Exactly. A forward can more or less showcase his game proactively, whereas a d-man is dependent on the opposition providing "opportunities" to showcase his abilities on the defensive end.
- EbonyRaptor

And sometimes a good defenseman makes the routine plays look easy and so goes somewhat unnoticed. Sometimes the best compliment you can give a D-man is that his play went unnoticed.

That’s quick for ribs. I usually go at least 5-6. What temp were you at?
- Ogilthorpe2

325

What is this?

We smoked ribs for 3 hours and chicken wings for 1 hour. I think 2 hours for ribs and 45 mins for wings will be enough.
- DarthKane

My advice on using a smoker is buy a good one. My wife saw a smoker on sale at the local hardware store last summer for only $80 so we thought why not - always wanted to try using a smoker. What a piece of junk. It now resides in a landfill somewhere. It wouldn't seal well enough to keep the smoke from billowing out the crack of the door. Tried to bungy it closed tighter but that didn't work well either. I'll probably buy a good one and give it another try.

325
- DarthKane

Were the ribs tender?

There’s a lot of fat, collagen, and other connective tissue that needs time to break down in there. If it were me, I’d dial the temp back to the 220-250 range and go longer. Much longer.

My advice on using a smoker is buy a good one. My wife saw a smoker on sale at the local hardware store last summer for only $80 so we thought why not - always wanted to try using a smoker. What a piece of junk. It now resides in a landfill somewhere. It wouldn't seal well enough to keep the smoke from billowing out the crack of the door. Tried to bungy it closed tighter but that didn't work well either. I'll probably buy a good one and give it another try.
- EbonyRaptor

All you really need is a steel trash can and a hot plate to make good smoke. The rest is how you manage the heat and smoke.

Were the ribs tender?

There’s a lot of fat, collagen, and other connective tissue that needs time to break down in there. If it were me, I’d dial the temp back to the 220-250 range and go longer. Much longer.
- Ogilthorpe2

The ribs were tender, but not as tender as I was expecting. I'll try your advice next time.

Damn... I'm going to be eat a lot of ribs in the near future.

Corey P has his top 107, Caufield he had at 5. dach was 10 Krebs was 13. Turcotte and bowen were 3 and 4. ZEG 6 and cozens 7. I guess I'm fine with either.

I tend to lean toward Bowen because you never find # 1 d in trade or UFA.

Pronman’s latest 2019 NHL Draft Board: Top 107 prospects is out on The Athletic. I cut it off where he shifted to High-end/very good bubble. Some surprises in there for me.

* Special prospect: Projects to be one of the very best players in the league at their position.
* Elite prospect: Projects to be top 10-15 percent of the league at their position.
* High-end prospect: Projects as a top-line forward who can play on your PP1/top pairing defenseman. This is an upper half of the first round quality prospect.
* Very good prospect: Projects as a top-six forward/top-four defenseman/starting goaltender. A prospect I would endorse using a first-round pick on.
* Legit NHL prospect: Projects to be a regular player in the league, likely in a bottom half of the roster role. A prospect who I would endorse using a second-round pick on.

Special NHL Prospect/Elite NHL Player

1. Jack Hughes, C, USNTDP-USHL

Special/Elite Bubble

2. Kaapo Kakko, LW, TPS-Liiga

Elite NHL Prospect/Star NHL Player

3. Alex Turcotte, C, USNTDP-USHL
4. Bowen Byram, D, Vancouver-WHL
5. Cole Caufield, RW, USNTDP-USHL

Elite/High-End Bubble

6. Trevor Zegras, C, USNTDP-USHL
7. Dylan Cozens, C, Lethbridge-WHL

High-end NHL Prospect

8. Matthew Boldy, LW, USNTDP-USHL
9. Philip Broberg, D, AIK-Allsvenskan
10. Kirby Dach, C, Saskatoon-WHL
11. Alex Newhook, C, Victoria-BCHL
12. Vasili Podkolzin, RW, SKA-VHL

Pronman’s latest 2019 NHL Draft Board: Top 107 prospects is out on The Athletic. I cut it off where he shifted to High-end/very good bubble. Some surprises in there for me.

