Observations and reflections from the fourth and fifth days of Blackhawks training camp. Thursday was off-ice workouts then back on the ice on Friday.
Note: Observations and reflections based on video clips shared on social media by Scott Powers of the Athletic and Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago.
--
Still Unavailable
Nikita Zadorov was "unfit to play" for a third straight day while Brent Seabrook remains out as well.
Evan Barratt skated on his own for the first time on Friday so hopefully that means he is close to full participation.
Carl Soderberg is still working out his immigration travel. He also needs to quarantine once he gets to the U.S. so that is another layer of delay to his availability.
Former Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford has officially taken a leave of absence from the Devils.
Another former Hawks goalie Scott Darling has been released from his PTO with the Panthers.
--
Ian Mitchell
The clip below is a great look at how Ian Mitchell constantly faces the play by effectively skating backwards. If he does have to turn his back to the play, he looks over his shoulder to see oncomers and options.
Ian Mitchell skating pic.twitter.com/hCCPUKOAJR
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 8, 2021
Pius Suter with a beautiful redirection on power play. But there’s controversy on whether or not it was a high stick. Close call. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/ADCnenVrmc
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 8, 2021
Pius Suter
The following clip of Suter is a great example of how he has no wasted movements and makes every move count during his shifts:
* He first stick checks while forechecking to preoccupy the defender who is keeping tabs on him.
* He then hugs the boards to keep a puck in the offensive zone during a clearing attempt by the other team.
* Next he engages along the boards, taking on two opponents and allowing linemate Lucas Wallmark to come in and retrieve the puck.
* Lastly, he gets to the slot and keeps moving to screen the goalie but also evades the defender, still getting a stick on the puck for a deflection attempt.
A look at Pius Suter pic.twitter.com/PhV3a6pgrB
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 8, 2021
Philipp Kurashev
Similar to Suter, Philipp Kurashev also has no wasted movements and makes every move count during his shifts. He drives the middle and is willing to take a hit to make a play.
Isolation on Kurashev (23) for a shift pic.twitter.com/GUl7mruMKu
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 8, 2021
Mirror the Opponent
This next set of clips is a study of defenseman needing to mirror the motion, speed, and direction of the puck carrier. Mirroring well often leads to neutralizing the other team's offensive drives.
However, failure to mirror or not mirroring enough allows the opponent to side step you or simply blow past you with a burst of speed.
Some blueliners executed this drill well like Chad Krys and Michael Krutil while Wyatt Kalynuk and Adam Boqvist not so much.
Pius Suter going for the spin-o-rama but Chad Krys makes a nice defensive play. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/25r7ttzdlh
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 8, 2021
Krutil defending Pirri pic.twitter.com/eZAHGCn8IM
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 8, 2021
Kalynuk defending Hagel pic.twitter.com/dYPqZv2iXn
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 8, 2021
Boqvist defending Kampf pic.twitter.com/wSYPexqRXf
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 8, 2021
Duncan Keith breaks up a chance and creates one pic.twitter.com/RU2SsScW1y
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 8, 2021
Shoot the Puck
Just an example of something Hawks fans want to see less of this season and in the future: missing a perfect shooting opportunity by making one pass too many.
Not only does Boqvist squander a chance to shoot but his pass is also off the mark as Patrick Kane has to move the puck from backhand to forehand which allows the defender to close in fast.
Adam Boqvist passes up opportunity to shoot on power play, then Kevin Lankinen makes save on Alex DeBrincat. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/jstTvvnWOJ
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 8, 2021
Power Play Units
Two pieces of critique came out of Friday's camp day regarding the power play. The first was wonderment on which defensemen should play the points on each unit.
During a 5-on-4 drill within a scrimmage, the Hawks rolled out:
PP1 = DeBrincat, Strome, Kane, Shaw, Keith PP2 = Kubalik, Wallmark, Suter, Pirri, Keith
Keith started on both units but eventually other blueliners rotated in. It is assumed Keith will play the point on one unit during the season.
The other unit is also assumed to have Boqvist as the quarterback. It is also not out of the question to have two D-men on either or both units.
Mitchell is as close to a lock as there is to make the team. Lucas Carlsson has a solid shot as the 7th man. Kalynuk and Krys are dark horses.
Each of Mitchell, Carlsson, Kalynuk, and Krys have strong skating, puck movement, playmaking ability, and capacity to get shots through to the net.
Colliton says he's trying to create different identities for the two power play units.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 8, 2021
One will be focused on puck movement and passing to create scoring chances; the other focused on shooting.
In other words, would it make more sense to have each unit be able to use either identity depending on how the other team's PK is playing them?
However, having split identities makes sense in that if one unit can't get it done with one strategy, then the other unit may be able to break through with a different one.
--
AHL Schedule
The AHL is close to confirming a 32-game schedule for each team with 16 home games and 16 away games.
--
See you on the boards!