Progressive Rock (blackhawks)

blackhawks

Progressive Rock

By Theo Fox

Feb 9, 2022 • 2:27 am

0comment-bubble

Next Game @ Oilers

One player to watch on the Oilers is up-and-coming rearguard Evan Bouchard who was taken a few spots at 10th after the Hawks took Adam Boqvist at 8th in the 2018 draft. Hindsight is always 20/20 yet I personally was hoping the Hawks would have selected either Bouchard or Noah Dobson -- who went 12th to the Islanders -- over Boqvist.

While it's early to anoint any of them as game-breaking impact players, Bouchard is a young RHD prospect who has the skills and acumen to be a top 4 workhorse if not 1st pair. Play in his own end still needs refinement but he's not devoid of defensive awareness either. If he rounds out his defense, is Bouchard similar to Brent Seabrook?

The Oil should hold on to Bouchard and Philip Broberg as tightly as they can and build their blueline around them. If the Hawks were to ever try snagging Bouchard, they would have to put together one heckuva package. Some rumors have the Oilers interested in Jakob Chychrun and either Bouchard or Broberg would likely go to the Coyotes.

Regardless of whether the Hawks ever pursue a young defender like Bouchard in a trade, a player of his ilk is very much needed for the Chicago D corps of the future. As it currently stands, there aren't any blueline prospects who are close to even just being Seabrook Lite especially one who is a right-handed shot.

Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula, and Louis Crevier are the only RHD in the system. Of this trio, Mitchell is closer to being Keith Lite than Seabrook Lite which is still a good thing. Regula has excellent mobility and playmaking ability but isn't a rock defensively given his size. Crevier is defensively wired but his offense is limited.

In upcoming drafts over the next few years, it would behoove the Hawks to conscript D prospects who bring that right balance of offense and defense who can munch minutes and play in all situations. As a LHD, Wyatt Kaiser is the closest to being that all-around defenseman. He is already in the system and could ink an ELC as early as this summer.

Roster Updates

Recalled Players

Arvid Soderblom has been outstanding in net for the IceHogs during calendar year 2022 going 4-2-1 with a cumulative save percentage of .940 in those 7 games plus a GAA of 2.00 or lower in 6 of those starts including a shutout against the Wolves. He's the future in some capacity for the Blackhawks. Collin Delia is not.

Expect Jakub Galvas to start on the 3rd pair along with either Caleb Jones or Erik Gustafsson while Seth Jones pairs up with Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy pairs up with Jake McCabe. Josiah Slavin should see some ice time in the bottom 6. Yesterday he was the 3C during practice but could also slide down to the 4th line at C or W.

One thing to remember is that taxi squads are no more now. They ceased to be a feature of NHL rosters once the All Star Break hit this past weekend. As a result, any youngsters called up from Rockford should ideally suit up for games otherwise they are better off starting in AHL games rather than sitting in NHL press boxes.

Injured Players

In interviews after yesterday's practice, interim head coach Derek King shared that forwards Jonathan Toews, Jujhar Khaira, Tyler Johnson, and Reese Johnson as well as goalie Kevin Lankinen will not travel with the team on the 3-game road trip to Edmonton, St. Louis, and Winnipeg. The next home game is on the 17th versus the Blue Jackets.

Blackhawks beat reporters had the following status updates on the aforementioned injured players:

* Toews is possibly cleared to do limited off-ice activities while still in concussion protocol.

* Khaira's back injury stemming from spasms needs to get another medical opinion.

* While Reese Johnson was expected to return later this month, Tyler Johnson's recovery timeline may have some time shaved off with a similar return date if not shortly after.

* Lankinen has been practicing with goalie coach Jimmy Waite.

Lastly, Riley Stillman remains on injured reserve with a left shoulder ailment with no update on his projected return to full health.

--

General Manager Updates

The 5th Candidate

Presently the Cubs assistant general manager, Jeff Greenberg is the 5th and supposedly final candidate for the Blackhawks general manager position. The Hawks could potentially interview more candidates but they publicly stated that they would be interviewing 5 candidates and a hiring decision is likely to come sooner than later.

Candidate Quotas?

Although these are superficial observations, it seems like the Hawks perhaps filled certain quotas -- either inadvertently or by design -- for types of candidates:

* A veteran NHL general manager with extensive experience in Peter Chiarelli.

* A veteran NHL assistant general manager without ever being a GM in Scott Mellanby.

* Two young NHL assistant general managers grounded in analytics in Kyle Davidson and Eric Tulsky.

* And a general manager or assistant general manager outside the world of hockey in Greenberg.

Could there be other candidates up the team's sleeve who fill other quotas like a former player with little to no front office experience like a Chris Chelios or a former player and coach like an Eddie Olczyk? The thing with Olczyk is he serves on the GM search advising panel along with former players Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp.

--

Trade Rumors

--

See you on the boards!

Show Comments
Loading...
0
Show comments for this article