COVID-19 To Delay College Hockey Season
On Thursday, the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) announced that the start of the 2020-21 season will be delayed due to the impact of COVID-19.
The Chicago Blackhawks have six prospects hoping to play college hockey in the coming season: Jake Wise and Alex Vlasic (Boston University – Hockey East), Dominic Basse and Josiah Slavin (Colorado College – NCHC), Slava Demin (Denver – NCHC) and Joshua Ess (Wisconsin – Big Ten).
The HCA represents the 11 Division I men’s and women’s hockey conferences.
The HCA’s statement reads:
“The eleven Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey conferences, represented by the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA), are committed to providing memorable competitive experiences for our student-athletes during the upcoming season. The conferences have been working together on plans to return with a focus on the health and safety of everyone associated with our campus communities. Due to the impact COVID-19 continues to have across the country and within higher education, the start of competition for the Division I college hockey season will be delayed. Each conference will announce details on game schedules, including the start dates, individually. We look forward to our players and fans enjoying the college hockey experience this season.”
And the raging crapstorm of 2020 continues unabated.
Vlassic is going to be worth the wait he could be top 4/5. Size.
Wonder if Vlassic woukd consider signing an elc and playing in Rfd., if prospects of an Ahl season look better than a Ncaa one. Seems Nhl could be leaning towards a new year start to next season again, also a 60 game schedule may be considered.
Look forward to the coming draft articles Tab, also thanks for providing this site to discuss hockey on and putting up with us.
Would have option with Vlassic to slide his year in Rfd. next season, that way have minimal effect on what his projected Nhl arrival date would be if he signed an elc. just means he would forgo his Ncaa eligibility.
Are we sure Vlassic is ready to play pro hockey? It’s a whole different thing to play with men who are pros and have been for in some cases a long time, as opposed to playing guys more or less your age. I know he had a good year last year but there are some concerns with his skating and it probably helps to be able to fine tune things like that at a reasonable level of competition.
Our track record on developing defensemen since Hammer is woefully inadequate. And Vlassic has real promise. I’d hate to see his development hit a wall due to the virus. We need a big guy on the blue line who can play against top players.
Plenty of guys have dominated college hockey, (who is that Hobey Baker award winner we signed? Drew Leblanc?) and yet couldn’t go on to even make a dent in the AHL. It is a huge adjustment, just as the NHL is from the AHL. But who knows? Covid is going to force teams to make a lot of unusual decisions that they would not have normally made.
Actually if that is a concern Mike, signing an elc would give the option of playing in Chl he wouldn’t have with Ncaa. That would allow him to develop with players his own age, at the closest level to where Vlassic is playing now. Ushl or Junior A leagues would be a step backwards in terms of development.
Latest rumour in Montreal..Daneault would be on the market After asking to play more time on first or second line .
@Hawks2010, yes, he’s not happy in Montreal rn..the only issue regarding Danault is that the Hawks would want him to play on the same line as the Canadians..he’s not knocking Toews off the first line and my gut tells me that Dach will be centering the second line by either the start of next year, or half way through next year at the latest..so I don’t think he would want to play here if he’s just going to be placed on the third line..but who knows? I guess a lot will depend on what happens with Strome this offseason..will there be a centerman opening? Do the Hawks take a centerman at 17? I hope so..I personally love the idea of having too many centermen competing for jobs rather than too little..
Hawks2010 a Saad for Danault trade would be very close to giving them the space needed to sign Crawford and Rfas. Put Toews and Dach together and let Dach groom for the top job that way. Then Danault could center Kanes line and Strome and Cat on another maybe. Might work
I haven’t watched Danault enough to know if he could be a good 2C – my impression has been that he’s the perfect 3C for a Cup team and if you’re playing him in the top 6 you’re probably not a Cup team
He would definitely be an upgrade on Strome at 3C
Bolly was as good a 2nd line center as other top teams just wasnt the pts producer in a more OFF role. Shut down center and 3rd line. Same with Danault he a defensive center to. We hvae had 2nd line centers who were good at DEF and not primailry OFF other then Richy. Hands Sharpy.
Danault 3rd line center like Bolly and then we would have a 2nd center like Richy Hands that have lower caphits.
I would do 19 77 and have 24 2nd line.
Scott Powers reporting that the Hawks off-season moves are all pretty much waiting on one domino : Crawford’s decision on whether he will accept the 1-Year, $3.5 Million offer or become a UFA.
Also, He says the Hawks are very high on Sam Colangelo from the Chicago Steel when it comes to the draft. I would be surprised if the Hawks took him at pick 17. Yet, somebody from the Steel told me, he does not think Colangelo would last ’til 46.
