The Blackhawks and the rest of the NHL begin training camp today on July 12th.
I can confidently say that I will never type that sentence ever again.
It's exciting to think that hockey is so close to being back. And while the media isn't going to be in reporting on what's going on inside the building, surely, the team will be capturing some content to get us all pumped up.
What do we need to know as it relates to the Blackhawks? Here are a few questions on my list, that I will attempt to answer:
* Who has opted out?
As of right now, it looks like Mike Green is the only player on both teams that have opted out to play this postseason. This is actually a bigger hit to the Oilers backend than some may think. Green can play top 4 minutes and could have been deadly QBing a powerplay that includes 2 of the best players in the world in McDavid and Draisaitl.
* Where's Crow?
It's odd, Corey Crawford has not turned up yet for the skates. However, there's a good chance he's there today when training camp opens.
If he was opting out for the postseason, I think we would have heard that by now.
If Crawford is out, that is a big blow to the Blackhawks chances vs. the Oilers.
That would mean Malcolm Subban or Collin Delia would be your starting goaltender for game #1.
We'll know more today regarding Corey.
* What do the Oilers look like?
Edmonton is going with 5 goaltenders, 10 defencemen, and 18 forwards on their RTP roster.
Here is the full lineup that will take the ice today at Rogers Place.
* What could the Blackhawks lineup look like?
So far here are the Blackhawks that have been out on the ice and appear to be a part of the RTP roster:
Forwards (17) – Toews, Kane, DeBrincat, Strome, Dach, Kubalik, Saad, Nylander, Caggiula, Kampf, Highmore, Carpenter, Hagel, Sikura, Kurashev, Quenneville, Entwistle
Defence (11) – Keith, Seabrook, Murphy, de Haan, Maatta, Boqvist, Koekkoek, Carlsson, Gilbert, Beaudin, Regula
Goalies (5) – Subban, Delia, Lankinen, Tompkins… and I'm assuming Crawford shows up tomorrow.
Is Seabrook going to be in the lineup on August 1st? I think it's 50/50 at this point as he and the coaching staff will need to see how he feels and looks in these next couple weeks.
Is de Haan going to be ready to rock? To that, I say yes.
So this is what I do with the lineup:
Saad – Toews – Kubalik
Nylander – Strome – Kane
DeBrincat – Dach – Caggiula
Highmore – Kampf – Carpenter
Keith – Boqvist
de Haan – Murphy
Maatta – Koekkoek
Crawford
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I really don't see Seabrook being ready and fully effective by August 1st. I think it's just too much for him after 3 major surgeries.
In terms of the forward lines, I would like to see Colliton set them up for success from day 1 of training camp 2.0.
What I mean by that is putting guys together who played a lot or have existing chemistry.
Line 1 – Saad and Kubalik have been so good together since October (when they played together) and when playing with Toews, they have a really strong first line that can be effective at both ends.
Line 2 – I know some will not like this Nylander and Strome playing alongside Kane, however, I think this trio was playing well right at the time of the break and could build off of that. I would put Nylander on a short leash, but if he can play smart in all zones, get the puck to Kane and finish when #88 puts the puck on his stick, he could set himself up well to start with Kane next year.
Line 3 – This one will need the most time to gel, but I like Dach's right-handedness feeding one-timers to DeBrincat on the left-side. I like the Caggiula can help add some jam on that line, they could be very effective.
Line 4 – These guys know each other well and can be used as a defensive line. I don't have any issues there just as long they don't get scored on because they have next to zero offense.
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Looking forward to the opening of all training camps. The Blackhawks camp kicks off at 11am and the full roster will be released this morning at some point.
Lastly, I want to get all of your questions about the Edmonton Oilers. Do you have any questions about the Blackhawks opponent? Let me know and I will be talking to fellow HockeyBuzz writer, Sean Maloughney who covers the Oilers.
Stay safe and see ya out there!
TC
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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