Blackhawks Head Home From South Bend
On Sunday, the Notre Dame portion of the Blackhawks’ training camp came to a close.
There were a number of players that performed well in the various scrimmages in South Bend, with a few prospects playing particularly well.
Jimmy Hayes and Patrick Sharp led all scorers in the scrimmages with three goals and two assists each. Hayes had a particularly good few days, and earned the attention of the coaches. Patrick Kane also scored three goals over the weekend.
The ascent of Teuvo Teräväinen continued with two goals and two assists. With captain Jonathan Toews sitting out the scrimmages with a lower body issue, Teräväinen saw some action between Kane and Bryan Bickell on Sunday. He is expected to get a lot of action in the first two preseason games before heading back to Finland.
Also scoring two goals during the scrimmages were Ryan Hartman, Maxim Shalunov, Jeremy Morin and Terry Broadhurst. Defensemen Ryan Stanton and Adam Clendening also had a strong showing this weekend.
The coaches spread out the ice time among the goalies in camp evenly, with each participant seeing 100 minutes. The “best” performance between the pipes came from Nikolai Khabibulin, who allowed three goals. Prospects Kent Simpson and Mac Carruth allowed four each, while Antti Raanta and Corey Crawford allowed seven each. Brandon Whitney, the youngest goaltender in attendance, allowed eight.
Monday, the Hawks practice at the United Center and host the annual Training Camp Festival. Tuesday, they hit the ice as the Detroit Red Wings come to town for the first preseason game.
This is what competition does on a great team in a great organization…Jimmy Hayes, Brandon Pirri and Kyle Beach all worked incredibly hard in the offseason, adding a lot of speed, strength and quickness to their games, making things even harder for the coaches…I think that Bollig and Ben Smith are locks to make the roster, so that leaves only 2 spaces available amongst the forwards…Morin and Pirri both did everything that they were supposed to do, so they have got to be the guys…how this all plays out with the lineups, I don’t know…but this is going to be a very good team…good on Kyle Beach for honing his game and giving the coaches some very tough decisions.
On Defence, Clendening is ready now IMO, but clearly will spend part or all of another year in Rockford, and Stanton is beyond ready…the plan must be to trade Brookbank and soon, as I just can’t see how the Hawks justify holding Stanton back another year…
Clearly all the Hawk goalies had good camps, in particular Khabby, making things look very good for the Hawks…as for the prosects, how about TT…he had everyone talking about how good he is, even Q saying that he is surprisingly good on Defence…the Hawks decision to send him back to Finland is likely the right one, as he is going to work on developing his strength, faceoffs and defensive zone responsibilities…but make no mistake, he could be our 2nd line Centre right now…and may become it later in the year. Danault and McNeil looked good, but are not yet ready to be in the NHL. Finally, Ryan Hartmann clearly looked at home, and considering that he was this good, this fast, he has a real shot for next season…Stan Bowman has clearly done a wonderful job building this team for now, and the future.
Can’t wait to see the preseason games. I believe I read somewhere that a few of the preseason games are televised. TT is supposed to play in a couple preseason games before heading back to Finland, hopefully they are a couple of the televised games.
I heard something I never thought I would hear – the word “quick” used to describe Jimmy Hayes. Q said it in an interview when he talked about how Hayes got himself in really good shape and how well he has played in the scrimages. “Quick” Wow! I can’t wait to see him play in the preseason games so my eyes can see this new “quickness”. Hopefully it’s true and Hayes’ skating agility and overall quickness has improved. Hayes talked about trying to incorporate Bickell’s “big man game” into his game and wouldn’t that be great to have Hayes blossum into a bonafide power forward.
There are so many other story lines I’m looking forward to see develop in training camp – Saad at center, Danault, Shalunov, even Beach (for heaven’s sake!).
Hockey season is upon us … life is good.
I’ll be there tonight. Now that I don’t have Viktor’s eyes to get lost in anymore, I’ll be able to watch some of the kids to see what all the hubbub is about. Really looking forward to seeing TT in person.
JS- you know I called first Dibs on TT.
looking forward to your report on T-squared.
Might I suggest Hartman as your new toy. Heard he has looked good.
I’ll start by saying I can only assume that the coaches told everyone they aren’t allowed to touch Kane, because he was absolutely disgusting tonight.
TT- He’s going to be a something. I think he’s ready now, but I can definitely understand why they want him to get a little bigger before playing in Chicago. He has great vision, really good burst speed (on one shift him and Kane just turned on the jets and just lost the trailers), and really really smooth hands. I think he was in position to shoot more but was deferring. He’s always around the puck or where the puck is going to be. His move in the shoot out also made me laugh. It was like he was just showing off his ridiculous hands.