Would love to see Stan move up from 46 to the top of round 2 and nab Colangelo.
If the Hawks get him and a blue chip prospect at 17 it will be a fantastic draft.
Yes yes. Same as last draft getting two studs for young wave. Need to do this and move up and do not settle. Trade what it takes to get the better player from 30-45th. Thats is where we have found many gems like 20 12 others Vlassic. Keep that going we do well there.
Danault was a gem Hartman was a dud. Those are the kind around 25th.
Interesting Craig, love the Colangelo potential. Brawn and brains, likes the garbage goals, plays gritty and plays smart with puck and causes mistakes without it. Be worth moving up in 2nd round if they feel they have too. Definitely not mid 1st round material, but a very good compliment for sure for whoever is picked there.
Like to know how the dominoes differ if Crawford signs compared to if he doesn’t.
Wrap, if you look at Blackhawks cups Danault matches up well with Handzus and Richards at the end of their careers playing 2nd C on cup runs. Been a 12 to 13 goal 45 pt guy, not a stretch to think he could be close to 20/60 guy with Kane. Strong on fos, excellent pk guy. Could be a defensive force between Kane and another offensive winger, sounds kinda familiar.
Two bad goals for Lehner. Khudobin looked stellar.
I’d love to the see the Hawks line up with Toews-Dach-Denault-Kampf at Center.
The problem with Denault is, he’s going to be a UFA, so we have him for one year before he likely tests the waters.
Also, I don’t trust Stan trading with Marc Bergevin. He has fleeced Stan
two-out-three. The Dale Weise and Fleishmann deal for Denault and a 2nd rounder. Also the damaged goods Andrew Shaw back to Chicago for a 2nd rounder and a 3rd. Awful.
Hawks should completely forget about bringing back former players.
Danault would be another third line player in Chicago. Don’t the Hawks have enough of those guys already?
Wouldn’t it be great if the Hawks could draft a guy like Jake Sanderson with their top 10 pick? Coulda, shoulda, woulda…..Next year!
Not a big fan of bringing back former players either, usually because it’s at end of their careers. Though have to say Versteeg and Handzus had an impact on cup runs on their returns. Is Danault a 2nd C on alot of teams, not likely but could he be in right circumstances, obviously, Blackhawks cup runs say that’s possible, doesn’t mean it would be either. Don’t paint everything with one brush in sports.
“Danault would be another third line player in Chicago. Don’t the Hawks have enough of those guys already?”
To be clear: Danault would be an enormous upgrade at 3C for the Blackhawks. He finished 6th in the Selke voting and could win one some day. He’s tremendous and is a better center than Strome. If Chicago could swing it, do it. But money is going to be an issue for a couple years because of the pandemic impact on the cap.
Strome and a bag of pucks for Danault sounds about right.He would look good centering Kane.Maybe throw Debrincat in the deal for Domi and a draft pick.
I wouldn’t mind the Hawks re-acquiring Danault but there are a couple red flags worth noting. First, Danault wants to play in the top-6, which he has done for the last couple years in Montreal – but Montreal wants Suzuki and Kotkaniemi to be their top-6 centers of the present/future which would relegate Danault to the 3rd line which he doesn’t want to do. Maybe he could be the 2C with the Hawks because maybe Dach would be a good 3C option but that will only be short term until Dach takes over the 2C role which probably happens sooner than later, if not immediately. So maybe Danault plays 2C for the 2020/21 season – but then his contract is up and he will want to get paid as a 2C even though he won’t be the 2C on the Hawks – so that’s a pending problem either way. Second, as discussed previously, Strome is not a 3C, at least not in the traditional sense of being a shutdown center with more offensive ability than the 4C – so Montreal will not be interested in acquiring Strome for the same reason they may be interested in trading Danault – neither can/will fill their 3C role.
Toews could be the ideal 3rd line Center. He wins faceoffs and likes to create offense away from the slot area and kills penalties.Dach 1st,Danault 2nd Toews 3rd Barratt or Kamph 4th Line.
Hopefully, we hear by Monday if Crawford is accepting the supposed one-year offer.
He’s had time to think about it, talk to his family, his agent, evaluate his options and make a decision. It’s not all that complex.
Alot of people want to see Kane and Debrincat or another offensive winger together, a defensive compliment is needed to give the line a chance at long term success. Strome isn’t the answer, Danault an elite defensive Center could work there. Next contract, well that’s part of the game, you produce you get paid, not working out, likely get something at tdl.
