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It’s the Most Im-port-ant Time of the Year |
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This feels like déjà vu saying this, but this next stretch of games could make or break the Hawks season.
Corey Crawford is out with an upper-body injury this time. His 2nd stint on the IR this month; it was a LBI earlier in the month.
The Hawks have relied on #50 so much this year, without question, he’d get my vote for MVP. So him being out for “a bit” according to Coach Q is, uh… not good.
The Crawford-less Hawks play 8 games in the next 14 days with only 3 of those at the United Center.
In that span, they have 2 back-to-backs (starting with tonight and tomorrow), so Anton Forsberg might be real busy. Jeff Glass may finally get his 1st taste of NHL action after 32 years on this planet.
Glass played 7 years in the KHL before coming back and landed with the IceHogs the last 1 ½ seasons.
Also, what a relevant story to tell you about the time Glass won a gold medal at the WJHC in 2005. Just wait before you get too impressed though, that ’05 Canadian team has been documented as the best one ever.
As a Canadian, I knew this team was good, but come on, do you remember how good it was? You should... there is a strong Hawks connection:
Coach: Brent Sutter
Forwards: Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Andrew Ladd, Mike Richards, Anthony Stewart, Clarke MacArthur, Colin Fraser, Nigel Dawes and Stephen Dixon
Defence: Dion Phaneuf, Shea Weber, Brent Seabrook, Braydon Coburn, Cam Barker, Danny Syvret, Shawn Belle
Goalies: Jeff Glass, Rejean Beauchemin
I told you, what a team, eh? … wait I’m forgetting 1 player, oh right, Jeremy Colliton. Yes, Jeff Glass’ current coach in Rockford was his teammate in 2005.
The only 3 players to never play in the NHL from that team listed above is Stephen Dixon, Rejean Beauchemin and yes, Jeff Glass. Wouldn’t it be crazy after 12 years, Glass gets the opportunity to play in his first ever NHL game?
He’s a big guy at 6’3 / 200+ lbs, but with all that being said, I think it would be a great moment for the 32-year old, but the Hawks are in serious trouble if he finds his way in the net more than a game or 2. Anton Forsberg should get the majority, if not 100% of the playing time in Crawford’s absence.
Moving on, (kind of) overshadowed by the Crawford news, there was an earth-shattering move by the Hawks to call up David Kampf from Rockford.
Joking aside, I pegged Kampf as a guy to watch for as an option up the middle. He has played in a top 6 centre role for Colliton in the AHL after spending his entire hockey career in the Czech Republic.
He ranks 4th on the IceHogs with 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists) in 30 games – not bad for his first stint in North America.
He’s a former teammate of Jan Rutta and is assimilating to the culture change “ok”. He can understand the English language but still needs to get more comfortable speaking it. The 22-year old might want to speed up his progress as he might be here to stay for a while if he can slide into that 3C spot.
Joel Quenneville yesterday called out the need for help at centre. An obvious statement to this guy after the likes of Hartman, Hinostroza and Kero have not worked out to date.
In Kampf, Q is getting a left-handed shot, is 6’2 and weighs in around 200 lbs. He’s got the size to play in the NHL and if he can learn Coach Q’s system quickly, he may have a longer leash than those previously in this spot. He's a natural centre but has played some wing as well.
I believe this was a calculated move with Stan and Q having the time over the break to determine the best in-house solution to plug into the group of forwards. Maybe they have had Kampf penciled in as an option to join this team once he got comfortable on NA ice? Or, maybe this is one of the last in-house personnel moves before Stan pulls the trigger on something bigger? Regardless, it appears they would like to see what they have in #64 (Kampf's # if you didn't know) at the NHL level.
Cody Franson is still on the IR but is traveling and skating with the team on this Western road trip. Therefore, the two-headed Stan/Q dragon may have to make up their minds soon on the unlucky soul that’s summoned back to Rockford, Ill.
Q said the lines are still “in flux” but after they landed, freshened up at their Vancouver hotel yesterday, he rolled out the following lines:
Saad-Toews-Panik
Schmaltz-Anisimov-Kane
Debincat-Kampf-Hinostroza
Bouma-Wingels-Hayden
Thoughts on lines:
* I like Panik back on the RW1. This is the best spot for him to succeed and the Hawks need him more than ever now. He was tied with Panarin with the most even-strength goals last year with 16.
* Kane line, leave it…it’s been one of the only consistent offensive threats lately.
* Debrincat on a line where he can control the offensive play is going to be a good thing for the Hawks. Scott Powers had a great article for The Athletic that showed that ADB was not shooting as much when playing with Toews/Saad. The kid has a deadly release/shot and I think he’ll use it more on this line.
* Kampf will debut as the 3C with Debrincat and Hinostroza. He and Vinnie played on the top line in Rockford for a while so Q is banking on that chemistry. The only thing is that Hinostroza played primarily on LW when on his line which makes me think the ADB prefers the left and trumped his elder there.
* BANGER line remains; I thought Bouma was due for a seat, but can’t argue to keep that line together.
* Hartman and Sharp appear to be the oddballs out tonight vs. the Canucks. To me, Sharp is now the 13-14th forward if this team wants to win. He’s not the problem, but he is not contributing enough to this team to help them win. On the other hand, I think Hartman should be playing. It’s been a really weird year for #38 and would like to see him back on the wing for a while with consistent linemates.
Let’s hope these new lines click and David Kampf is the savior the Hawks need because this Vancouver is very beatable. They have lost 8 of their last 9 games.
Injuries to Tanev, Horvat, Baertschi and Brandon Sutter have brought them back to life after a hot start to the season.
Looks like the in-laws are in town in anticipation for baby #2, so I should be able to settle in and watch this late one to myself tomorrow. #notmad.
See ya out there!
JL
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ICYMI:
* The Kampf-less and Glass-less Rockford IceHogs have a hefty schedule coming up. They play tonight in Iowa, then tomorrow night at home vs. Iowa… then for their 3rd game in 3 nights, head to Chicago for a game on Saturday.
* In case you missed this earlier in the blog, here are some great quotes from that 2005 Canada Team (courtesy of The Hockey News):
COLIN FRASER: No one ever talks about Jeff Glass, because our team was so good. Look at our defense corps. Name the players there. There were Norris candidates that are just great, great, all-star defensemen. Glass was a good goalie. Look at his numbers in the Western League. I played against him.
JEFF GLASS: Watching (Carey Price in the 2014 Olympics), it’s exactly how I felt, too. Heaven forbid anyone got close to Price. It wasn’t a question of whether they were going to score. It was getting into a position to even get a chance. And I remember that same feeling, being like, ‘I just have to make my saves,’ like it was going to be 15 or 20 shots and just make your saves, because there isn’t going to be a breakdown of 2-on-0 or 2-on-1 or high-scoring chance. It was going to be just normal hockey plays that happen, and I just needed to make saves. To me I remember just watching Weber, Phaneuf, Coburn and guys in front of me and it was just so smooth. It was a lot of fun.
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Who we got tonight: Vancouver Canucks
Season Matchup: 1st matchup of the year
15-17-5 = 35 points
7th in Pacific Division
Last game: LOSS vs. St. Louis (3-1) on December 23rd
GF: 98 / GA: 119
PP% = 21.9% (9th in NHL)
PK% = 77.3% (26th in NHL)
Sniper: Brock Boeser (stud!) – 20 goals
Producer: Boeser (he’s so hot right now) – 24 points
Tough Guys: – Derek Dorsett – 74 PIMs (sadly, has since retired due to injuries) Del Zotto - 93 hits
Expected Starter: Jacob Markstrom
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Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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