Ross- Seems to have a great IQ and is stronger than a mother. Threw a lot of checks, was good at finding the puck, and pretty solid along the boards. Didn’t get credit, but had a great fly-by on Nightingale’s blast from the point. Had a few good back-check plays that seemed possible because of his plus speed. Could probably play on the big club this year… but where is the space?
Danault- I can only assume this was a terrible game for him. Showed a few flashes, but nothing spectacular. I thought there were a few occasions in which he tried to make a play at the blue line instead of just getting the puck deep. Maybe trying too hard to try and earn the NHL spot? Again, hoping it was just a bad game.
McNeil- Thought he was better than Danault tonight by a decent margin. Showed composure with the puck and made a few plays.
Clendening- Looked great with the puck in the offensive zone… looked lost when the other team had the puck in his defensive zone. Seemed like him and his partner kept getting mixed up on what they were covering. Definitely going to need another year at the Rock to get his defense in line with this offense.
Stanton- Ready. Solid all around. Wasn’t afraid to shoot, scored a goal, made a few solid defensive plays, smart low risk plays when trying to clear the zone.
Some quick surprises that I thought played really really well.
I have no idea who Mike Kostka is or where he came from, but he had a really good game.
Maxim Shalunov- puck found him a lot.
Joakim Nordstrom- I kept seeing him with the puck… so that must mean something.
Ryan Hartman- Didn’t notice him too much. Had a few shifts where he seemed to be everywhere, but I feel like he didn’t play in the entire second period.
Drew LeBlanc- has great vision… just kind of slow.
Bad
Dylan Olsen- Still can’t skate and made a few stupid pinches at the blue line.
Any questions, ask away. I’m tired of typing (if you couldn’t tell)
JS – I agree that no one wanted to take the body on Kane. He was dancing around out there like he was doing that Bauer commercial. I also agree that TT deferred on that 2 on 1 break with Kane. He has a good enough shot that he should have let it go. I can’t imagine where there is any question about his skating – smooth and plenty quick enough.
Hayes skating still looks cumbersome to me but he does look quicker and his straight line speed is fine. It looks like his endurance has improved from when he was up with the Hawks a couple years ago. As long as he plays physical and goes to the net, he can be useful.
Morin has a scorers knack for getting into shooting position. He was handed a cookie tonight and buried it.
I wasn’t impressed with Saad playing center tonight. He was noticeable and around the puck but he certainly doesn’t look like he ready to play 2C yet. But then, it’s only been a week so the experiment needs more time.
I like the way Fournier skates – quick and smooth. Looks like he can handle the puck pretty well too. Could be a keeper in a couple years.
LeBlanc had some nice plays. It looks like he’s sees the ice pretty well and makes nifty plays.
Didn’t see Danault do much and I didn’t notice Clendening much either. McNeill looked faster than I thought he was and Shalunov looked slower that I thought he was. Stanton played well. Nordstrom played well. Even Bollig played well.
Sharp, Kane and Bickell – yeah, I think they’re ready to go.
Thanks JS and ER…great info…I think the point that JS makes about all this talent and where do they play is very valid…Hayes, Morin, Pirri, Smith and Stanton have all worked incredibly hard and deserve to be here…so where does that leave everyone else…even TT…there aren’t open roster spots available and the Hawks, for the most part, are a young team now…if TT arrives late this season to take over the #2 centre, where does Saad go to…and how do Pirri, LeBlanc, Danault and McNeil all fit on the roster???
Its a good thing that Danault and McNeil need a year of seasoning in Rockford because there aren’t any spots available for them…as for the players, Nordstrom has looked good since about half way through last season in Rockford, plus he is very responsible defensively, but where do you play him??? JS, I too think Ross could play in the bigs this year, but where…Stanton has had a great camp and totally deserves to be on the Hawks roster, and the Hawks must know this…that’s why I am predicting that Brookbank will get dealt by the end of next week…having Stanton and Rozy alternate this year will do wonders for both…
As JS said before, it is a great time to be a Hawks fan…
JS, ER- great reports- agree w most of it.
Great pickup on Kostka – I went back to a roster to see who the heck is #6… he was very good!
One of TT’s best plays – TT-88 and 3 defenders in Right slot… TT just escaped to the left slot (like he was shot out of canon- and left D in the dust) Kane tried to get him puck but too many bodies in between… but the burst of speed from a stop was impressive!!!
2 things left out-
thought Beach and Dahlbeck were very noticeable.
