"Some research studies suggest such competition can motivate employees, make them put in more effort, and achieve results. Indeed, competition increases physiological and psychological activation, which prepares body and mind for increased effort and enables higher performance." (Source: Havard Business Review)
The above quote is taken from a Havard Business Review article as it relates more to the workforce in a professional setting like banks and other financial institutions.
How important is competition as it relates to team performance in professional sports? I think it's vital.
I love competition – and while my competitive intensity has gone down a bit over the year – I am a huge proponent of using competition to get the most out of a person.
That's why it pains me to see in some youth sports that they have gone so far the other way to ‘protect' the kids from being distinguished as a "winner" or "loser".
It's a fact of life, you lose out on a job you wanted, you win by impressing your boss enough to get a promotion over a colleague, etc.
This is a life topic for another day, but I swear it's relevant to this blog.
The Hawks have lacked skill and overall depth in comparison to their Championship winning teams. Fact.
They have been chewed up and spit out by the realities of the salary cap.
Stan Bowman has made some market corrections to his team (most being his own errors that needed fixed) and the Hawks are in a better spot today as a team as they have been in recent years.
From the outside, one might think the Hawks have too many NHL quality players on their team. And they still have to sign Brendan Perlini on top of that.
This might be the case, but there's something to be said about the quality of professional competition that has been created.
This is by design.
I have heard that the Hawks really lacked that hunger that is created from a) wanting to do anything it takes to win and b) the fear of losing your job.
That's why I believe on top of the additions that address obvious holes like the team defence and penalty kill, Stan Bowman has also acquired some real character players and winners.
Zach Smith, Ryan Carpenter, Andrew Shaw, Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta and Robin Lehner.
These are a lot of additions that will have a ripple effect on the ice and in the dressing room.
… and create some serious compete the second the Blackhawks training camp opens.
I wanted to breakdown key positions/areas that will have serious competitions and will make the coaching staff think real hard before and cuts or promotions as they formulate the most effective lineup.
Part 1 will look at the forwards and Part 2 (tomorrow) will look at the defence and goaltending. Let's get into it: Top 6 – We know that these guys are set in the top 6: Toews (1C), Kane (RW1), Strome (2C) and DeBrincat (LW1). It sounds like that's the way their positions will play out, however, who are the best options to play on line 1 or 2?
We've seen lineup combinations already and we all know they are subject to change, however, I want to jump in on the fun with my take on the wingers I believe are the best fit.
For this exercise, we're using Toews and Kane as line 1. Who has the best shot as their LW (aka the lottery spot)?
Drake Caggiula worked nicely on that line at times last year as that feisty winger that can get on the forecheck, win puck battles and skate with those guys; I believe he is better suited for the bottom 6 and that's where he will start.
Who's the closest to replicated those skills above that Caggiula brought? Andrew Shaw.
Shaw is also familiar with those guys and is a right-handed shot. Kane works best with at least one righty on his line and Shaw could easily slide into that spot.
Speaking of right-handed shot, Alex Nylander could really kick-start his NHL career in Chicago by landed on this line. No, he's not a guy that will throw his body around and dig out pucks but his offensive creativity could work with Kane. Unfortunately, I feel like this will leave Toews doing all of the heavy lifting, but there is a chance this trio works well.
Dylan Sikura is another name that will make some cringe in this spot. I will say though, even though he only comes in at about 160 lbs soaking wet, he was great at getting in on the forecheck and disrupting plays. Sikura was able to make the smart play and was up there in primary assists in terms of TOI. It's not likely he begins here, but a name that shouldn't be banished to Rockford just yet.
Some have Dominik Kubalik in this spot but from all accounts, he's a pure RW to me. More on him in below.
So who's the winner, Tyler? Who wins the lottery?
I'm going to say, it Alex Nylander makes the team, it's his spot as LW1. However, my more probable answer is Andrew Shaw. He played with talented players last year in Montreal (Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin) and I believe the Hawks want to continue to get the best out of Shaw in terms of production, keeping his momentum going.
Line 2 will most likely consist of Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat.
I will make this one short because I have my favourite of who will play in this spot – Dominik Kubalik.
I love the guys' size, speed and shot.
It will be awfully difficult to defend a one-timer from the left (DeBrincat) or right (Kubalik) at any given point on line 2's shift in the offensive zone.
Runners up here in this spot are Brendan Perlini as he had some success and chemistry with those guys. Also, I could easily see Andrew Shaw playing "dad" on that line with those kids. Bottom 6 – What a slugfest this is going to be in the bottom 6. I'm not sure where exactly to begin so let's just list who is in the running for a spot on line 3 or 4:
Kampf (C) Carpenter (C, RW) Shaw (C, LW, RW) Dach (C, RW) Smith (C, LW) Saad (LW, RW) Perlini (LW, RW) Nylander (LW, RW) Caggiula (LW, RW) Kubalik (LW, RW) Sikura (LW, RW) Wedin (LW, RW) Kurashev (C, LW) Quenneville (C, LW) Saarela (LW) Highmore (C, LW, RW) Hagel (LW)
… holy moly… I'm just going to stop there.
I am not going to break down every player but rather state what I think is the most likely to happen.
Let's first start with Dach because I believe his making the team (or not) has a ripple effect on the rest of the bottom 6.
I truly believe he will have every shot to make the team. He's off to a great start. He had a solid developmental camp. Now, he's appearing in Chicago Pro Hockey League games. Next up will be the Prospect Tournament.
Dach is a true centre and if you're looking at the possibilities in that position with the names above, the only other – and realistic – option is David Kampf in my opinion.
Sure, guys like Carpenter, Smith and Shaw can play down the middle but are better suited on the wing.
The fact the Anisimov was moved for a return of Zack Smith – who is better at LW at this point in his career – might speak a lot to what they think of Dach playing with the Hawks this year.
I can't definitively say he will make the team until I see Dach in training camp and in preseason against other NHLers but there's a good chance he starts in Chicago for game #1. So, I'm putting him there for now.
Dach himself says he works best with guys who work well down low, as well as guys who can shoot (he's more of a pass-first player). Therefore, Brandon Saad would be an ideal, two-way player for him.
From there, I have either Smith or Perlini on that line if Shaw is in the top 6.
Smith/Perlini – Dach – Saad is your 3rd line.
Then, I have Caggiula-Kampf-Carpenter as a 4th line that makes sense in my brain.
Then, it will be a real battle for the 13th and 14th forwards and I have Quenneville and Smith/Perlini to round it out.
--
As it stands today, we have the following lines:
Shaw-Toews-Kane DeBrincat-Strome-Kubalik Smith-Dach-Saad Caggiula-Kampf-Carpenter
Ex/Rotating: Perlini, Quenneville
Now, of course, I reserve the right to change my mind at any time.
I had some difficult decisions to make, primarily on Nylander and Sikura, but ultimately sent them to Rockford. Also, I have Dach on the team but that might change after 9 games.
Ideally, Nylander can impress and make his way to the top 6 which would make a great 3rd line of Saad-Dach-Shaw or Saad-Kampf-Shaw. I say this would be ideal because if Nylander and Kubalik and carve out productive roles on line 1 and 2 then this makes the Hawks overall depth very difficult for opponents to match up against.
As mentioned above, next up tomorrow is defence and goaltending competition.
See ya out there!
TC