So to salvage this up coming season, JVR will have to be a priority, then D. And then somehow find net minder help. If Stan fails to land the needed pieces this summer, he is DONE! And most likely another top 10 draft next year.
- z1990z

More like a top 5 draft pick

Cause he could play with Kane, one of the best RWs in the league? Be a 1-2 punch with Toews? Go to one of the few teams that has won a cup (or 3) in the least decade? One with lots of good young forwards but in need of centers? Being coached by a future HOF, who was the pick by players as a coach they'd most like to play for? With an a org with a sparkling rep with players and who is known for paying their stars big money?

Nah, he'd have no interest lol. It's unlikely Tavares will go with the Hawks but the Hawks are still though of as a great destination for players.

Really, GMs can't legally say they're going to speak to him or not until midnight when the UFA talk window opens. They can say interest but not whether they'll talk. Otherwise it's tampering. Also, there is sense that Tavares is now staying with the Islanders but is using this as leverage and to gain a sense of how much he will ask for ultimately.
- L_B_R

I admire your optimism, but it seems pretty clear that the Hawks are a club on the decline and despite being willing to spend I don't see how a 12M player could be added to this roster short of the cap being 85-90M.

I also expect Tavares to remain an Islander...but Toronto seems like a possibility if he moves.

That would be fine by me...

...but I don't expect that to happen either.

Just a gut feeling mind you...I just have close to zero optimism for the Hawks organization, players and front office, at the moment.
- ArlingtonRob

You mean as opposed to all those other times when you were brmming with optimism?

Sorry must have misread the tone in the post with the caps and exclamation point and smh emoji lol
- L_B_R

In his defense, he did say Bowman was done IF he couldn't get the players in the UFA period.

So to salvage this up coming season, JVR will have to be a priority, then D. And then somehow find net minder help. If Stan fails to land the needed pieces this summer, he is DONE! And most likely another top 10 draft next year.
- z1990z

This is about where I stand on the Hawks near future. Although if things break their way, the Hawks could find the back-end of the playoffs and draft slots in the teens.

You mean as opposed to all those other times when you were brmming with optimism?
- HawkintheD

Compared to now?

...I was brimming with optimism.

Boqvist is a premium talent. You always draft BPA. Even though we have quite a few defensive prospects, none are at Boqvist’s level of raw talent.

If you’re feeling down just go look up his highlights.
- ObeseOprah

It's strange - I know some are off-put by his own projected timeline to the NHL, but it really will depend on how much he grows in the next year or two. And as for the fact that they have Jokiharju and Mitchell in the pipeline, I'm guessing it's okay to have more than one potential top pair/4 RD in the prospect pool.

With defense being so premium, investing there should be good for the future - either by developing the talent or to use as trade chips.

So to salvage this up coming season, JVR will have to be a priority, then D. And then somehow find net minder help. If Stan fails to land the needed pieces this summer, he is DONE! And most likely another top 10 draft next year.
- z1990z

Sign JVR and DeHaan. IF (big IF) Crawford is 100%, I'd be ok with Forsberg.

Adb (lw)-Toews-Saad (rw)
JVR-Schmaltz-Kane

I could live with that top six.

Top 4:
Keith-Seabs/Murphy
DeHaan- Murphy/ Seabs

I admire your optimism, but it seems pretty clear that the Hawks are a club on the decline and despite being willing to spend I don't see how a 12M player could be added to this roster short of the cap being 85-90M.

I also expect Tavares to remain an Islander...but Toronto seems like a possibility if he moves.
- ArlingtonRob

I'm not actually commenting on the likelihood of Tavares signing here in my other post, just that the polls and comments from other players around the league don't match up with the idea that the Hawks are done / not a destination option.

Fans almost always see in extremes for their team - either they're absolutely terrible or they're the best. Fact is, the Hawks are somewhere in the middle right now - they have elite talent (that isn't living up to it), good young players (that are still learning), and a good coach (who may need to adapt more) - so now we have to see if weakness can be addresses and they can pull it altogether. Dunno if it will happen, but it definitely cannot be determine yes or no right now.

