Re :Your comment why is R Johnson on thus hickey team

I surmise that Johnson is a favorite of King. Scrappy hard nosed. Hits and competes. A player who knows what he needs to do to keep a job.

It will be interesting whether Johnson and Hardman retain a job next season. Both appear AHL bound. It is not long into next season I expect Entwhistle, Slavin, Altybarmaken, Barret, and Slaggert to surpass him. Slaggert makes the team out of camp, or little AHL if he turns pro.
- jhawk59

That certainly could be. My personal feeling is that they don't see him in their long term plans and thus don't really care how many minutes he is getting. The "better" prospects are getting time in all situations in Rockford.

On the other hand, they may believe they have a slightly cheaper version of Carpenter for when his contract is up.

If Strome plays with a little more jam, like the last couple of games, he may be able to overcome his skating deficiencies. The trouble is he tends to revert back to old habits when he’s comfortable.

I hope Dach is given time to get his game going. He has lots of attributes I like, what’s lacking can be overcome with coaching and should have been addressed before he ever played a game for the Blackhawks.
- paulr

If he eats a little more jam, maybe he can become a poor man's Handzus.

I mentioned this before, but this is Dach's true sophomore season, and after the wrist surgery no less. Before that injury, I saw a more confident skater who would make me believe he was going to be a player. That kind of injury can certainly make one more tentative. It reminds me of when I had an ACL reconstruction years ago and it took me a whole year before I stopped worrying about swinging through the ball on the golf course. Man, those were some ugly rounds in the interim. Eventually the tentativeness should go away.

That was fun btw

I don't think ole' JJ could get past the fact that AD was only 5'7". In addition to skating and attitude, ability to win puck battles and figured he wouldn't be able to find soft spots in NHL defenses like he was in juniors were all questioned.
- HawkintheD

dont forget his source mexico

I mentioned this before, but this is Dach's true sophomore season, and after the wrist surgery no less. Before that injury, I saw a more confident skater who would make me believe he was going to be a player. That kind of injury can certainly make one more tentative. It reminds me of when I had an ACL reconstruction years ago and it took me a whole year before I stopped worrying about swinging through the ball on the golf course. Man, those were some ugly rounds in the interim. Eventually the tentativeness should go away.
- 333inthe3rd

Way too early to give up on Dach, consider him a bust, or assume he won't improve. I think at 20, coming off not just an injury, but 2 dis-jointed seasons because of Covid it's not really fair to judge yet. Look at that whole draft year, nobody really tearing it up (and how NJD gave Huges $8x8 is a head scratcher).

There are plenty of 18-19 year old players that take a few years to develop. My best recent comp. is Couturier. Played a solid D game, with just a bit of offense, then after 5 years exploded.

JJ thought DeBrincat was a stretch even questioned his skating and attitude. I took him to task for that saw a few Otters games and Cat stood out in each one. I saw him and was like, “ no way this kid won’t make the NHL and I’m pretty sure he’s gonna be good”. It was by far bowmans finest moment as GM regarding the draft.
- kwolf68

Grabbing Saad and Shaw in 2011 was probably even more critical - those two guys played huge roles in the last two Cup wins. Danault was also obviously the real deal too. If only one of McNeil and Clendening had been used on a different asset, that draft would have been a Home Run, and as it was, it was huge.

Collectively we need to take a step back and a deep breath on Kirby Dach. Give the kid some time to hone his game. It is not like he stepped into the 2013 Blackhawks. Up until the blue line and goaltender upgrade (wise or not) this winter, this team was terminal.

With the exception of passing up on obvious shooting opportunities, I couldn’t disagree more.
- Ogilthorpe2

K. Dach is 20 and hasn't led the Hawks to a Cup, it's time to move on from him.

The disappointing thing with Strome is you can see there is a very high level of skill there and creativity.

The problem is he isn't the biggest kid over matching other kids anymore. If he's going to be slower (which he is no matter how much speed work he does), he needs to have some more lead in his ass to impose his will physically if his legs can't do it and his first two strides should be quick and powerful so he can create a bit of separation.

As a player, how you don't notice that is beyond me.

I'm usually not a gross weight guy but in his case - being 6'3 - he should be 215-220 not an even 200 (which maybe he weighs with all his gear on).
- fattybeef

He needs more fire in his belly.

He needs more fire in his belly.
- mohel

Ghost peppers would put fire in his belly and shoot hot lead out of his ass. All bases covered.

Kalnyuk up, Hardman down.

Ghost peppers would put fire in his belly and shoot hot lead out of his ass. All bases covered.
- paulr

Everything would be covered!

Kalnyuk up, Hardman down.
- LAHawk

Interesting move. Supposedly Murphy was skating today. Seems to be a glut of D men on the big club. Jones, Jones, Murphy, Mccabe, deHaan, Stillman, Mitchell, Gustaffson, Kalynuk. 9-defenseman? There has to be another move coming.

Everything would be covered!
- mohel

And people called Colliton’s coaching a poop show.

