it DCat or the physical game to be anything but.

Alright boys, I put together a list of the top 32 prospects and who each one reasonably compares to:

1. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Comparison: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Hedman
2. Andrei Svechnikov, RW, Comparison: Thomas Vanek, Alexander Radulov
3. Filip Zadina, LW, Comparison: Filip Forsberg, Mike Hoffman
4. Brady Tkachuk, LW, Comparison: Matthew Tkachuk, Wayne Simmonds
5. Adam Boqvist, D, Comparison: Hampus Lindholm, Tyson Barrie
6. Oliver Wahlstrom, RW, Comparison: James van Riemsdyk, TJ Oshie
7. Evan Bouchard, D, Comparison: Matt Niskanen, Jacob Slavin
8. Quinton Hughes, D, Comparison: Ryan Ellis, Josh Morrissey
9. Noah Dobson, D, Comparison: Colin Miller, Jeff Petry
10. Joe Veleno, C, Comparison: Mikael Backlund, Tyler Bozak
11. Joel Farabee, LW, Comparison: Nik Ehlers, Jonathan Huberdeau
12. Barret Hayton, C, Comparison: Kyle Turris, Sam Reinhart
13. Ty Smith, D, Comparison: Morgan Reilly
14. Grigori Denisenko, LW, Comparison: William Nylander
15. Rasmus Kupari, C, Comparison: Sebastian Aho
16. Isac Lundestrom, C, Comparison: Travis Konecny
17. Martin Kaut, RW, Comparison: Michael Frolik
18. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, Comparison: Sean Coutourier
19: Jared McIsaac, D, Comparison: Josh Manson
20: Ryan Merkley, D, Comparison: Justin Schultz
21. Bode Wilde, D, Comparison: Jake Gardiner
22: Serron Noel, RW, Comparison: Blake Wheeler
23. Alexander Alexyev, D, Comparison: Radko Gudas
24. Jacob Bernard-Docker, D, Comparison: Ron Hainsey
25. Ryan McLeod, C, Comparison: Ryan Kesler
26. Adam Ginning, D, Comparison: Brooks Orpik
27. Akil Thomas, C, Comparison: Mikael Backlund
28. Denoit-Olivier Groulx, C, Comparison: James Neal
29. Dominik Bokk, LW, Comparison: Alexander Semin
30. Jonathan Tychonick, D, Comparison: Tyson Barrie
31. K’Andre Miller, D, Comparison: Darnell Nurse
32. Jacob Olofsson, C, Comparison: Carl Soderberg


To see full write ups of the top twelve: http://www.hockeybuzz.com...post_id=18641257#18641257


The Hawks will in all likelihood be getting two of these guys.
- ObeseOprah

Thanks for sharing this research. Do you know where the fellow named Woo falls after #32?

Has Q ever used that tactic in.playoff hockey?

Some other issues which are very aggravating include the use of man in front of net (Anisimov the only one), getting point shot on net and shot unleashed quickly, and employing same strategic set up and plays on the PP.

Preface the next point about this failure on PP by saying, it's not like Q and his coaches cannot understand the problem or try to fix it. It's not like they can enforce their wrath by showing players on PP their punishment when they don't comply to their coaching and practice.

So it is too easy to say: WHY do players refuse to listen and play as instructed? Could you reward those who do as told? Someone ought to respond, you think?

A coach like Gallant. Babcock, Sullivan......i bet there is no problem because player looses his job and is shamed. Not so with Q. You can only guess as to why. And then to complicate matters you have the chasm or divide between Bowman and Q which is incomprehinsible to winning hockey

They do not have enough thoroughbreds to play winning hockey. They will be done same time next season, even if they have a slightly better look and record for their effort.
- jhawk59

Yes, when they all went after Pronger and also Chara

So much focus on Toews and his (over blown) decline but the fact is that you could replace current Toews with "In his Prime Toews" or Sidney Crosby or whomever you want and this team would still have bigger issues and wouldn't be a legit contender. Once they put a legit top 6 winger with Toews/Saad and reworked the PP, Johnny had what? 12 points in his final 10 games before being injured.

This team needs to fix the Defense and Goaltending as the biggest priority by far. A season where they gave up 3.10 goals per game. That is with Crawford for nearly half a season, but once he was out that ballooned up to 3.42 goals against per game.