* Special prospect: Projects to be one of the very best players in the league at their position.
* Elite prospect: Projects to be top 10-15 percent of the league at their position.
* High-end prospect: Projects as a top-line forward who can play on your PP1/top pairing defenseman. This is an upper half of the first round quality prospect.
* Very good prospect: Projects as a top-six forward/top-four defenseman/starting goaltender. A prospect I would endorse using a first-round pick on.
* Legit NHL prospect: Projects to be a regular player in the league, likely in a bottom half of the roster role. A prospect who I would endorse using a second-round pick on.

Special NHL Prospect/Elite NHL Player

1. Jack Hughes, C, USNTDP-USHL

Special/Elite Bubble

2. Kaapo Kakko, LW, TPS-Liiga

Elite NHL Prospect/Star NHL Player

3. Alex Turcotte, C, USNTDP-USHL
4. Bowen Byram, D, Vancouver-WHL
5. Cole Caufield, RW, USNTDP-USHL

Elite/High-End Bubble

6. Trevor Zegras, C, USNTDP-USHL
7. Dylan Cozens, C, Lethbridge-WHL

High-end NHL Prospect

8. Matthew Boldy, LW, USNTDP-USHL
9. Philip Broberg, D, AIK-Allsvenskan
10. Kirby Dach, C, Saskatoon-WHL
11. Alex Newhook, C, Victoria-BCHL
12. Vasili Podkolzin, RW, SKA-VHL
- walleyeb1

He just keeps climbing the rankings!

Corey P has his top 107, Caufield he had at 5. dach was 10 Krebs was 13. Turcotte and bowen were 3 and 4. ZEG 6 and cozens 7. I guess I'm fine with either.

I tend to lean toward Bowen because you never find # 1 d in trade or UFA.
- kmw4631

Is bowen projected to be a number 1 to its to early tell plus from some of wiz's comments he not very good in the defensive zone. To me Cozens is the pick.

He just keeps climbing the rankings!

- DarthKane

Someone has been listening to you, and understands the greater length of a kilometer/klick.

The ribs were tender, but not as tender as I was expecting. I'll try your advice next time.

Damn... I'm going to be eat a lot of ribs in the near future.
- DarthKane

I cook the ribs at about 230-250 for 5 or 6 hours. Then I crank the grill to 400 and grill them for a few minutes. At this point, if you are inclined, you can grill sauce onto them. 3-2-1 is 3 hours on the smoker, 2 hours wrapped on the smoker at the same temp and then grill them but 1 hour would be too long. I find if I mop the ribs with beer or an apple juice blend at 3 4 and 5 hours you don't need to wrap them.

Did you brine the chicken first? I've done a turkey on the smoker but never chicken.

My advice on using a smoker is buy a good one. My wife saw a smoker on sale at the local hardware store last summer for only $80 so we thought why not - always wanted to try using a smoker. What a piece of junk. It now resides in a landfill somewhere. It wouldn't seal well enough to keep the smoke from billowing out the crack of the door. Tried to bungy it closed tighter but that didn't work well either. I'll probably buy a good one and give it another try.
- EbonyRaptor

I cheated and bought a Komodo knock off. I got a Broil King Keg 5000 mainly because it's half the cost of the Big Green Egg. It works very well as a smoker, I can grill on it and I can also make a great pizza on it. It can hold temps from as low as 200F to over 800F.

I cheated and bought a Komodo knock off. I got a Broil King Keg 5000 mainly because it's half the cost of the Big Green Egg. It works very well as a smoker, I can grill on it and I can also make a great pizza on it. It can hold temps from as low as 200F to over 800F.
- paulr

I got the Traeger Pro Series 34.

I got the Traeger Pro Series 34.
- DarthKane

You got a proper smoker. I have never tried one. The Keg I bought is idiot proof, hence why i chose it.

No Karlsson or Hertl for the Sharks tonight. This could be the end of San Jose this year.

USA-Canada lineups for today’s game. Jack Hughes, Christian Wolanin out. Johnny Gaudreau back after a two-game absence and Zach Werenski debuts in the team’s top 4. Adam Fox the 7th D.