TimW, Toews at 3rd Center is something that is most likely going to happen sooner than later. Still can take alot of fos, still be playing big pp and pk mins, plus fresher for 3rd period when shortening bench to be more of an asset there. Really only makes sense as time goes on, that either that move or to wing for awhile as he gets older.
We all agreed being hard to play against, competing hard, need players who can put up good possession numbers and a beast on fos, are what this team needs. Coincidentally those are all areas Danault excels at.
I’m at a disadvantage when discussing a player’s attitude because I have nothing but hearsay or 2nd hand news with which to form opinions – which means those opinions could be wildly inaccurate. So, when I read that Danault wants to play as a top-6 center and not be relegated to a 3C role – I jumped to the conclusion that he let the Montreal management team know he would not be happy at 3C. Is that true? I don’t know, but if it is true, then I jump to my 2nd assumption that he would/could have an attitude problem if he’s forced to play 3C. Again, could be totally wrong on that – but that seems to be the crucial question that needs to be answered before the Hawks would entertain thoughts of acquiring him.
The gospel according to Eddie-O is that a player must (1) accept his role, and (2) execute. That sounds like truth to me. A player accepting a role that isn’t what he wants may work in some cases but it seems less likely if that player has stated he doesn’t want that role, especially if that player feels he has earned the right to have a say in the role he plays. Danault has been the de facto 1C for the past season or two so from his perspective it’s easy to see why he wouldn’t be happy for what is in essence a demotion to provide room for younger players who are passing him on the depth chart and future plans.
Or, maybe I’m making too many assumptions based on nothing but hearsay.
Ian – I like Danault as I think we all do – I still think he’s more in the Bolland mold (ie. great 3C) than in the fading star but still with enough hands to play with Kane mold (ala Handzus or Richards)
Maybe I’m wrong but remember Bolland couldn’t play 2C very effectively either
Plus I’m not sure that moving Dach to 3C to allow Danault to play 2C is a smart move for Kirby’s development which has to take precedent over satisfying Danault although if I squint real hard maybe it could work out
Guys in there prime or later in theres that came back sure. Danault would be like Bolly in a way so he should come back the others yea.
No matter who it is we need another center other then 4th line checking line center. To go with 19 77. We have had 10 26 91 80 so there are centers like those and that is the kind we need. One more and Danault would fit in with those.
AS the young wave comes in and we add more ufa players Danault/other center would love to play with our 3rd liners because it will be A 3rd line like we had in 2010. 16 36 32
Barratt Danault Kurachev
Danault is exactly the kind of players we need to add for when the young wave is ready.
Tazer at 3rd line center seems weird to think it. With Dach future mvp kind of player we can do that and just add our patenant 2nd line center add like we always do. 11 26 91 80.
I would say what ever line 77 is center wont matter because he is going to be that good. You could flip Dach Danault all you want and its 77 line that drives because of him. So let Danault be 2nd line center and let 77 drive the ship. Once were deep again it wont matter the ‘numbered’ lines.
Bolly didnt do well at 2nd line center because it was OFF oriented more. 67 didnt do well to there. The players that were not as good overall were the ones that did like 26 91. We were so deep that 36 and 65 were 4th line with Krugs and Frozal after we added 80 and when Shawzer was 3rd line center for entire 2013 yr.
EB to me if Danault happily accepted a demotion as if it was deserved, i would have a problem with that. To be a competitor and want his job back shows well of him not the contrary.
Wrap somebody who can win 55% of his fos and be a league leader in possesion nos. against opposing teama top lines, shots for/ against, high danger scoring chances for vs against etc., as Danault has for last couple of seasons, he could bring alot more to a line of Kane and offensive winger, also the team than a goal or 2 more of personal stats. If Colliton as it appears is going to be coach for awhile he fits the mold of type of center he likes in those situations as well.
Keeping Crawford for another year does nothing to help this team in the long run. Hawks are in transition right now whether you believe it or not. They’re not winning anything next season so see what you have in goal and if they don’t work out you get high pick in next draft.
I am with you Earl.I appreciate and admire Corey Crawford,s career and achievements but at this point with all the youth and development happening I wish we would move on to a couple of young goalies.
Also on the same thought track,I wish we would move on from Shaw and Seabrook.
Makes sense. 7 65 wont be here when young wave is ready yrs 22-27 so doesnt matter. Other then to add a top pair Defensemen or two and trading players like 20 to add younger versions of that style like Danault. I am only trading 20 if were adding another top 6 two way FW ufa wise in next 3 yrs.
