BRANDON
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 16, 2022
HAGEL
IT'S TIED …¼ï¸…¼ï¸ pic.twitter.com/IgVXUCqwh9
Yet, the player who epitomizes this philosophy predicated on hustle and worth ethic -- Brandon Hagel -- continues to demonstrate the impact such game play can have across the entire ice sheet. All teams need to build around elite players but they also need energizer bunnies with varying levels of skill inserted up and down the lineup.
When seeking personnel to acquire in trades and prospects to draft, it behooves the Hawks to place a lot of stock in these traits of hustle and work ethic while also ensuring there's a commitment to defense and execution of fundamental hockey. In other words, don't stop moving in order to make a difference with and without the puck.
So besides Hagel, are there any such players on the present roster?
At forward, Sam Lafferty is certainly cut from a similar cloth as Hagel but with less skill to produce at a clip worthy of a scoring line. On the blueline, Riley Stillman comes closest. While he has some rough edges to iron out in his defensive game, the exertion of effort and compete level is evident in his shifts.
Then down on the farm, Lukas Reichel is a sleeker and more finesse version of Hagel with greater offensive upside. Andrei Altybarmakian is Hagel-like but in a grittier pugnacious model. And though they are on AHL contracts, Dylan McLaughlin and D.J. Busdeker have non-stop motors, flair for offense, and reliability in their own end.
Josiah Slavin, Mike Hardman, and Evan Barratt have it within them to play like Hagel yet they can disappear for stretches. When these three apply themselves and are on their A game, they can be forces on the ice like Hagel. But when they're not, it's easy to not notice them. Obviously, consistency is key for them to thrive.
As for rearguards, Ian Mitchell and Jakub Galvas are always busting their tails. Mitchell is developing more confidence and strength to increase the effectiveness of his endeavors but his growth over the past year has been significantly positive. Galvas has natural poise and intelligence to make smart plays all while pushing the pace.
Digging deeper into the prospect pool, forwards Jalen Luypen, Ryder Rolston, Landon Slaggert, Victor Stjernborg, and Antti Saarela as well as defenseman Wyatt Kaiser are ones to watch who are trending toward the way Hagel plays. Not all will make it so it will be exciting to see which ones rise above.
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Blackhawks Game Summary
Tuesday Boxscore
DeBrincat - Strome - Kane Hagel - Toews - Dach Borgstrom - Carpenter - Lafferty Kubalik - Kurashev - Entwistle
de Haan - S Jones McCabe - C Jones Stillman - Gustafsson
Fleury Lankinen
Scratches: T Johnson, Murphy
1st Goal (0-1): Bergeron (Marchand, Hall) 2nd Goal (1-1): Hagel (C Jones, McCabe) 3rd Goal (1-2): Grzelcyk (Hall, Pastrnak) OT
SOG For/Against: 20/48 PP: 0-for-3 PK: 4-for-4 Faceoffs Won: 48%
FINAL: Bruins 2, #Blackhawks 1 (OT)
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 16, 2022
Shot attempts: 78-42 BOS
Shots on goal: 48-20 BOS
5-on-5 scoring chances: 34-12 BOS
5-on-5 high danger chances: 16-3 BOS pic.twitter.com/BLW3a8rpx4
HAGEL TIPS IT FOR THE TIE 🚨 pic.twitter.com/eURQMo3RU3
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 16, 2022
Blackhawks Notebook
NHL Arenas to chant "Fleury! Fleury!" this year:
— Joe Brand (@Joe_Brand1) March 16, 2022
United Center (tonight)
VGK's T-Mobile Arena (Jan. 8th)
MTL's Belle Centre (Dec. 9th)
* Jake McCabe has been collecting apples of late with 5 assists in the past 4 games; he has a dozen total on the season with 17 being his career high.
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IceHogs Game Summary
Tuesday Boxscore
Hardman - Slavin - Connolly Altybarmakian - Reichel - Teply Barratt - Gicewicz - Busdeker Pour - G Mitchell - Gabriel
Phillips - I Mitchell Kalynuk - Regula Stanton - Beaudin
Soderblom Delia
1st Goal (1-0): G Mitchell (Pour) 2nd Goal (1-1): Scott (unassisted) 3rd Goal (2-1): Reichel (Altybarmakian) 4th Goal (3-1): Kalynuk (Beaudin, Connolly) PP 5th Goal (3-2): Payne (Gaudet, Simpson) 6th Goal (3-3): Sikura (Christiansen, Payne) SH 7th Goal (4-3): Reichel (unassisted) OT
SOG For/Against: 32/36 PP: 1-for-2 PK: 2-for-2
Highlights
Lukas Reichel strikes in OT to give the @goicehogs a 4-3 win. pic.twitter.com/nF6eSmyuuA
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) March 16, 2022
IceHogs Notebook
King on why Galvas, Regula & Phillips have been getting NHL call-ups and Kalynuk, Beaudin & Mitchell haven't:
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 14, 2022
"Because they haven’t been playing as good as those guys."
He did later say Mitchell has been playing well, so I think that's more about Kalynuk & Beaudin.
* The peculiar thing with Alec Regula is his NHL version is much better than his AHL version as he's more defensively sound with the Hawks but more of an adventure -- in a not-so-good way -- with the Hogs.
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Prospects Notebook
signed Vlasic, it's fantastic! pic.twitter.com/HN6gWf2v9R
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 15, 2022
Looking ahead to 2022-23, Ethan Del Mastro could ink his ELC by the summer and join fellow defensive defensemen Vlasic, Nolan Allan, and Louis Crevier in Rockford as a budding 4 horsemen with size, muscle, and shutdown ability. Add in Regula, Wyatt Kalynuk, Nicolas Beaudin, and Isaak Phillips, and that's a decent D corps to build from.
This of course assumes top defenders Mitchell and Galvas graduate from the minors to be full-time NHL starters this fall. Who knows, though, as one of Regula, Kalynuk, or even Vlasic could be dark horses to make the Hawks roster out of training camp as a 3rd youngster. The number of available spots depends on departures by a few current veterans.
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See you on the boards!
Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, NBC Sports Chicago, The Athletic Chicago