That's the way in all Olympic events - a bad landing in a skating jump, a turn too wide in the downhill, a bad broom in curling - a minor problem in any of the events means years of work down the tubes.

At least this isn't the most important tournament for hockey.
- StLBravesFan

Don't tell the Russians and Vladdy Putin that.

The U.S. looks much the best so far because they have scored 13 even strength goals. But all of that means absolutely nothing because not one of these 12 teams get eliminated after the preliminary round. At least 5 of them should have been sent packing.

One bad game, one bad bounce, crappy ice - anything could happen in a one gamer.
- RickJ

I have always liked the us teams BC they always seemed to be made do the perfect fix of superstars and really talented foot soldiers. Always seemed to be built for these tournaments

Don't tell the Russians and Vladdy Putin that.
- RickJ

I think Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsyuk, Varlomov, Bob would agree with yes....

Yes. Guys like Brendan Morrison, Sammy Pahlsson, Michael Handzus, etc. type veterans.

Guys you would have completely forgot still existed in the NHL.

Keep an eye on Domonic Moore, Jeff Halpern, Scott Gomez as some names to surface in trade rumors involving the Blackhawks. Stan and co. have been on this merry-go-round for a few years in a row now.
- TommyHawk

Handzus could never help a team win a cup, a team with him as a top 6 center is doomed to go out in the first round!

The road to Gold for Team USA and Team Canada: My Fox Chicago:http://bit.ly/1eGCLyo

On Twitter@AlCimaglia

whoever comes out of the Canada US side will win the gold, I dont think Sweden or Russia can match those 2 teams. The way US is going if they are in the gold, they are unstoppable, if Canada rises up and plays their best game to beat the US, they will be firing on all cylinders to do so and should be primed to repeat
- DDM-Coga

If the IIHF didn't have a silly rule about the net being slightly dislodged they would have beat the Americans.

If the IIHF didn't have a silly rule about the net being slightly dislodged they would have beat the Americans.
- rollpards19

true, but russia will live and die by their D and whoever they start in net. IF they play to their potential they always have a chance to win, but if a good team starts pick them apart, that team will unravel fast.

So they said the Russian coach was in the Hawk organization. I assume during the Mike Smith era? So he was an asst. Under Alpo? If not, who were his assistants anyway? Can't remember anything from that dark period.

So they said the Russian coach was in the Hawk organization. I assume during the Mike Smith era? So he was an asst. Under Alpo? If not, who were his assistants anyway? Can't remember anything from that dark period.
- tomcat24

Its better that way. Going through it once was bad enough.

true, but russia will live and die by their D and whoever they start in net. IF they play to their potential they always have a chance to win, but if a good team starts pick them apart, that team will unravel fast.
- DDM-Coga

I just wouldn't count them out. The US team got outplayed big time 5v5 in that game. Canada has to continue to be the overwhelming favorites IMO with Sweden's injuries.

I just wouldn't count them out. The US team got outplayed big time 5v5 in that game. Canada has to continue to be the overwhelming favorites IMO with Sweden's injuries.
- rollpards19

Looking at everything the US finished with the 2 seed and likely they will have to beat Canada to win Gold....They could have a better chance of doing that than beating Russia again.

The US was outplayed 5 on 5 and wasn't close after the opening 10 mins in that regard.

Penalty kill was very good and so was Quick.....and then Oshie.

The road to Gold for Team USA and Team Canada:My Fox Chicago:http://bit.ly/1eGCLyo

Its better that way. Going through it once was bad enough.
- Elbows15

yeah that's true. I will always remember the townhall meeting at the start of the season. Alpo fell asleep on stage. It Is always interesting to see who used to be in the organization. Players AND coaches.

JJ, that's fine on the stats - what about their potential:

NHL potential?

If so, top 6? Top 4? Depth?

When?

TT - next year in Chicago? Rockford?

Seems like there are no forwards close to being ready to move up - Q/FO don't seem to think Pirri/Morin/Nordstrom will make it.

Certainly the college and junior players are three or more years away.

Not getting a good feeling about the short- or mid-term prospects in the system, except for TT. Doesn't seem to say much for the drafting under Stan and his scouts.
- StLBravesFan

No offense intended here...
But I was also looking for a little analysis instead of just listing the stats of these guys
Seems like he doesn't actually watch your prospects very much, if at all

One guy who I was hoping to read a little bit about was McNeil
I loved his potential as a power forward & was hoping the Sabres would draft him in 2011
I'm extremely happy Armia fell to us, but I was still curious how McNeil was doing
If Chicago were to want to add a guy like Ott from us,
I think McNeil would be my target prospect

I generally cheer for Chicago in the Western Conference,
Although I'll have a soft spot for StL or Minny if Miller gets traded to either
But good luck to u guys regardless...

I can only hope that our "rebuild" ends up being as successful as yours was

I think Captain Stairwell's ( Kevin Hayes) numbers are a little misleading as he's on a line with the best player in college hockey. Gadreau is pretty much going straight to the Flames and Being on a line with him kind of inflates Hayes stats.

