Mo said you'd be salty...
- Chunk

He also gets surly when I'm right. Fortunately that's rare.....

What does Vlasic project as at the NHL level? Is there top 4 potential there? I am surprised he is that far up the list.

Welcome aboard, Theo!
A formidable 1-2 combo with Tyler indeed.
While IMHO the Rockford roster looks really good, the important thing is hoping those guys develop and graduate. From the sounds of it, there are some guys who will eventually be able to plug in and contribute quality minutes on the big club.
A couple of those Rock d-men could become our next Oduya types, NHL level top sixes who can shut down the opponent.
- 35Tony0

Definitely agree. This is a great contrast to the Dent era in Rockford where he had trouble graduating NHL-ready prospects to the Hawks.

As for Oduya-type defensemen, Krys comes closest to that mold. Great skater and can defend decently well but delivers a lot of pizzas. Beaudin can be a lot more than that.

Carlsson has been dubbed as Hjalmarsson Lite. More physical than Hammer actually.

Gilbert reminds me of a better skating and more physical Sopel and Rozsival.

Definitely agree. This is a great contrast to the Dent era in Rockford where he had trouble graduating NHL-ready prospects to the Hawks.

As for Oduya-type defensemen, Krys comes closest to that mold. Great skater and can defend decently well but delivers a lot of pizzas. Beaudin can be a lot more than that.

Carlsson has been dubbed as Hjalmarsson Lite. More physical than Hammer actually.

Gilbert reminds me of a better skating and more physical Sopel and Rozsival.
- AEL_Fox

Do any of them project as top pairing guys on a contender? Including Mitchell and Pickle.

Do any of them project as top pairing guys on a contender? Including Mitchell and Pickle.
- mohel

Nope. They are all 6's and 7's.

What does Vlasic project as at the NHL level? Is there top 4 potential there? I am surprised he is that far up the list.
- bhawks2241

Yeah. He definitely has top 4 potential. He is still pretty raw and prolly going to spend a couple of seasons at BU at least. Moves well for his size and I suspect that will improve once he adds some strength. He needs to develop more offensively but the talent is there. He is one to watch this season if you get the chance. A lot to like about him but he far from being ready.

He also gets surly when I'm right. Fortunately that's rare.....
- mohel

Gets?

Definitely agree. This is a great contrast to the Dent era in Rockford where he had trouble graduating NHL-ready prospects to the Hawks.

As for Oduya-type defensemen, Krys comes closest to that mold. Great skater and can defend decently well but delivers a lot of pizzas. Beaudin can be a lot more than that.

Carlsson has been dubbed as Hjalmarsson Lite. More physical than Hammer actually.

Gilbert reminds me of a better skating and more physical Sopel and Rozsival.
- AEL_Fox

Rozy moved pretty damn well before age and injuries caught up to him.

Gets?
- Elbows15

Well, speaking on a relative basis...

Rozy moved pretty damn well before age and injuries caught up to him.
- Elbows15

Young Rozy might be a top pairing guy on the team today. ...

Yeah. He definitely has top 4 potential. He is still pretty raw and prolly going to spend a couple of seasons at BU at least. Moves well for his size and I suspect that will improve once he adds some strength. He needs to develop more offensively but the talent is there. He is one to watch this season if you get the chance. A lot to like about him but he far from being ready.
- Elbows15

Read he stated that he planned on staying 2 years at BU. Really hope this team can avoid the huge downturn like the Wings experienced after their run. Starts with the back-end. A 6'6" 220lbs Vlasic would look awfully nice skating next to Boqvist as the future top pairing.

Regarding Vlasic, the London Knights made a real hard push to try to get him this season. Gives a little hint about what a solid organization thinks of his potential.

Read he stated that he planned on staying 2 years at BU. Really hope this team can avoid the huge downturn like the Wings experienced after their run. Starts with the back-end. A 6'6" 220lbs Vlasic would look awfully nice skating next to Boqvist as the future top pairing.
- bhawks2241

Yep. He has a pretty good grasp on what he needs to work on to develop.

Young Rozy might be a top pairing guy on the team today. ...
- mohel

Young Rozy was a top pairing D-man. At worst he was a solid #3. He was a damn solid pro.

Young Rozy was a top pairing D-man. At worst he was a solid #3. He was a damn solid pro.
- Elbows15

He was solid for the Hawks. They just hung onto him an extra year or two too long.

He was solid for the Hawks. They just hung onto him an extra year or two too long.
- Chunk

Yep. We saw how much they missed him in 2015 when they had to trot out Rundblad and corpse of Kimmo.

Definitely agree. This is a great contrast to the Dent era in Rockford where he had trouble graduating NHL-ready prospects to the Hawks.

As for Oduya-type defensemen, Krys comes closest to that mold. Great skater and can defend decently well but delivers a lot of pizzas. Beaudin can be a lot more than that.

Carlsson has been dubbed as Hjalmarsson Lite. More physical than Hammer actually.

Gilbert reminds me of a better skating and more physical Sopel and Rozsival.
- AEL_Fox

Excellent. I seem to remember a playoff series where, to my eyes, Rozi pretty much snuffed any 'Hawk who got inside his team's blue line.

NEWS
THE TOP 100 PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR IN THE NCAA IN 2019-20

https://thehockeynews.com...or-in-the-ncaa-in-2019-20

One guess who #1 is....
- DarthKane

so he dind't make the NHL? i thought he was sure fire can't miss? LOL

so he dind't make the NHL? i thought he was sure fire can't miss? LOL
- SaskHawkFan

That speaks more to the poor management in Montreal than anything else.

Young Rozy might be a top pairing guy on the team today. ...
- mohel

Old Rozy with one leg is top pairing on this team.

Theo, got it.
- I Am The Breadman

Is he triple board certified?

Move Shaw to play with Saad,and put Kubinik with Strome and Cat. We need more Scoring from the 2 first lines.

Move Shaw to play with Saad,and put Kubinik with Strome and Cat. We need more Scoring from the 2 first lines.
- Tatoo

I DID. Unfortunately, JC isn't taking my calls.

Congratulations Mr. Fox. I always enjoyed your contributions to the board and look forward to your Rockford Updates.

In addition to your top 6 to keep an eye on .... Kurashev, Enwistle, Soderlund, Boqvist, Beaudin, and Krys... I hope Hagel, Saarela and Haakarainen develop also and can contribute to the Hawks in the future.
- boilermaker100

For the forwards and defensemen to keep an eye on in Rockford, I kept it to 3 each so I didn't go overboard.

For an expanded list, though, I would include those same prospects you listed at forward (Hagel, Hakkarainen, Saarela).

On the blueline, I would add Carlsson and Gilbert. Those two were the top D pair to end the last season. Gilbert seems to have surpassed Carlsson as closest D prospect to the NHL.

Congrats Foxy. Looking forward to your Hog reports.

I see their next opponent is Grand Rapids on Saturday. Grand Rapids usually has a very good team, mainly because Detroit keeps their prospects down on the farm for longer than other teams (it seems) and again this season they sent down their top prospects - Zadina, Veleno, and Svechnikov. Should be a good early season test for our young piglets.
- EbonyRaptor

It looks like Svechnikov is on the Wings roster but Zadina, Veleno, Rasmussen, and Seider are with the Griffins. Yes, great talent coming up in their system.

Hirose had a strong showing in a late NHL debut last season and is with the Wings this season. The Wings also seem pretty high on defenseman Hronek.