Judging a roster on draft night just seems silly to me. I mean, I'm a 20 games into the season judgement kinda gal myself, but just in general it's really early to say anything is pretty clear. Not saying we cannot discuss and evaluate every move, just that calling the team as a whole a bust (or boom if that were to ever happen) is premature.

Mark Lazerus
‏Verified account @MarkLazerus
28m28 minutes ago

The Blackhawks are not concerned with Adam Boqvist's concussion history.
5 replies 7 retweets 32 likes

When have the Hawks been concerned with anyone's concussion history?

In his defense, he did say Bowman was done IF he couldn't get the players in the UFA period.
- tvetter

Yeah, I know, it's just the caps and ! throwing it off cause it reads so vehement lol.

I admire your optimism, but it seems pretty clear that the Hawks are a club on the decline and despite being willing to spend I don't see how a 12M player could be added to this roster short of the cap being 85-90M.

I also expect Tavares to remain an Islander...but Toronto seems like a possibility if he moves.
- ArlingtonRob

However the wins and losses turn out, I think we can say that prospects are there - from the past and from the last few days - that give hope for the future.

At worst, next season should be interesting to see which young players wing up in Chicago in October, how AdB and Chicken Fat and Hayden and Hino progress....

I don’t expect much from next year - maybe a bubble playoff team - but:

Perhaps a fall-off (ok, “decline” if you must) is necessary before the rise.

I will be off line for awhile, but here are my evaluations of the Hawks prospects. The media people from radio and Tv seemed to think they did really well working the board, and that Boqvist was a better long term prospect than Hughes.
I confess I saw little or none of the two guys that got picked late as they weren't very noticeable.
Adam Boqvist
This draft will be marked with an unprecedented number of highly sought after skilled attacking defensemen who are average or under-sized with little physicality. This player compensates for it with terrific hands and ability to push the pace, doing a decent job in his own end using his skill set. In the Swedish junior league, Boqvist showcased a nice shot, high end speed, and agility. He may very well be the top finesse and fine-edge-skating defenseman in the draft, displaying great balance and lateral mobility. He is lightning fast and has great vision. He distributes the puck unselfishly and he jumps in on the attack -- sometimes leading it. He opens up and delivers a very accurate one timer. As a slight, smaller player, he gets overtaken, losing puck battles to the bigger players. Does show good vision in both ends but it is a bigger challenge in his own end. His fast feet help negate some of his problems in the defensive zone, but it is difficult to ignore his defensive zone positioning issues. As a lightweight anchor, he needs to fill out, get stronger, and build his defensive game. Another right handed shooting mobile defenseman.

Nicolas Beaudin
New age defender with good puck movement skills, nice foot speed, good hands and a good stick. Funnels attackers to the side boards, can make the secure outlet pass in transition. Very smart in all three zones. Has a soft touch, and excellent puck skills. Defensively and offensively aware and stays on the right side of the puck. His foot speed lets him control the speed of the game making nice touch passes. He walks the blue line and uses his deceptive snap passes to provide scoring looks. Sneaks downs and makes things happen. Will need to add strength as he develops.


Jake Wise
Under the radar performer who is a terrific skater with strong skill set. His year was marred by various nagging injuries. An average skater who is a good two-way player whether lined up at centre or either wing. He is smart on the ice, good in the dot, supports the puck, shows creativity in the attack. Committed to Boston University where he will hone his skills hopefully ascending to a strong third line NHL centre.

Niklas Nordgren rhRW

Finnish full speed attacker and set up man who is under 5’ 10 and 170. Plays hard and fast with good smarts for seeing openings and capitalizing. Scored eight goals in the Under-18 World Junior Tournament, more than any other player. Displays really good hands and has the toolbox of a scorer. Has good on-ice vision and drives to the right areas to win pucks. Surprises the opposition with set ups and goals they they are unprepared for. Needs to continue to improve his feet, strength and his size. Has played some centre too.

Philipp Kurashev
Smart slick puck-handling centre with decent speed and East-West lateral agility. High hockey IQ and creative instincts as a passer. Sees and anticipates developing plays. Far from ready to be considered NHL worthy, as he has zero interest in getting dirty in physical games. But you cannot argue that he isn't a fine playmaker despite his lack of any grittiness or edge at this juncture. Needs plenty of work in the face-off circle, but I can see him as winger in his present playing style.

