The “Blackhawks… played their final two preseason games on the weekend. I have Blackhawks in quotations as the Saturday matchup was actually the Rockford IceHogs team.
With the Blackhawks regulars in Europe already, the NHL schedule a game between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks.
For the Bruins it was essentially their opening day lineup getting in their last touch up game. For the Hawks, they knew their players would be overseas so the only option was to send out the Rockford IceHogs.
I’m not entirely sure why the Blackhawks organization would agree to this set up.
The result was an 8-2 thumping by the Bruins. The IceHogs players looked like deer in headlights for the majority of the game. Sure, it was an experience and lessons were learned but how helpful was this game really – outside of boosting the Bruins ego.
Anyway, it’s over with and let’s hope this serves as something Derek King and his team can draw from moving into their season.
Some takeaways from this game include:
Matthew Highmore / Physicality – he has a high-motor and gives it every shift. He even got into with Brad Marchand which was nice to see someone stick up for themselves/the team. One thing is certain, the IceHogs better have someone on the depth chart or in the ECHL that can play a bigger, physical game. While the ‘Hogs look like they will be a skilled group, there was zero pushback on Saturday until Highmore went after Marchand.
Philipp Kurashev – he’s continue to show that he has a knack for scoring goals. Kurashev had the 1st goal for Chicago and was noticeable creating other opportunities.
Brandon Hagel – the strong camp/preseason continued for Hagel. He had an assist, shot on goal and a couple hits. If he can start to produce solid numbers in the AHL, he will be up in Chicago at some point for a cup of coffee.
Aleksi Saarela – while he didn’t score, Saarela has a lot of NHL qualities to his game already. Like Hagel, if he starts putting up points, he will get one of the 1st calls to Chicago. I predict he will be the leader in points in Rockford if he ends up staying for an extended period.
Tim Soderlund – nice goal! This guy has wheels. I’ve said from the start, I want to see his offensive game progress here in North America. This goal showed me that’s possible:
The defence and goaltending are really hard to judge in a game like that so I’ll glaze over as no one really stood out too much in a good or bad way to me.
All players that participated in this game have been sent back to Rockford. They will continue their training camp.
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Moving on to the Hawks win in Berlin yesterday.
It was a closer game than I anticipated. I knew it wasn’t going to be an 8-2 Hawks thumping, however, I also didn’t think that it would be 1-1 late in the 3rd period.
The Hawks played well for the most part and had a tricky job of rotating in with 13 forwards and 7 defence.
Here are my observations from this game:
Nylander – it looks like Colliton isn’t completely sold on Nylander on the top line, however, he did score while with Toews and Kane. I think the strategy might be to start Nylander with those two but he won’t think twice to move up Drake Caggiula when that line needs a spark(plug). Colliton has done this in the last two games and I could see it working as Nylander eases into his first full NHL season.
Line 2 – I think it’s saw to say that DeBrincat-Strome-Shaw will be your 2nd line this year. They haven’t put up big numbers to date, but I can see them catching fire in no time with their chemistry.
Kubalik – this guy is a gamer. He played well again yesterday and was a great addition by Stan Bowman. Kubalik is a big guy, who can skate, shoot and is relentless every shift. My only concern is that he would benefit from having a better playmaker on his wing vs. Kampf and Saad who currently are making up the 3rd line.
Perlini – the guy looked like he was trying to do too much out there yesterday. He had some good shifts and some not-so-good ones. He was trying to give it 110% every time he was out there, so I like that. I believe he starts as the 13th forward still.
Keith – Duncs is still in preseason mode, that’s for sure. He had some horrendous shifts out there yesterday. I’m not worried though, he and Gus are your top pairing this year.
Maatta – I’m thoroughly impressed with this guy. I don’t find him slow, I think he’s a smart skater and plays the right way in the defensive zone. His skillset is something the Hawks have missed for years.
Gilbert – wow, is this guy ever looking to leave an impression. He had another strong game yesterday with a couple real night hits and I’m looking forward to seeing him progress in Rockford. At this rate, I wouldn’t see him up in Chicago at some point this year.
Goalers – both guys are good… Crow looked real strong.
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Lastly, I will give credit to the Berlin team and their fans. It was a fun game to watch and they played well, especially their goalie, Sebastian Dahm! He was incredible.
What did you guys and gals think of the weekend performances?
Now, the real games start. Chicago takes on Philly on Friday in Prague. I will have more notes as the week goes on.
See ya out there!
TC
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