He is 20 years old. How about we give him a few years and see how he plays when he fills out. I don't get the hockey IQ bashing. He plays a very responsible game defensively. The offense will come. He will be a 60-70 pt top 6 center.

He is 6'4" and long. High center of gravity and plays with a really long stick. At this point he doesn't have the strength to shield the puck from grown ass men playing in the NHL. He is not going to out quick guys at his size.

Remember when Toews showed up to the NHL he already had an NHL body.... built like a tank.

Joe Thorton (same size as Dach) really didn't get going until his 3rd season in the NHL. How about we give Dach another season or 2 before we write him off as being Danualt or Coyle.
- bhawks2241

When it comes to the corner battles where Dach winds up on his ass all too often, the general rule is lowest guy wins. Everyone wishes his hands were better and maybe they will be after he shakes off the effects of his wrist injury. But his training moving forward should to include strengthening his lower body and core so that his balance is improved. Power skating work will help greatly. He's still a kid and he's tall. Can't coach tall. He needs to physically mature and then get stronger. I agree with others who say he shouldn't even be in the Show yet. But I do not agree that he is a bust at this point either.

Add: And Strome should be right there with him if he knows what's best for him.

I'm in the camp that Dach needs more development time before we know what we have and I wish he had spent some time in Rockford building up his confidence after coming back from the injury.

That said, though I'm not sure how they are analyzing this, this is another data point (the comparisons) to use in evaluating what we might have in our 1R 3rd pick:

I've not been able to watch any action from the Icehouse this year. Anyone have a true scouting report on how Nylander is playing? There seem to be a lot of positive reviews, but I've not seen much of a deep dive on his actual playing.

Just curious if anyone has some more details.

Interesting move. Supposedly Murphy was skating today. Seems to be a glut of D men on the big club. Jones, Jones, Murphy, Mccabe, deHaan, Stillman, Mitchell, Gustaffson, Kalynuk. 9-defenseman? There has to be another move coming.
- TheTrob

Murphy skated this morning, but has been ruled out for tonight. I believe that C Jones is out due to an illness as well.

Interesting move. Supposedly Murphy was skating today. Seems to be a glut of D men on the big club. Jones, Jones, Murphy, Mccabe, deHaan, Stillman, Mitchell, Gustaffson, Kalynuk. 9-defenseman? There has to be another move coming.
- TheTrob

Hello 11F 7D.

Kidding. Mitchell slides in for Murphy who is out, and Kalynuk is the extra.

Good quote (and realization) from Mitchell:

"[I was] just trying to do too much. Growing up my whole like, you're always the guy. Then you get to the NHL, and everyone has been the guy their whole lives. It's about finding your role and what the team needs from you. At Denver, you beat the guy, you're the power play guy, you're always trying to create all the time.

It's just trying to switch that mindset to, you don't have to do that all the time. You can just have a 50-50 shift where nothing happens. You don't always have to push and push every shift. That's a thing the organization, the coaches, have been stressing to me. These two games, I fell that I've done a pretty good job of that."

LeBron should get top billing for a new version of “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”

Ricco, I am with you about fresh eyes being a “qualification” for VP of hockey ops, but I have a new personal favorite (hopefully after a complete and speedy recovery). Troy Murray. Long time Hawk, former captain, respected throughout the league, still involved with the game, and a straight shooter. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of the team inside and out although not being a “direct employ” of the team. I bet he knows who he would want as GM, coach, and his front office direct reports. Above all I wish him a speedy and complete recovery.
- LAHawk

Was thinking about agent Zito taking over FLA and thought is there another agent capable? Marek and Friedmann brought up agent Brisson as MTL GM.

I like your thought on Murray in some kinda management role. No nonsense, old school, won't be BSed, tell the boss what needs to be heard... Or, and I'll be damned, Marek and Friedman report that Bob Gainey is a part of the group looking at GM's for MTL and are we entering a new era of how front offices are structured? ..... If nothing else having Murray part of the group making a decision on the next GM/hockey ops guy is a great idea.

Marek and Friedman: https://podcast.sportsnet.ca/hockey-central/

.

I bet LeBron knows where to get cheap labor in China.
- LAHawk

And so do Americans, WalMart, the NUMBER ONE employer in the USA!!!!!!

Yeah, Zegras looks good, Byram has had some moments, and I think Seider may turn out to be the best of them when all said and done. At this point though, you can't say Zegras would have been a better pick. At the time, the Hawks weren't gonna draft a D man after going D heavy the previous few years. Turcotte was the consensus for many, and he still hasn't cracked the NHL yet.
- TheTrob

IMO the Hawks wanted a centerman and with the 3rd overall thought they'd get a 15yr 1C at that slot. I was still sure the Hawks would take Zegras cuz he's freakish like Kaner but he played his draft yr and the yr before as a LW to Hughes with the NTDP.

I don't think the Hawks saw Zegras as a centerman.

Perlini on waivers. Go get him Kyle!

TB claimed Riley Nash
PHI claimed Connauton.

Damn. Just saw that Marner is out 3-4 weeks with a shoulder injury.