Lastly- I really believe all of these guys (Hayes, Morin, Smith, pirri) competing for final roster spots can score as well as 25,67,36… my concern is skating/agility/IQ… IMO they are all a downgrade in those dept (25’s IQ not included)… In Q’s scheme the smarter/agile/quick skater ( in role) is a bigger asset… Nordstrom and TT shined in the skating/quick/agile area!
I predict Nordstrom will play on Hawks sooner than people think!
JS, ER, what other forwards impressed you skating wise?
Great reports, guys! I think Kaner will crack the 100-point plateau this season. That being said, I don’t care much whether he accomplishes that or not. Individual accomplishment may be good for the players, but the only goal can be to win Lord Stanley again.
Why I came up with that? James Neveau on NBC Chicago reports that Kane scored very high on all of his conditioning tests at camp. Given the immense talent we all know he has, there is no doubt that he is a potential 100-point player. Now add Bicks and Toews (fingers crossed that all remain healthy) and it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that he can accomplish such a feat.
Neveau (whoever he is) also wrote that (apart from Kane) LeBlanc shined yesterday. Has anyone paid particular attention to his shifts? Who were his linemates?
wall – I thought Ross and McNeill were a little faster than what I expected. Also agree with Nordstrom – he is good skater and seemed to be in the play a lot.
Truthfully, I’m more interested in how these guys play against other teams than I am with an intrasquad scrimmage. Very excited about tonight’s first game.
Quenneville indicated that cuts are coming soon, and that the roster could be close to final by the middle of next week. Sounds like Teravainen will probably play Tuesday & Thursday before heading back to Finland.
With regard to guys I expect to see on the NHL roster on Oct. 1, Hayes and Morin have been good, Smith has been solid, Pirri got banged up over the weekend and didn’t scrimmage last night, and Stanton looks ready to be a 6-7 d-man at the UC this year. imo LeBlanc needs to spend some time in Rockford adjusting to the pro game, just as Raanta needs to adjust to N.A.
Re: LeBlanc- I could see playing him C on a third line w/ Morin/Hayes and Shaw.
LeBlanc is a Great set up guy who can hold the Puck for xtra second or two and Dish to guys attacking the net w/ good hands. But I don’t trust him on D ( so would need to play w/ scorers who are quick enough to cover D).
I feel like the Hawks have a lot of young talent that could easily start on some lesser/middle tiered teams this year.
Wall- I think the Hawks will definitely miss the speed of 25/67… but I don’t think one of Bolland’s better attributes is speed. However, he did make up for it with amazing positioning.
I thought Beach was ok, although he didn’t get it deep when White needed a change and that is enough to make Q never look at him again. The fight with Shaw made me irrate. Seriously, you want to potentially break your hand during a team scrimmage?
Also, did you see when Leddy stopped someone in their tracks and muscled them off the puck? Weird, right?
I can’t remember who the NEW 25 is, but he looked like he had some potential. He skated pretty well for a giant man.
Allow me to be controversial for a moment. Please explain to me why we should legitimately be excited about either Pirri or Smith, or why either “should” make this roster? I simply don’t get that. With the Saad to Center experiment looking like it is way more than an experiment I don’t see where Pirri fits. I’ve never been positive on Pirri…nice kid…works hard…but his skill set isn’t up to the quality level of a strong team like the Hawks. I see neither the upside on offense or defense to say Pirri has arrived. Meanwhile, Smith is nothing more than a plugger type who has inexplicaby achieved some magical status with some fans, notably those of the female variety. Again, I don’t see the talent level to be excited.
I am DEFINITELY excited about Danault, and I can see him being promoted by the Christmas holidays. And I can see him carving out a permanent and quality role at Center. I also am dutifully impressed with the seeming transformation of Jimmy Hayes, though I do think he is 4th line material. Morin? I need to see a little bit more, but it’s a 100% certainty that he has already made this roster.
And while I’m on the subject…
LeBlanc? Nothing to see here folks. A novelty act. He’ll get a handful of call-ups but nothing to think about really.
Clendening? Love this kid. Have seen him a Rockford. Still a year away, but he has the definite potential to make Leddy redundant and therefore a trade chip in a year. There, I said it.
Stanton? Odd man out for now. But it’s comforting to know he will be in Rockford when the inevitable injury bug hits the defensive ranks.
Beach? Stop. Lets not ever discuss again.
Olsen? I don’t know what happened here. I thought he could become a decent 3rd pairing a year ago, but maybe I’m guilty of wearing the rose-colored glasses. He’s AHL filler in all honesty.