They need to find a way to tighten that up to the 2.5 to 2.75 range if they want to be a legitimate contender. Teams that defend well and win tight hockey games usually win the cup. It is really more concerning to me that most of the Hawks lines fail to contain the opposing team and they just bleed goals.
- breadbag

I don’t know about the over blown focus on Toews and his decline, looking at his point production is one aspect:

Toews pts peak:

2013 1.02

22015 .81

22018 .70

But then you look at his exit interview, I had to go back and listen to it several times and I’m still not sure what he said!!! I’m not sure how much is physical decline vs mental confidence. Sounds like somewhere along the line he went from Captain Serious to Captain Confused!

“The message is received I think we all take it upon ourselves to be not only to be better individuals, better players, improve our games. But also to bring that leadership aspect, that we consistently need to work on. I think there’s years when things went well, we won Stanley Cups, we had playoff success, every thing just seemed to fall into place and happened organically, naturally to a certain degree.

Now it just seems ah there’s a lot of issues that coming up you need to find solutions and as I mentioned I think part of that is just keeping it simple and getting back to what made you a great player to begin with and what helped you win games as a team.

But also uhm you’re going to creative approach to kind of find solutions to those problems and learning how you can improve and make your not only your own game but your team better.

Well I think it’s the same for all the other core group ah leaders guys that have been here for a long time. I’d say the same for myself, I think we all want to be better players. I think we want to get our own ducks in a row and get back on top and playing the way we know we can and I think from there on out ah your leadership and ability to have that positive impact on your teammates kinda follows with your end performance.”

I see him as a 13th forward on a good team. He does not have the grit of a Sharp, the scoring touch it DCat or the physical game to be anything but.
- riozzo

Who do you see as the 12 forwards that are clearly ahead of him?

Toews
Kane
Saad
Anisimov
Schmaltz
Debrincat

After that I wouldn't say anyone is a lock over Hinostroza. Other guys may end up pushing Hinostroza down the depth chart but it's far from guaranteed. Plus, while it doesn't mean anything is certain Stan did mention Vinnie as one of the guys he wants to re-sign.

Duclair
Hayden
Kampf
Edjsell
Highmore

Who do you see as the 12 forwards that are clearly ahead of him?

Toews
Kane
Saad
Anisimov
Schmaltz
Debrincat

After that I wouldn't say anyone is a lock over Hinostroza. Other guys may end up pushing Hinostroza down the depth chart but it's far from guaranteed. Plus, while it doesn't mean anything is certain Stan did mention Vinnie as one of the guys he wants to re-sign.

Duclair
Hayden
Kampf
Edjsell
Highmore
- DarthKane

I think you hit the nail on the head. After the top 6 there are about 12 guys that could fill pout the 3rd and 4th lines. Hino would be one of them, but not a lock. First they need to sign him to a reasonable contract. Then see how he performs in training camp. If no one stands out he would get the nod based on his experience.

Thanks for sharing this research. Do you know where the fellow named Woo falls after #32?
- 35Tony0

You're welcome, I've seen a few rankings where he's in the top 30. So he's likely not far out in this lineup. It's somewhat of a toss-up after the top ten for me, I just don't watch nearly enough or read enough about these kids to go off of anything other than aggregate rankings.

Jett Woo might break Pat Foley if we draft him. Pat would explode into a mixture of pixey dust, whiskey, puns, onomatopoeia, stutters, and name jokes if we got him.

I don’t know about the over blown focus on Toews and his decline, looking at his point production is one aspect:

Toews pts peak:

2013 1.02

22015 .81

22018 .70

But then you look at his exit interview, I had to go back and listen to it several times and I’m still not sure what he said!!! I’m not sure how much is physical decline vs mental confidence. Sounds like somewhere along the line he went from Captain Serious to Captain Confused!

“The message is received I think we all take it upon ourselves to be not only to be better individuals, better players, improve our games. But also to bring that leadership aspect, that we consistently need to work on. I think there’s years when things went well, we won Stanley Cups, we had playoff success, every thing just seemed to fall into place and happened organically, naturally to a certain degree.

Now it just seems ah there’s a lot of issues that coming up you need to find solutions and as I mentioned I think part of that is just keeping it simple and getting back to what made you a great player to begin with and what helped you win games as a team.

But also uhm you’re going to creative approach to kind of find solutions to those problems and learning how you can improve and make your not only your own game but your team better.

Well I think it’s the same for all the other core group ah leaders guys that have been here for a long time. I’d say the same for myself, I think we all want to be better players. I think we want to get our own ducks in a row and get back on top and playing the way we know we can and I think from there on out ah your leadership and ability to have that positive impact on your teammates kinda follows with your end performance.”
- walleyeb1

Not playing with Hossa is a problem. He missed the net on a looooooooot of shots. The last time he took over 200 shots he had a 76 point season.