Mikail Hakkarainen
Finnish import who is committed to Providence College. Plays both wing and centre.

Alexis Gravel
He was viewed as the top Q goalie based on is height and long range projection. He olked too heavy and slow at the CHL prospects game. So far he is pegged as an even longer developmental prospect as his game has not progressed as quickly as hoped. That is not to say he can’t progress into a NHL candidate.

Josiah Slavin
Brother of Jaccob, he is committed to Colorado College.

So I was looking through the Athletic guy that tracks Q/O/C games feed and he actually has put the info altogether the same way they do for the NHL. Beaudin is considered quite the playmaker and one of the best at zone exits and setting up shots in the trackers data set. Here is Beaudin's graph:



Only 8 games tracked so obvs small sample size but the selection for games is random and spread out so as to not track a hot or cold streak.
- L_B_R

LBR, haven't gone thru the posts and gotta run but they have the same QOC charts for Bovquist in relation to the other top 10 D prospect in the draft as well as a bubble chart too. Have you looked at those and analyzed them, and if not could you do so and post.

However the wins and losses turn out, I think we can say that prospects are there - from the past and from the last few days - that give hope for the future.

At worst, next season should be interesting to see which young players wing up in Chicago in October, how AdB and Chicken Fat and Hayden and Hino progress....

I don’t expect much from next year - maybe a bubble playoff team - but:

Perhaps a fall-off (ok, “decline” if you must) is necessary before the rise.
- StLBravesFan

Agreed...Considering the clear decline of the "core", it's the young players that hold the key to success both in the near future and say 3+ years from now.

After digesting the draft, it looks pretty good across the board. We wont know for at least 2 years though. Hoping we get help in FA.

That would be fine by me...

...but I don't expect that to happen either.

Just a gut feeling mind you...I just have close to zero optimism for the Hawks organization, players and front office, at the moment.
- ArlingtonRob

Totally agree with you Rob. With Bowman and Quenneville still here, I have no confidence in them turning this last place team around. And I don't want to hear that they've won 3 Cups and deserve our backing.

Neither were in their current roles when they took over with the CORE of Kane, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Hossa etc were in place and ready to become dominant.
They have BOTH blundered this team into the downward spiral that now exists and I will now question Rocky if nothing changes and another year of a championship window closes without a playoff run.

These 2 have NOT worked together in harmony throughout their tenure together as evidenced by the on-going fiascos year after year at the trade deadlines. Only the addition of Vermette worked out to help win a cup, and Quenneville almost blew that too.

Rocky......where are these significant changes you talk about that will make this organization one of the ELITE that you so consistently claim to be ?

We season ticket holders deserve better and it saddens me to think that this may be my last year. (after 50 +)
I will NOT shell out the type of money needed any longer to watch HO HUM hockey and lackluster management decision making.

So.........sitting still and expecting bounce-back huge years from all your CORE is dillusional.

Find yourself some NEW hockey executives to run your business please because I really won't believe again until you do.

[quote=wiz1901]I will be off line for awhile, but here are my evaluations of the Hawks prospects. The media people from radio and Tv seemed to think they did really well working the board, and that Boqvist was a better long term prospect than Hughes.



Jake Wise
Under the radar performer who is a terrific skater with strong skill set. His year was marred by various nagging injuries. An average skater who is a good two-way player whether lined up at centre or either wing. He is smart on the ice, good in the dot, supports the puck, shows creativity in the attack. Committed to Boston University where he will hone his skills hopefully ascending to a strong third line NHL centre.





Wiz you say Jake is a terrific skater in your first line, then two lines later you say he is an average skater. What gives?

[quote=wiz1901]I will be off line for awhile, but here are my evaluations of the Hawks prospects. The media people from radio and Tv seemed to think they did really well working the board, and that Boqvist was a better long term prospect than Hughes.



Jake Wise
Under the radar performer who is a terrific skater with strong skill set. His year was marred by various nagging injuries. An average skater who is a good two-way player whether lined up at centre or either wing. He is smart on the ice, good in the dot, supports the puck, shows creativity in the attack. Committed to Boston University where he will hone his skills hopefully ascending to a strong third line NHL centre.





