Mise en place is a French phrase which translates to "putting in place" or "everything in its place" and is commonly used in the culinary arts when chefs and cooks get all of their ingredients, equipment, and other tools ready before meal service begins at restaurants and other food and drink establishments.
After today's U.S. Labor Day holiday, the NHL and all of its teams are getting everything in its place for the 2021-22 season not only for league play against one another but also for international competition on the Olympics stage in February. Final transactions are going down as training camps draw near.
For the NHL, one important element is COVID protocols to keep individuals, teams, organizations, and league personnel as safe and healthy as possible. Then the teams are putting into place their own measures to ensure safety and health for not only their employees but also fans who enter their arenas.
The Blackhawks roster on the official website has been recently updated to an expanded format so this could be fairly identical to what the training camp roster ends up being. The exact start date for training camp is still unannounced at time of print but will take place in the middle of September for all teams.
Here are a few storylines to watch for in training camp and some of which I will expand on once the dates and roster are confirmed:
* The capacity for Jonathan Toews to play.
* Possible contract extension for Dominik Kubalik.
* Dark horse candidates who could push for spots.
* Potential professional tryout (PTO) invites.
* Status of players who could be on the block, i.e. Dylan Strome, Alex Nylander, Calvin de Haan, Collin Delia, and Malcolm Subban.
Lastly, prior to training camp is a short exhibition in the Twin Cities pitting the Hawks prospects against the Wild prospects. The Windy City will play host next year. The multi-team prospect tourney in Traverse City in Northern Michigan is still happening but the Hawks opted to not enter as they did in the past.
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2022 Winter Olympics
With the agreement in place between the NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF, reporters, analysts, and fans of each team are starting to predict who will comprise the rosters for the countries competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Below is an early stab at who I think are Blackhawks hopefuls.
Canada
* Kirby Dach
* Marc-Andre Fleury
Czech Republic
* Dominik Kubalik
Finland
* Henrik Borgstrom
* Kevin Lankinen
Germany
* Lukas Reichel
Sweden
* Arvid Soderblom
Switzerland
* Philipp Kurashev
United States
* Alex DeBrincat
* Seth Jones
* Patrick Kane
Notes
Kirby Dach is likely not going to make Team Canada due to how deep the pool is for candidates. On the flipside, Lukas Reichel is a shoo-in given the pool isn't so deep for Team Germany plus he's been playing against men as a teenager for the last two years. Henrik Borgstrom also has a solid chance to make Team Finland.
However, Borgstrom's Finnish brother Kevin Lankinen may have a tougher time cracking their homeland's roster as one of the goalies given candidates like Kaapo Kahkonen, Joonas Korpisalo, Mikko Koskinen, Antti Raanta, and Juuse Saros. This doesn't even count recently retired Pekka Rinne and the injured Tuukka Rask.
In a similar boat is Arvid Soderblom who is a long shot for Team Sweden. Yet, his chances go up a tick if Henrik Lundqvist has retired not only from the NHL but any form of hockey. The Swedish goalies are likely Jacob Markstrom, Robin Lehner, and Linus Ullmark with competiton from Anton Forsberg and Marcus Hogberg.
There's a slight chance that Maxim Shalunov makes Team Russia but battling for spots is always fierce for this perennial powerhouse. Even if Shalunov makes the team, excitement from Hawks fans for him seems relatively low given he has been a prospect for 10 years. Yes, that's a decade now.
Then there's Toews for Team Canada. Chances are slim that he will make the team, again, due to Canada's depth especially at center. In addition, Toews could opt out of Olympics eligibility in order to preserve himself for the Blackhawks especially as someone who is immunocompromised due to his chronic ailment.
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Big Ten Hockey
For those whose TV packages include Big Ten games, a trio of prospects could grace your screens this season in sophomores Landon Slaggert and Ryder Rolston at the University of Notre Dame and transfer senior Jake Wise who is now at Ohio State University. Other NCAA prospects to keep an eye on include:
* Boston University: Drew Commesso & Alex Vlasic
* Colorado College: Dominic Basse
* University of Massachusetts-Amhert: Stanislav Demin
* University of Minnesota-Duluth: Wyatt Kaiser & Connor Kelley
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United Center
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NHL COVID Protocols
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See you on the boards!
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