He shoots his career average and he has 30 goals and 60 points and were probably not really complaining. Also, Saad did not shoot the puck very well so well say thats good for another 5-10 assists. Now were at 65-70 points and there's less to female dog about.

On a plus note, his bad year combined with Saad's off year and Patrick Kane shooting poorly with Crow getting injured gets them a good shot at a lottery pick.

I think he has a monster year, well by his standards next year, especially if they sign Tavares. Who would make a huge difference up and down the line up and give them the best top two lines in the west assuming that Debrincat doesnt drop off.

I don’t know about the over blown focus on Toews and his decline, looking at his point production is one aspect:

Toews pts peak:

2013 1.02

22015 .81

22018 .70

But then you look at his exit interview, I had to go back and listen to it several times and I’m still not sure what he said!!! I’m not sure how much is physical decline vs mental confidence. Sounds like somewhere along the line he went from Captain Serious to Captain Confused!

“The message is received I think we all take it upon ourselves to be not only to be better individuals, better players, improve our games. But also to bring that leadership aspect, that we consistently need to work on. I think there’s years when things went well, we won Stanley Cups, we had playoff success, every thing just seemed to fall into place and happened organically, naturally to a certain degree.

Now it just seems ah there’s a lot of issues that coming up you need to find solutions and as I mentioned I think part of that is just keeping it simple and getting back to what made you a great player to begin with and what helped you win games as a team.

But also uhm you’re going to creative approach to kind of find solutions to those problems and learning how you can improve and make your not only your own game but your team better.

Well I think it’s the same for all the other core group ah leaders guys that have been here for a long time. I’d say the same for myself, I think we all want to be better players. I think we want to get our own ducks in a row and get back on top and playing the way we know we can and I think from there on out ah your leadership and ability to have that positive impact on your teammates kinda follows with your end performance.”
- walleyeb1

I'm willing to bet if you put Toews today on that 2013 team he'd probably produce somewhere between 0.8 and 0.9 points per game. I'm not buying into the "he is washed up" theory. My point wasn't that he didn't have a down season, but more that the team has much larger issues. There is still a large body of statistical evidence that Toews is making almost everyone he plays with better and that he has failed to convert on chances. I mean, you can look at point production, but Kane's production was down from his peak nearly as much. Production sharply down for pretty much every core player on the team.

The team in general needs to play better and it starts with the Defense first. The team also needs to ensure they get NHL quality goaltending which they didn't once CC was out either. I think each of the guys needs to look at their individual game and come back better. Not one of the vets should be happy with their individual season and as a team they need to find a way to come together with a way tighter game.

Not to go off topic, but I'd also wager that it will be nearly impossible to see the Hawks get back to the level they were at in 2010 or 2013-2014 without a full long rebuild. They were in a very unique situation where they blew it for so many years to get where they were.

1) Core guys were actually under-paid in general (Sharp, Kane, Toews, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook,Hjalmarsson)
2) Hossa was still here and playing - often the best forward on the team many nights.
3) Keith/Seabrook were at one point both pretty much top 20 in the league on D.
4) Hawks had guys in the system coming up who were impact guys. So many of the guys who were cap casualties went on to larger roles once the Hawks had to shed their salary.

Toews can play better, but that won't save the team. The team has some big holes and won't likely get the kind of depth they used to enjoy. They found a way in 2015 where the team was already declining, but things have gotten worse since then.

If the Hawks weren't drafting 1st overall he would be a solid pick.
- DarthKane

I appreciate your consistency. If they do win the lottery, I hope you take full credit.

Who do you see as the 12 forwards that are clearly ahead of him?

Toews
Kane
Saad
Anisimov
Schmaltz
Debrincat

After that I wouldn't say anyone is a lock over Hinostroza. Other guys may end up pushing Hinostroza down the depth chart but it's far from guaranteed. Plus, while it doesn't mean anything is certain Stan did mention Vinnie as one of the guys he wants to re-sign.

Duclair
Hayden
Kampf
Edjsell
Highmore
- DarthKane

Please note I said on a good team.

I think you hit the nail on the head. After the top 6 there are about 12 guys that could fill pout the 3rd and 4th lines. Hino would be one of them, but not a lock. First they need to sign him to a reasonable contract. Then see how he performs in training camp. If no one stands out he would get the nod based on his experience.
- -Doh-

I concur as well. And, there are decisions to make on a couple of those 6 forwards - will AA get kept or traded. Are AA and Schmaltz going to line up at center or will one or both get moved to wing?