Wiz you say Jake is a terrific skater in your first line, then two lines later you say he is an average skater. What gives?
- jv526

Stuff I read stated he was an average skater, but has all the other intangibles that make him a good middle 6 C.

LBR, haven't gone thru the posts and gotta run but they have the same QOC charts for Bovquist in relation to the other top 10 D prospect in the draft as well as a bubble chart too. Have you looked at those and analyzed them, and if not could you do so and post.
- Mr Ricochet

I don't know specifically which charts you're talking about, but I'd caveat any comparison between most of these players with the fact that all the others are older and most of the players are in different leagues.

I was looking at his XLS (Expected Likelihood of Success) rating by the pGPS metric and there's just not a lot of players that are selected as young as him as high as him. The creator of the graphs did it based on his time in SuperElite where his best comparable is Karlsson and based on his time in the SHL where his sample is smaller but his comparables are guys like Hjammer and Brodin.





Btw these are called Cohort maps - they're meant to compare players to previous draftees and see where they land. The fact is that he doesn't fall as neatly in the XLS model on his draft day / his rate is lower than some others due to his age, though, but in a year his XLS will likely tell a better picture. His SHL production presents a success rate of 28.4% - which is impressive given that he saw limited ice time.

Another thing I saw, though this was offense related, was that Boqvist had the 2nd most goals by a 17 yo in Sweden's top junior circuit. His company is pretty good - he did do it in 10 fewer games than the other guys around him and also spent time in another league, unlike all 3 of them.



Little bit more risk with him than some others imo but the ceiling is probably the highest after Dahlin.

Here is Beaudin's Cohort map.



I did read that the Hawks were high on Bokk for this latter pick but St. Louis jumped them for him (reverse Schmaltz in 2014) but I kind of like this pick now. Would have liked them to trade down to get him and gotten an extra pick that way, but that would have meant finding a willing team to do that which seemed unlikely.

EK says the Yotes are extending Hammer.

After digesting the draft, it looks pretty good across the board. We wont know for at least 2 years though. Hoping we get help in FA.
- z1990z

I don't know enough about these prospects, and projecting is problematic...time will tell.

My only gripe...would have liked to see the Hawks snag Veleno at 27. Depth down the middle is arguably as poor as the blueline.

EK says the Yotes are extending Hammer.
- matt_ahrens

Apparently, Raanta extension has been agreed upon too!

Totally agree with you Rob. With Bowman and Quenneville still here, I have no confidence in them turning this last place team around. And I don't want to hear that they've won 3 Cups and deserve our backing.

Neither were in their current roles when they took over with the CORE of Kane, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Hossa etc were in place and ready to become dominant.
They have BOTH blundered this team into the downward spiral that now exists and I will now question Rocky if nothing changes and another year of a championship window closes without a playoff run.

These 2 have NOT worked together in harmony throughout their tenure together as evidenced by the on-going fiascos year after year at the trade deadlines. Only the addition of Vermette worked out to help win a cup, and Quenneville almost blew that too.

Rocky......where are these significant changes you talk about that will make this organization one of the ELITE that you so consistently claim to be ?

We season ticket holders deserve better and it saddens me to think that this may be my last year. (after 50 +)
I will NOT shell out the type of money needed any longer to watch HO HUM hockey and lackluster management decision making.

So.........sitting still and expecting bounce-back huge years from all your CORE is dillusional.

Find yourself some NEW hockey executives to run your business please because I really won't believe again until you do.
- Hawkytalk

This pretty much sums it up...great - Stan possibly filled some future holes. No draft day deals...which is probably a positive after the 2 trainwreck trades he made last summer. And failed to get an NHL level back up for the season. I'm still not buying on the Crawford situation...meanwhile Stan's new big prize has already had how many concussions...?

Hawks are on the downside at this point. Can Bowman make several deals here to right the ship when we start free agency...? I wouldn't bother getting that Tavares jersey he won't be a Hawk.
Meanwhile he make extend Jurco...well thank goodness for that news flash. Can't wait for the Jurco bobblehead night...

you've got bring a new Pres. of Hockey Ops in...but that's even more concerning after JJ reported that McD had reached out to a search firm a la the Halas hall gang. Also thought it was interesting that Q and Stan made nice at the podium yesterday...we'll see what happens in Free Agency...