Next Game vs Avalanche
Snow on the ground, Avalanche in the building â„ï¸ pic.twitter.com/4sYsJsPl0g
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 4, 2022
Avs superstar forward Nathan MacKinnon was in COVID protocol for that opening night match. He's been healthy since then and is red hot riding a 10-game point streak (2 goals, 15 assists).
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Trade Rumors
Chicago’s de Haan could generate much interest https://t.co/ogeO6gwwyB
— The Fourth Period (@TFP) January 4, 2022
Teams with projected interest may include the Oilers, Panthers, Islanders, and Wild. Unless interim general manager Kyle Davidson drives a hard bargain, the Hawks likely receive a mid-range draft pick.
Regardless, de Haan is likely the only Chicago D-man shipped out by the trade deadline. There's more interest to move forwards like Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik, and Ryan Carpenter plus Marc-Andre Fleury.
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Center Depth
Henrik Borgstrom and the Blackhawks have spent months searching high and low to try to find his niche.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 3, 2022
They might finally be making some progress with that search.
New story: https://t.co/o1QqALcCqJ
While he's got a long way to go still as a youthful NHLer traversing the natural learning curve, Borgstrom becoming at least a 2C may not be far-fetched anymore. Borgstrom, Lukas Reichel, and Kirby Dach down the middle?
Could be better but also not a bad place to start. Reichel oozes blue-chip talent with game-breaking speed, multiple gears, sublime hockey sense, fearlessness, resilience, and 3-zone play.
While Borgstrom is a former 23rd overall pick and Reichel is a former 17th overall pick, Dach as the former 3rd overall pick may be the one who may struggle most to reach potential given his frustrations.
Or Dach could turn it on later this season or in 2022-23 to take off as a franchise center who can also lead the team as a future captain. Right now, Dach seems to be in his own head and needs to rise above.
If Dach can, depth down the middle could become a strength not only with him, Borgstrom, and Reichel but also with Philipp Kurashev, MacKenzie Entwistle, Evan Barratt, Jake Wise, and Antti Saarela.
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IceHogs Updates
Medical Update: We are BACK! All players and staff have been cleared from COVID-19 protocols. https://t.co/g4tYKbA7vo pic.twitter.com/a40mfn08Ik
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 3, 2022
* D.J. Busdeker (W) * Carson Gicewicz (C/W) * Mike Hardman (W) * Garrett Mitchell (C/W) * Dmitri Osipov (W/D) * Jakub Pour (W) * Lukas Reichel (C/W) * Nicolas Beaudin (D) * Jakub Galvas (D) * Ian Mitchell (D) * Anders Sorensen (interim head coach) * Jared Nightingale (assistant coach)
With the wholesale return of personnel, the Hogs can put together a more competitively balanced team as far as the AHL goes. Consider this possible starting lineup:
Nylander - Reichel - Hardman Teply - McLaughlin - Altybarmakian Gicewicz - Barratt - Morrison Pour - G Mitchell - Busdeker Osipov, Yetman
Kalynuk - I Mitchell Beaudin - Galvas Phillips - Stanton Watson
Delia Aubrun
Notes:
* Cale Morris (G) is still on the Blackhawks taxi squad while Kevin Lankinen remains in COVID protocol.
* Alec Regula (D) is also on the taxi squad.
* Riley McKay (W) and Jacob LeGuerrier (D) were returned to the Indy Fuel of the ECHL on New Year's Eve.
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See you on the boards!