A similar dynamic exists on D. Pencil in Keith in the top pair and Seabrook someplace in the top 6, and after that, there aren't any sure things. Some guys are more likely to be playing than others, but the group as a whole needs to improve and the best way to do that would be to add more talented players to the mix.

NHL needs to get with the times. Like the NFL, a team can release a guy and take a minor dead cap hit and free up space. NHL is comical with the current setup.
- z1990z

In the NFL, only some portion of contracts are guaranteed: I think the cap hit for dropped players is the remaining (or pro-rated) guaranteed portion.

Good luck getting the NHLPA to agree to going to contracts that aren't fully guaranteed.

Saad Toews Debrincat
Neal (or E.Kane) AA Kane
Hayden Schmaltz Sikura
Wingels Kampf Martinsen
Hino

Seabs / Keith
Rutta / Cole (or Hamhuis)
Murphy/ Forsling
Gus

Crow
Khubodin

Neal - $6mil 4 years (or E. Kane)
Wingels - $1mil 2 years (would also take Roussel, but he would cost a little more)
Cole $2.5mil - 2 years (would also take Hamhuis, but he would cost a little more)
Khudobin - $2.5mil 1 year (could be a tough year for free agent goalies)

$76 mil total

D still looks shakey. But I think we could see improvement from every defender, especially with some solid goaltending.

Saad Toews Debrincat
Neal (or E.Kane) AA Kane
Hayden Schmaltz Sikura
Wingels Kampf Martinsen
Hino

Seabs / Keith
Rutta / Cole (or Hamhuis)
Murphy/ Forsling
Gus

Crow
Khubodin

Neal - $6mil 4 years (or E. Kane)
Wingels - $1mil 2 years (would also take Roussel, but he would cost a little more)
Cole $2.5mil - 2 years (would also take Hamhuis, but he would cost a little more)
Khudobin - $2.5mil 1 year (could be a tough year for free agent goalies)

$76 mil total

D still looks shakey. But I think we could see improvement from every defender, especially with some solid goaltending.
- -Doh-

No. Tavares. And spend money \ trade a young asset for a defender. Mike Green probably better solution than Ian Cole for a 2 year deal.

Saad Toews Debrincat
Neal (or E.Kane) AA Kane
Hayden Schmaltz Sikura
Wingels Kampf Martinsen
Hino

Seabs / Keith
Rutta / Cole (or Hamhuis)
Murphy/ Forsling
Gus

Crow
Khubodin

Neal - $6mil 4 years (or E. Kane)
Wingels - $1mil 2 years (would also take Roussel, but he would cost a little more)
Cole $2.5mil - 2 years (would also take Hamhuis, but he would cost a little more)
Khudobin - $2.5mil 1 year (could be a tough year for free agent goalies)

$76 mil total

D still looks shakey. But I think we could see improvement from every defender, especially with some solid goaltending.
- -Doh-

I'm not (to varying degrees) against guys like Neal, TvR or Kane, but I don't know if Stan will lock-up anyone for 4 years. Maybe Kane because he's younger but I would expect Stan to look for a 2 year deal.

I think Jannik Hansen could be a reasonable (yet good) signing. He was a solid bottom 6 forward in Vancouver and played with lots of energy. For some reason he just didn't fit in with San Jose.

Hamhuis hasn't been good for a long time, hard pass on him.

No. Tavares. And spend money \ trade a young asset for a defender. Mike Green probably better solution than Ian Cole for a 2 year deal.
- fattybeef

He's likely going to look for a deal similar to the one he has now.

No. Tavares. And spend money \ trade a young asset for a defender. Mike Green probably better solution than Ian Cole for a 2 year deal.
- fattybeef

Mike Green just had neck surgery and can't protect a brick wall, pass.

Justin is this the type of lineup that maybe the hawks would be looking for I know I have 2 holes on the 3rd line who could fill those holes sikura and ejdsell should be in Rockford developing. What would be your lineup next year if it was you running the show?
- Scott1977

Hey Scott - I think there are going to be a few changes (even though Bowman claims that there are not).

It's hard to put a lineup together, however, I will have a breakdown in an upcoming blog to who I would keep and who I would say buy bye to.

Off the top of my head, the 100% (or close to) group includes:

Toews
Kane
Saad
Debrincat
Schmaltz
Hinostroza
Hayden
Anisimov
Sikura

Keith
Seabrook
Murphy
Gustafsson
Rutta
Oesterle

Crawford



Forward: I think you have guys like Kampf, Duclair and maybe Martinsen fighting for either a contract or to make this team. I think we see a couple guys brought in with some speed, experience and one being a proven faceoff centre.