Rufus:
re Pirri & Smith – they’re ready. Pirri, still 22, has put up numbers that warrant a call up in the AHL and should get a look at the next level. Is is another Sharp-Toews-Kane type? No. But how many are? We’re spoiled to an extent with the number of good young prospects that have come up and contributed recently. Smith is a good, solid, doesn’t-make-a-huge-mistake player that will likely fill the role Frolik did last year. Were you excited to watch Frolik? Probably not. But do you need “that guy” on a winning roster? Absolutely.
Your third line opening night might be Morin-Shaw-Hayes, and that is an exciting group to me. Hayes has had a really good camp, and I agree Morin might be the safest guy from Rockford to consider himself “on the roster” right now.
To your other assessments…
Agree that, right now, LeBlanc lacks the speed to be an impact player in the NHL. But scouts said that about Troy Brouwer, too. Clendening is the real deal. While I don’t think Leddy would be the first to go, I agree that Stanton should be in the NHL soon and Clendening is months – not years – away from the UC as well. & I think the organizational depth has sprinted past Beach & Olsen. Once the cream of the crop, they’re now just guys on the roster in Rockford. I would like to see Beach step up this year and have a strong season, but it’s hard to project him to the next level. At least in Chicago.
I don’t draw the Frolik – Smith comparison /role that you do. Smith is a very poor man’s Andrew Shaw at the absolute peak of his abilities. Smith is the sort of player that rides the Rockford shuttle. For inexplicable reason, he’s become the darling of some fans. Let him prove me wrong, but I don’t think he will.
Pirri? Not really good enough offensively or defensively to merit a coveted forward spot on a Cup champion. He’s the sort of player who is destined to knock around as a 4th liner type on a craptacular or rebuilding team like the Flames or Jets. Maybe he makes the roster, but I think it will be temporary until Danualt is knocking on the door for good, which I think will be soon.
Clendening? Absolutely love this kid. But he isn’t ready. Needs definite work in the defensive zone as he can get lost back there and isn’t confident yet on positioning, chasing the stick, etc.
Stanton? I think we may be a bit guilty of lavishing praise on this kid. No harm in him spending another year in Rockford to see what he may really be. And he’ll get the first phone call when / if anybody gets hurt on defense. Not suggesting he turns into Olsen, but I’m also hesitant to say he can definitely be part of one of the 3 pairings in Chicago…yet.
Reminder: Nick Leddy is just one year older than Clendening.
I assume people are high on Pirri because 21 year olds don’t generally lead the AHL in scoring unless they are pretty decent players. Honestly, it seems like Q doesn’t like Pirri that much which is probably why they are trying to move Saad to C. Well… that and with Bickell in the top 6, Saad doesn’t really have a spot and that kid deserves a lot of minutes.
Tab: I think Clendening COULD be ready for the NHL in months, but as we’ve discussed a bunch of times, where is the room? I fully expect them to move Brookbank and have Stanton play 30-45 games this year as the Rozi-rester. But still, are they going to move someone else? You know Seabrook, Hammer, and Keith are here for many years to come. I would guess that they hope Leddy progresses this year, they move Oduya during the offseason, and then you have your spot for Clendening next season.
And I know Frolik was a huge part of the Hawks success last year, but that man had taken nothing but grief for being an overpaid waste since he got here. Now he’s suddenly irreplaceable? He was a 4th line winger and a PK specialist. I definitely think Smith can handle that role.
We are all quick to move Oduya to make way for Clendening in a year’s time, but we have to remember Oduya has a limited no trade clause. Per Cap Geek, the only players who don’t are Leddy and Hammer. With Hammer’s sweetheart deal, I don’t see him getting moved. Leddy’s play this year will determine if he is moved. Otherwise we might not be getting a lot for Oduya if a team knows the Hawks can only deal with so many teams…
I think there is a strong chance that this will be Nick Leddy’s last season in Chicago. It’s not an indictment necessarily of his talent and performance, but rather the reality of what we have with the rest of the defensive corp and with Clendening knocking on the door. Leddy puts up a decent season and his trade value will also be sky high. To be clear, I’m not endorsing getting rid of Leddy. Rather I think it is most likely he is on the way out the door after this season.
It was only a couple years ago when it appeared the Hawks cupboard was bereft of defensive prospects. Olsen and Leddy were both playing on the Hawks, at least for part of the year, and there wasn’t much in Rockford that was highly probable to make the NHL. Now, Clendening is almost a certain NHL’er, Johns (if he doesn’t “Justin Schultz” the Hawks) has a very good shot of making it, Stanton has matured to be at least serviceable, and a few of the Swedes look promising – Svedberg, Dahlbech & Dahlstrom.
Depending on how soon Johns is ready, the Hawks d-corps could have three nice LH-RH pairings: Keith-Seabrook, Hjalmarrson-Clendening, and Leddy/Oduya-Johns.