USA-Canada lineups for today’s game. Jack Hughes, Christian Wolanin out. Johnny Gaudreau back after a two-game absence and Zach Werenski debuts in the team’s top 4. Adam Fox the 7th D.
- walleyeb1

Is bowen projected to be a number 1 to its to early tell plus from some of wiz's comments he not very good in the defensive zone. To me Cozens is the pick.
- Scott1977

The top UFA F/C this year are under 30 that scored 19+ goals.
list does not include Tanev, ferland, donskoi who all scored 14+

Connelly, Dzingel, lee nelson nyqueist hayes Eberle, skinner, pannarin. Duchene.

the best UFA D are Karlson, myers, gardiner, chariot, del zotto.
Karlson is good but he is breaking down. all the others are worse then who we have on the 2nd line.

if you think bowen and Turcotte are a tie I take bowen.

Pronman gives each prospect a rating on 4 categories: skating, puck skills, physical game, and hockey sense. He rates a 5th category (shot grade) for some players but not for most players. The best skating rating he has is "70" which he gives to Jack Hughes and only one other player - Phillip Broberg! Broberg is the Swedish d-man that Wiz likes a lot. He's 6'3" so kind of surprising his skating is elite level.

Here's where he rates the skating of his top-15:

Top tier (70): Hughes, Broberg
Tier-2 (65): Newhook
Tier-3 (60): Turcotte, Byram, Cozens
Tier-4 (55): Caufield, Dach, Krebs, Suzuki
Tier-5 (50): Kakko, Zegras, Boldy, Kaliyev
Tier-6 (45): Podkolzin

The top UFA F/C this year are under 30 that scored 19+ goals.
list does not include Tanev, ferland, donskoi who all scored 14+

Connelly, Dzingel, lee nelson nyqueist hayes Eberle, skinner, pannarin. Duchene.

the best UFA D are Karlson, myers, gardiner, chariot, del zotto.
Karlson is good but he is breaking down. all the others are worse then who we have on the 2nd line.

if you think bowen and Turcotte are a tie I take bowen.
- kmw4631

Of those UFAs you listed, I'd explore Tanev and Connolly for bottom 6 and Chiarot as a defender in the 4th/5th spot. Chiarot may be too rich for the Hawks' blood as he's still in his late 20's and likely seeking term.

All the other players listed are either too expensive or just not a good fit for the team's highest priorities, i.e. blueliners who can play solid consistent defense and bottom 6 forwards who play 200 foot games and can chip in with secondary scoring (at least 3rd liners).

Blackhawk Up and Second City Hockey both had articles today about Anisimov's future with the team and each stating that he should be traded. Both articles also consider Kampf as the prime candidate to replace Anisimov as 3C as well as prospects like Kurashev (with Highmore as the 4C to replace Kampf in that spot as he moves up to 3C). Kurashev or even Entwistle are popular dark horses but still long shots to make the team and are best playing top 6 in Rockford for a year first.

While I am not opposed to trading Anisimov, he brings a lot more to the table as a 3C than Kampf does. Promoting Kampf up to 3C dilutes the forward depth by having the bottom 6 anchored by two 4Cs rather than a bonafide 3C and 4C on each respective line. IMO, if Anisimov is traded, Bowman needs to have another transaction in the works to fill the 3C spot; otherwise, just retain him.

The top UFA F/C this year are under 30 that scored 19+ goals.
list does not include Tanev, ferland, donskoi who all scored 14+

Connelly, Dzingel, lee nelson nyqueist hayes Eberle, skinner, pannarin. Duchene.

the best UFA D are Karlson, myers, gardiner, chariot, del zotto.
Karlson is good but he is breaking down. all the others are worse then who we have on the 2nd line.

if you think bowen and Turcotte are a tie I take bowen.
- kmw4631

If the Hawks think Byram is better than anything they have currently and can be a future #1, I want them to take him. They could have a lethal blue line down the road with what they have been building. If not Byram, obviously a center.

If the Hawks think Byram is better than anything they have currently and can be a future #1, I want them to take him. They could have a lethal blue line down the road with what they have been building. If not Byram, obviously a center.
- frafra

The Hawks need to draft the best available player, regardless of position.

I don’t get why anyone would want us drafting a forward #3 overall.

We already have 4 PROVEN top 6 caliber forwards. We already have a true 1C and 2C, not to mention arguably the best winger in the NHL.

How many PROVEN top pairing defenseman do we have?

You could argue we have none

Byram is the obvious choice, we need to upgrade the defense and add a player that projects as a top pairing Dman before we add another forward.

Not even debatable if you ask me.