New Blackhawks assistant coach Kevin Dean said today he and Luke Richardson are aligned on something:
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) July 14, 2022
The Hawks will play zone defense, not man-to-man, next season.
Details in the second part of this notebook: https://t.co/72qh15v8Pn
New bench boss Luke Richardson will lean on one of his assistants Kevin Dean to run the defense. Richardson and Dean were defensemen in the NHL for 28 combined seasons. In a recent interview it became clear that they will be instituting a zone defense. It's ideal that Anders Sorensen does the same for the farm team.
A zone defense may prove to be the better system to run for a team virtually starting from scratch with not only young players but also personnel -- new and old -- who have little to no experience playing with one another. Patrolling assigned zones may be the way to go rather than remembering who's covering who.
Man-to-man works if there's trust with each skater to be where they need to be. However, such a system breaks down easily and/or is easy for opponents to pick apart. At least in a zone scheme, the high-danger areas will be theoretically locked down while chasing the puck carrier to low-percentage areas is minimized.
What will also enhance the defensive fortune of the Hawks is the proactiveness to attack the other team early, maintain tight gaps, turn over the puck, and flip the ice swiftly to start the rush in the opposite direction. A passive structure that allows the opponent to dance and set up freely is a recipe for disaster.
"We're going to compete, we're going to close hard, we're going to transition fast, we're going to get our pucks to the net. Those are basics we want to harp on and fundamentals we expect all our defensemen to work on."
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) July 14, 2022
--Blackhawks assistant coach Kevin Dean pic.twitter.com/FKrOqHw1z2
Dylan Strome
The Dylan Strome saga is at its end as he signed a one-year contract worth $3.5M with the Capitals. Even though his qualifying offer would have been $100K more than what he ultimately got from the Caps, the Hawks would likely have had to pay him at least $4M and upwards of $4.5M had he gone to arbitration instead.
Strome joins former Blackhawks teammates Henrik Borgstrom and Erik Gustafsson in D.C. With Strome, Borgstrom, and Kirby Dach departed, center depth in Chicago has been reduced to Jonathan Toews, Tyler Johnson, Philipp Kurashev, and a collection of bottom 6 pivots like Sam Lafferty, Reese Johnson, and MacKenzie Entwistle.
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Dylan Sikura
Dylan Sikura returns to Chicago for his second tour of duty after a breakout 2021-22 AHL campaign. He's been gaining more and more confidence with each passing season to be an impact offensive player. His play without the puck has been reliable enough where he doesn't hurt the team by being out of position.
Many may only view Sikura as being stashed in Rockford to provide veteran experience for the young prospects coming into the pro system. However, Sikura may have more to give to the parent club this time around especially during a rebuild. Speedy and dynamic, he can play all forward positions anywhere in the top 9.
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Dylan Wells
ðŸ–Šï¸ SIGNED 🖊ï¸
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) July 14, 2022
Well, well, well...we've signed goalie @dylanwells30! https://t.co/AYIpsKelvE
Arvid Soderblom will be the Hogs starter with Jaxson Stauber as the backup. Cale Morris is an RFA and has yet to be signed by any team. Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia have signed with the Predators and Canucks, respectively. And of course, Petr Mrazek and Alex Stalock will be the tandem for the Blackhawks.
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Prospect Development Camp
Jake Wise (24) creating in a 3v3 scrimmage pic.twitter.com/lHQecWnezs
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) July 14, 2022
With middle 6 potential, Wise may be attractive to ink to an ELC given his offensive skill, three-zone play, skating ability, and compete level. To a lesser degree is Foo who hustles and plays with pace as a 4th line energy winger. Demin is an excellent skater but lacks pace and consistency making him inconsequential.
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See you on the boards!
Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, NBC Sports Chicago, The Athletic Chicago