Defence: I wouldn't be surprised if Gustafsson, Rutta, Oesterle or Forsling were moved to upgrade their backend. Regardless, I think only 2 of these guys are here in the Fall. They will be adding 1 or 2 defenders in the offseason IMO. They may only start by adding 1 and then seeing if Jokiharju is ready to step in.

Goaltending: I would say it's 50/50 that Forsberg or Berube return as the backup. Obviously it didn't go well for them and if Crawford were to go down again, they won't want to go through that revolving door again. Maybe look for them to get creative by going off the board and grabbing someone like Ben Scrivens who has been playing overseas and give Forsberg a push in training camp. Forsberg has some skill, but mentally, 2017-18 was a rough season.

Hinostroza= NO

Perimeter player, has good wheels but is another smurf. He is not Jake Guentzel, or Victor Arvidsson and that's the skill set you need at a smaller size to be successful. Guentzel also plays with Sid, who is the best player on the planet. I just see another one dimensional undersized player.
- nickmo2699

I agree 100%! Once they get more depth he will be Scott Fosters teammate and carrying a briefcase five days a week! He would not make at least 25 other NHL rosters. He is in Illinois feel good story that shows some hustle.

Hey Scott - I think there are going to be a few changes (even though Bowman claims that there are not).

It's hard to put a lineup together, however, I will have a breakdown in an upcoming blog to who I would keep and who I would say buy bye to.

Off the top of my head, the 100% (or close to) group includes:

Toews
Kane
Saad
Debrincat
Schmaltz
Hinostroza
Hayden
Anisimov
Sikura

Keith
Seabrook
Murphy
Gustafsson
Rutta
Oesterle

Crawford



Forward: I think you have guys like Kampf, Duclair and maybe Martinsen fighting for either a contract or to make this team. I think we see a couple guys brought in with some speed, experience and one being a proven faceoff centre.

Defence: I wouldn't be surprised if Gustafsson, Rutta, Oesterle or Forsling were moved to upgrade their backend. Regardless, I think only 2 of these guys are here in the Fall. They will be adding 1 or 2 defenders in the offseason IMO. They may only start by adding 1 and then seeing if Jokiharju is ready to step in.

Goaltending: I would say it's 50/50 that Forsberg or Berube return as the backup. Obviously it didn't go well for them and if Crawford were to go down again, they won't want to go through that revolving door again. Maybe look for them to get creative by going off the board and grabbing someone like Ben Scrivens who has been playing overseas and give Forsberg a push in training camp. Forsberg has some skill, but mentally, 2017-18 was a rough season.
- Justin Lowe

I know its early but what free agents would the hawks be looking at in the offseason and what free agents would you like them to sign if they can? I think if the hawks can get moore or dehann on d beagle and vet backup goalie huntchinson would help the hawks contend for the playoffs again.

I agree 100%! Once they get more depth he will be Scott Fosters teammate and carrying a briefcase five days a week! He would not make at least 25 other NHL rosters. He is in Illinois feel good story that shows some hustle.
- wonthecup10

Respectfully disagree, I thought the same thing at the beginning of the year. But Hinostroza has proven to have a very good amount of puck battling ability. He is small, and won't be knocking anyone out of the way, but he will go in hard to any area.
Most of our forwards are about 40/60 for winning a puck battle. We're smaller, slower, and less skilled than many other team's average forwards. Vinnie is one of the few smurfs I've seen who will sometimes pull a rabbit out of a hat and win a puck battle that he has no business winning.

He can be a good fourth line player, he has the compete level for it. He lacks raw abilities, but 25 points is what I'd expect out of grinding 4th liner. He's earned a 4th line spot IMO.

I think it is 2nd line or 3rd line for him. He doesn't fit the bill for a good 4th liner. No sandpaper to his game.
- breadbag

If he is regularly on your 2nd or 3rd line the the team is in trouble.

Respectfully disagree, I thought the same thing at the beginning of the year. But Hinostroza has proven to have a very good amount of puck battling ability. He is small, and won't be knocking anyone out of the way, but he will go in hard to any area.
Most of our forwards are about 40/60 for winning a puck battle. We're smaller, slower, and less skilled than many other team's average forwards. Vinnie is one of the few smurfs I've seen who will sometimes pull a rabbit out of a hat and win a puck battle that he has no business winning.

He can be a good fourth line player, he has the compete level for it. He lacks raw abilities, but 25 points is what I'd expect out of grinding 4th liner. He's earned a 4th line spot IMO.
- ObeseOprah

I’ll buy that ,But the way Stan Bowman sounded as if he was going to be a core top six piece. That I will disagree on