Another person whose stats are a little misleading is Adam Clendenning. Every report I read, from Chris Block to Mr Kolb here on the boards is that Clendenning's work in his own end is…..well…..let's just say behind the curve. He's still incredibly young. Another year at Rockford at least from everything I read and see.

McNeil has had a fairly good year from what I'm told but there are consistency issues. A week of looking like Rick Tocchet followed by a week of being invisible.

The good news is, like Pirri, there isn't a need right now for players. The cupboard is fairly full. So until, someone knocks the door down…. they remain "prospects"

Used to respect this blog alot more, but seriously who is posting this stuff, or what has he been smoking.

1. Hartman DID play in juniors with Plymouth last year, although he had a stint with USA at U20 tournament. This is NOT his first season.

2. Kevin Hayes plays at Boston COLLEGE not Boston University.
- socalal

Good catches. Mea culpa.

I think Captain Stairwell's ( Kevin Hayes) numbers are a little misleading as he's on a line with the best player in college hockey. Gadreau is pretty much going straight to the Flames and Being on a line with him kind of inflates Hayes stats.

Another person whose stats are a little misleading is Adam Clendenning. Every report I read, from Chris Block to Mr Kolb here on the boards is that Clendenning's work in his own end is…..well…..let's just say behind the curve. He's still incredibly young. Another year at Rockford at least from everything I read and see.

McNeil has had a fairly good year from what I'm told but there are consistency issues. A week of looking like Rick Tocchet followed by a week of being invisible.

The good news is, like Pirri, there isn't a need right now for players. The cupboard is fairly full. So until, someone knocks the door down…. they remain "prospects"
- yahoodi

No disagreement. But he is +12, big improvement over last year

Simply. The way this organization is run with this management team, Hossa will be allowed to make the decision when and if its time to leave. They have a ton of respect for him.
- Elbows15

It's also not like we're talking about a guy who can't play anymore. Not even remotely close. His cap number vs. his production? He's a very good value.

I think its ridiculous as well, but they think thats the easiest cap relief by getting rid of him and the recapturing rule with the new CBA (Richards and the Rangers for example)

It looks good on paper for you guys with current contracts and the cap space, but I dont really know as an outside fan.
- DDM-Coga

Everything I have seen—and heard from two sources close to the situation last year—is that they have ZERO intention of buying him out, at least not any time soon. We had a long, long discussion about the ramifications of buying him out later on, toward the end of his deal, and as I recall, there is a time when the $ might make ensue to buy him out toward the very end of his deal. But at his current age, ability, style of play (because his game is very much predicated on knowledge of the game and hockey sense etc.), there is no reason to think he won't play another 3-4 years minimum.

No offense intended here...
But I was also looking for a little analysis instead of just listing the stats of these guys
Seems like he doesn't actually watch your prospects very much, if at all

One guy who I was hoping to read a little bit about was McNeil
I loved his potential as a power forward & was hoping the Sabres would draft him in 2011
I'm extremely happy Armia fell to us, but I was still curious how McNeil was doing
If Chicago were to want to add a guy like Ott from us,
I think McNeil would be my target prospect

I generally cheer for Chicago in the Western Conference,
Although I'll have a soft spot for StL or Minny if Miller gets traded to either
But good luck to u guys regardless...

I can only hope that our "rebuild" ends up being as successful as yours was
- jdfitz77

In fairness, I had a couple of days to prepare this blog, not a couple of weeks. I can definitely pull something together that gets more into specific highlights, progression, etc for each guy. But that honestly requires going out and spending typically about an hour per guy, looking for tape, talking to people, etc.

I just didn't have that for this. I used to cover prospects and finding accurate info and tape on them is very hard. They play in smaller markets, many games aren't televised, coverage is often minimal or not good.

So, your request is fair. Just understand, what you're asking for takes a lot of effort and time.

I think Captain Stairwell's ( Kevin Hayes) numbers are a little misleading as he's on a line with the best player in college hockey. Gadreau is pretty much going straight to the Flames and Being on a line with him kind of inflates Hayes stats.

Another person whose stats are a little misleading is Adam Clendenning. Every report I read, from Chris Block to Mr Kolb here on the boards is that Clendenning's work in his own end is…..well…..let's just say behind the curve. He's still incredibly young. Another year at Rockford at least from everything I read and see.

McNeil has had a fairly good year from what I'm told but there are consistency issues. A week of looking like Rick Tocchet followed by a week of being invisible.

The good news is, like Pirri, there isn't a need right now for players. The cupboard is fairly full. So until, someone knocks the door down…. they remain "prospects"
- yahoodi

Thanks for the plug.

