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Extra Spicy

September 10, 2021, 3:07 AM ET [126 Comments]
Theo Fox
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT

In the last blog I shared a series of semi-hot takes on the Blackhawks -- perhaps you thought they were all 100% scorching hot. Today's blog heading into the weekend has a new series of takes on other players not mentioned in the previous one.

In no particular order of (ir)rationality:

* Patrick Kane will flirt with 40 goals and 100 points as he's surrounded by greater forward depth this season which results in defenses not keying in on just him.

* Alex DeBrincat will break his personal best of 41 goals and inch towards 90 points while also picking up where he left off as a growing force on the penalty kill.

* Henrik Borgstrom will have an up and down season in his first season with the Hawks but show enough glimmer of hope as an impact player who is capable of 60 points by next year.

* Adam Gaudette will also have a see-saw first full season with the Hawks showing spurts of brilliance on offense then disappearing for stretches as well.

* Jujhar Khaira will be fine -- using Joel Quenneville's lexicon for post-game player evaluations -- as a heavy hitter on the 4th line but being rather inconsequential otherwise.

* Caleb Jones and Riley Stillman will battle for ice time as they rotate between the starting lineup and press box in order to make way for Wyatt Kalynuk and perhaps other youngsters.

* Marc-Andre Fleury will play Vezina-caliber between the pipes but his stats may not reflect his productivity due to a team defense still trying to find stability and consistency.

* Kevin Lankinen will play a fair amount of games as he learns from one of the best in the business en route to fine tuning not only his in-game technique but also his off-day regimen.

* MacKenzie Entwistle, Mike Hardman, and Josiah Slavin will demonstrate how their size, compete level, and industriousness with the Hogs will make them attractive as a future Hawks 4th line.

* Andrei Altybarmakian and Evan Barratt will elevate their offense to more than 0.50 PPG while continuing to be little balls of hate that drive the Hogs opponents batty.

* Ian Mitchell and Nicolas Beaudin will play nearly all of 2021-22 as the Hogs top D pair and be better for it as they lobby for starting roles with the 2022-23 Hawks.

* Jakub Galvas will leverage his 5 years of pro experience in Europe to traverse a short learning curve with the Hogs and earn a cup of coffee with the Hawks as a blueline injury call up.

* Chad Krys will bounce back from missing most of last season and prove his worth as a dependable 3-zone rearguard with potential to crack the 3rd pair for the Hawks D corps down the road.

* Arvid Soderblom will impress in the AHL and emerge as the Hogs starter to push for the Hawks backup role next season but Cale Morris will make things interesting with his own campaign.

Get that flame thrower out again and blast away!



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