It was only a couple years ago when it appeared the Hawks cupboard was bereft of defensive prospects. Olsen and Leddy were both playing on the Hawks, at least for part of the year, and there wasn’t much in Rockford that was highly probable to make the NHL. Now, Clendening is almost a certain NHL’er, Johns (if he doesn’t “Justin Schultz” the Hawks) has a very good shot of making it, Stanton has matured to be at least serviceable, and a few of the Swedes look promising – Svedberg, Dahlbech & Dahlstrom.
Depending on how soon Johns is ready, the Hawks d-corps could have three nice LH-RH pairings: Keith-Seabrook, Hjalmarrson-Clendening, and Leddy/Oduya-Johns.
Edit: I forgot to add Fournier – smooth skater – has a chance to be pretty good too.
On Tuesday afternoon the Blackhawks send Gilbert, Fournier, Brown, Whitney to junior teams & cut W. Brookbank, Mullane, Gleason, Nightingale, Shea from camp roster.
Stanton is ready, but until we need the capspace I think brookbank is here. Rozy plays 40-60, so Stanton should get 20 even if he takes the bus. It doesn’t hurt to have moar D on deck… Right now we have 2.4, with brookbanks contract we’ll have 3.6 @ deadline… My guess is Oduya is here until contract, then Leads takes his position/thats when Clendening is on 23man roster.
I think 11, 28 are on 23man & 22, 37, 55 are on the bus, a lot. Elite team problems.
I think in the scrimages against other organizations is where/when guys like Danault & Ross will standout moar… I really like Danault, everybody has an off day. The thing about him is hes so relentless he just will come harder & keep on bringing it. Just like Shaw does. When their in their 2&3 full yrs, how sweet would a Ross, Danault & Shaw line bee.
HARRISON FORD, said to Teuvo. The ‘Force’ will be with you.
I think we are getting WAY TOO FAR ahead of ourselves here with trades, cuts, etc…as Morrison said, and I was pointing out, these are elite team problems, but we will all take them…the fact remains that the Stanton, Clendening, Johns “problem” will work itself out…who knows how…I think what Tab, Wall, ER and others understand is that there is a lot of talent in this organization that can and will play in the NHL, but NOT for the Hawks…its incredible that guys like Beach and Olsen have dropped out of contention because the talent around them is so good…and it doesn’t matter what round a player was drafted in, what matters is how good they are on an NHL rink…think Buff, Brouwer, Shaw, Kruger, etc…the same now goes for players like McNeil, Kevin Hayes, Danault (whom I all like]…this team is so good and deep they must stand out just to get a chance with the big team…and championships are not won with 12 forwards like Gretzky…it is a mix…so players like Nordstrom and Ross have just as good a chance of making the Hawks as the first rounders do…
To Rufus…I don’t get your dislike for Smith and Pirri…I guess all of Smith’s goals vs. the Canuckleheads in the 2011 playoffs were just luck or no big deal…I have watched a ton of the Rockford games and Smith is the real deal…a good NHL player who will prove it this season…when he came back from his hand injury to close out the Rockford season, he was like a man amongst boys…a guy like Leddy never was…and Pirri MUST be given the chance with the big squad…leading the AHL in scoring at 21 has NEVER happened before…I think he is going to become a good NHL player. Hayes and Morin both have made the team and I think will stick for a long time as they both fill ROLES, just like an Andrew Shaw does, or a Marcus Kruger, or a Bryan Bickell…
And to those who sluff off Stanton, you haven’t watched any of the camp…as Tab said, he is ready right now…and going back to Rockford won’t help him…he needs to play NHL games now…and I have never been as sure on a prospect as I am with Clendening…Tab is right, Clendening will be ready in a few months, if he isn’t right now…how he fits on our NHL roster I have no idea, but I know he will.
Let’s all just sit back and watch these preseason games and find out what actually happens. Its going to be fun!
And Drew LeBlanc is just another Johnny come Lately??? What??? It is very clear that LeBlanc has incredible vision and is a great passer…he just needs some time in Rockford to work on his defensive positioning, and overall speed game…but make no mistake, he’s going to be an NHL player…on the Hawks or elsewhere…again, its just a question of where do we play everyone???
Based on small sample size, WJC last year and last nite- I think Nordstrom is the next Frolik/replacement in 2-3 yrs. Frolik’s quickness and skating agility will be missed and not replaced by the likes of Pirri, Hayes, Morin, Smith. His $2M+ contract will not be missed.
Rufus- Danault will not be up by Xmas-IMO
and Pirri can score- just don’t trust his D
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