What's really frustrating about Clendening is that he does make mistakes in his own end. Beyond that, and even more frustrating is the Hogs team defense overall, and the blueline corps as a whole outside of Clendening and Dahlbeck. Given, Clendening has some rounding out of his game to do, and does make mistakes in his own end, but there has to be some consideration given as to who he has to play with. Partnering with the likes of Peckham, Nightingale, Skinner, Wade Brookbank and other career AHL/ECHL journeymen, who are either slow or weak in their own end as well (or both) haven't made his job easy either. Sometimes Clendening and Dahlbeck are covering for their partners too, which leads to bad results.

Everything I have seen—and heard from two sources close to the situation last year—is that they have ZERO intention of buying him out, at least not any time soon. We had a long, long discussion about the ramifications of buying him out later on, toward the end of his deal, and as I recall, there is a time when the $ might make ensue to buy him out toward the very end of his deal. But at his current age, ability, style of play (because his game is very much predicated on knowledge of the game and hockey sense etc.), there is no reason to think he won't play another 3-4 years minimum.
- John Jaeckel

The time with the most savings for a buyout has past. There were some reasons to give it a thought but many reasons not to do so...

Hossa has been the top all around forward the entire season and is having his best regular season since coming to Chicago.

There will be many reasons why the Cap will be closer to $100 mill than $65 mill in the near future.....Cap space will be dealt with.

Thanks for the plug.

What's really frustrating about Clendening is that he does make mistakes in his own end. Beyond that, and even more frustrating is the Hogs team defense overall, and the blueline corps as a whole outside of Clendening and Dahlbeck. Given, Clendening has some rounding out of his game to do, and does make mistakes in his own end, but there has to be some consideration given as to who he has to play with. Partnering with the likes of Peckham, Nightingale, Skinner, Wade Brookbank and other career AHL/ECHL journeymen, who are either slow or weak in their own end as well (or both) haven't made his job easy either. Sometimes Clendening and Dahlbeck are covering for their partners too, which leads to bad results.
- EKolb13

Perhaps next season Bowman will choose to find a steady veteran AHL career type to play on Rockford first or second pair. Then just maybe the other players in the blueline corps falls into place. Don't know if there is a chance also that Icehogs management would afford such a venture if they paid this veteran's entire salary.

There are some collegiate dmen in the pipeline whom couldn't be worse than the slugs who came from the ECHL or some obscure outpost.

I think Captain Stairwell's ( Kevin Hayes) numbers are a little misleading as he's on a line with the best player in college hockey. Gadreau is pretty much going straight to the Flames and Being on a line with him kind of inflates Hayes stats.

Another person whose stats are a little misleading is Adam Clendenning. Every report I read, from Chris Block to Mr Kolb here on the boards is that Clendenning's work in his own end is…..well…..let's just say behind the curve. He's still incredibly young. Another year at Rockford at least from everything I read and see.

McNeil has had a fairly good year from what I'm told but there are consistency issues. A week of looking like Rick Tocchet followed by a week of being invisible.

The good news is, like Pirri, there isn't a need right now for players. The cupboard is fairly full. So until, someone knocks the door down…. they remain "prospects"
- yahoodi

If and when Clendenning finally plays in Chicago, we can expect shots on net with him on the pp. I know sometimes Keith deliberately misses the net per strategy, but Clendenning seems more like a true quarterback for the pp.

Perhaps next season Bowman will choose to find a steady veteran AHL career type to play on Rockford first or second pair. Then just maybe the other players in the blueline corps falls into place. Don't know if there is a chance also that Icehogs management would afford such a venture if they paid this veteran's entire salary.

There are some collegiate dmen in the pipeline whom couldn't be worse than the slugs who came from the ECHL or some obscure outpost.
- jhawk59

I think part of the problem was that Bowman wasn't expecting another GM to put in a waiver claim on Stanton. When it comes down to it, I believe the organization was looking at either one of Kostka or Stanton to help provide at least one more adequate defenseman in Rockford. Also, Svedberg has missed some time do to injury this season, and that doesn't help either.

Beyond that, the veterans that the organization brought in to start the season haven't worked out the way they thought they would have. Nightingale is next to useless, and the way Peckham has played, I'd be shocked if he ever got another two-way deal from an NHL club ever again. Also, college grads Gleason and Shea were sub-par to start the season and have since settled in at the ECHL level, probably never to be heard from again. In season add-ons Skinner and Miskovic have been sub par as well. Then there is Wade Brookbank, who has been filling in on the blueline due to injury or when one of these so called vets ends up in Dent's dog house.

In all, watching the defensemen outside of Clendening and Dahlbeck this season has been a comedy of errors. I don't expect that to change all that much, and I'm not holding my breath waiting for the organization to bring in someone else to improve the situation, unless Bowman makes another deal before the deadline with some defenseman as a throw in.

If and when Clendenning finally plays in Chicago, we can expect shots on net with him on the pp. I know sometimes Keith deliberately misses the net per strategy, but Clendenning seems more like a true quarterback for the pp.
- jhawk59

Lately, Clendening has been playing left wing on the PP, with Morin and Pirri manning the points.