That way we have the same kind quality of player and add a Danault. We will have the cap space when its needed to kepp the young elites and these guys. Main goal is to get top pait Defensemen and then we can do what we need with the Horsemem and others to make it deep roster.
Any moving on from 7 and 65 next season would be to ltir move. With flat cap hard to see trades involving them this off season. If they become permanent ltir this season then a budget team wanting caphit could be a possibility next summer. Any retirement wouldn’t happen until after their contracts expire, like Hossa. Actually with Coyotes in a seeming financial bind again now and Hossa caphit expiring next summer, they will quite likely be looking for a ltir caphit again.
They get decent players by doing it and we hvae good trade relations because we gave them some ok players so we get to do it with them not other team. Trading a 2nd for Rundy wasnt just for Rundy it was for future relations.
Tim W/Earl – I’m fine with moving on from Seabs and Shaw although as Ian said that’s not very likely to come from a trade however I’m not in favour of using a whole year just to see what we have in the young goalies and think that a high draft choice is suitable compensation if it all goes to shit
The Hawks need to be competitive next year for a playoff spot – that’s the development they need for all their young players
They can see what we have with the young goalies playing some games either as a back up or as a call up from RKF – I’m fine with Crow (or some other dependable proven goalie) being the #1 this year and we can still see what we have plus be competitive
We already know what we don’t have among the young goalies ie. someone ready to be an NHL #1 goalkeeper
If the Hawks can bring in a young goalie (like Georgiev) who seems ready to take on a #1 role fine but that seems like a long shot as well
Crow for a year at $3.5 – 4 makes a lot of sense to me
Plus without 2 top goalies in the league like we had this yr those/other goalies will get plenty of games. The two yrs before this yr we didnt have one goalie and we picked two top draft picks. We also had worse Defensemen overall.
Definitely don’t want to regress to a 17-18 season type situation in goal, that would be a big step backwards for these young guys. Having a true no. 1 for them is a must, whether or not it’s Crawford.
Assume on another year, not alot has changed in Seabrook picture. He has a year where there some time on ir and is a 3rd pair guy when he plays but questions around if he can play any longer, plus bringing his leadership and mentoring of course when he plays. If his spot is needed for youth and Coyotes with no picks this year and only a 2nd next, plus need low cost caphit after Hossa, would using picks to move him make any sense. Obviously a 1st rounder that has lotto potential would not be considered for sure.
Any goalie looking for a #1 spot would look to Chicago/other teams to go to to prove they can be a #1. So the goalies should come to us/Crow not here. None do more then 3 yrs with virus salary cap and prove and get contract based on play. No requirement to stay more then 3 yrs so.
How many each yr is there, about 3 teams, that have two starting goalies. Is there more now? So Crow doesnt stay there should be 4 to choose from.
why is Subban not mentioned in the coversation I dont know ; is he really a write off or just a fill in
If you wanna get rid of Crow and begin next season with no good goalie, package him with Toews,Kane,Keith,Saad,
Shaw,Seabrook….Then we can get great draft choices for next 5-10 years like Dead Wings did.
The difference between the DET and Blackhawks is 19 88 wont tuck tail and run to Europe once the roster is reloading.
Why does Ferriss best friend wear a DET jersey in Buellers day off.
Just keep everyone who used to be good watch them grow old right before our eyes and there will be no need to worry about getting great draft picks for the next 5-10 years.
For all of you guys who think Danault could come to Chicago and be a huge difference maker think again. The Hawks need several upgrades not just one.
A tremendous third line centre that was 6th in voting for the Selke voting and is also better than Strome seems like a guy that Montreal would never trade.
How many draft picks would Bowman be willing to give up to bring back Danault?
For the last 5 years the Hawks management has tried bandaids to fix this team, all while the core is getting older. This might of worked the first couple years but they’re way past that time frame now. It’s time to move on and look to the future or live in mediocrity for a long time.
Earl, I agree that the Hawks had a window after the 2015 Cup to win another Cup or two with the same core group – and – that window is shutting if not already shut. Even with Kane, Toews and Keith still playing at a high level, Seabrook is not and Hossa and Hjalmarsson are gone. The supplemental players on the current roster, as a group, are not good enough to make the Hawks a contender. The young players on the horizon may make the supplemental group good enough but will they do so soon enough before 88/19/2 fall off? Probably not.
There is a truism in life and it usually applies to sports franchises as well – you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Either you go all in on a tear down rebuild or you go all in trading your future for the present. Trying to do something in between usually results in mediocrity.