IMO he should start in rockford just get to learn to be a pro. I also see the argument to start in the nhl seeing how much can he learn in the ahl compared to the nhl. Either way he will be with the big club at some point. Justin or anyone who would like to chime in what his line look like and position is best suited for.
Hayden. AA sikrua. Be my line for him to start.

IMO he should start in rockford just get to learn to be a pro. I also see the argument to start in the nhl seeing how much can he learn in the ahl compared to the nhl. Either way he will be with the big club at some point. Justin or anyone who would like to chime in what his line look like and position is best suited for.
Hayden. AA sikrua. Be my line for him to start.
- Scott1977

Depends on how the 3rd line shakes out in terms of whether it's strong enough to take pressure off of Toews (and Schmaltz) to take D zone draws constantly. If that is the case, then maybe have Sikura up with Toews and DeBrincat.

If not, then maybe start Sikura with Anisimov and Kahun on the 3rd line.

That's why Stan needs to make some bold moves to make the team more physical

Seabrook for Lucic
Schmaltz for Wilson
Sikura for Roussel
Recall Martinsen
Play Hayden 19 - 20 minutes per night

BOOM! Plan the parade.


- DarthKane

You need to shut that sh_t down!

You need to shut that sh_t down!
- riozzo

Adam Boqvist will play for the Blackhawks in the Traverse City rookie tournament and attend training camp before leaving to join the London Knights for the season, his agent says.

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) August 20, 2018

Trade

To Montreal - Hunter Shinkaruk

To Calgary - Kerby Rychel

Do we really need another undersized "possession oriented" guy with no net front presence in his DNA on the roster?

I am going to go with no.

A few guys like that, sprinkled in among other guys with a mix of skill set like....net front presence, ability to win board battles in the OZ and puck battles in the NZ, every team needs.

I am just wondering who is in the pipeline that can fill the other roles in the dirty areas. The roster still seems woefully tilted toward these smallish guys who if they can't score on a fast break rush once they make a zone entry and take their low percentage perimeter shot will forever be chasing back.
- Return of the Roar

How do you know Sikura has no net front presence? He scored a majority of his goals in college in-close, just like Debrincat did in juniors and the latter translated to the NHL just fine with high danger goals. If you mean someone who will stand to block the goalie, yeah, probably not going to happen, but if he's scoring and helping others score while playing a defensively responsible game, who cares? Can we wait to see the kid perform before we write him off as a perimeter player based on his size alone??

Also, you guys seriously oversell how many small forwards are on this team: Kane, Schmaltz, Sikura, Debrincat and maybe Kahun are the only players that are under 180 that are likely going to be on the team. That's 4 or 5 out of 12. Omg so many. I don't want like all the tiny guys on a line but the freak out is silly.

On the other end, there are a lot of guys who are good at puck retrieval / board battles in Toews, Saad, Anisimov, Kruger, Kunitz for those who for sure are making the team + Hayden and Kampf who are probably making the team or have a high likelihood. None of them are really big outside of AA and Hayden but they've all played that role and done that type of work before. If your concern is actually performing those types of tasks and not just worrying about size, they could be really solid mixing and matching these guys with those with skill.

As always, it's about balance. And (frank)ing waiting to see how they all perform together.

PS. Doesn't like pretty much everyone here worship the drafting and team building of Yzerman? Cause the Lightning have had the smallest / lightest forward group in the league for years and yet it doesn't stop people from salivating over that roster most of the time.

My guess is Sikura makes the team out of training camp and plays with the Hawks all season. I don't know if it will happen right away but I think eventually he will be a high assist guy, especially if he plays with guys that anticipate plays as well as he does. I think he's similar to Teuvo with his nifty little passes and he will have lots of success as long as the guy he's passing to is ready for the pass.

How do you know Sikura has no net front presence? He scored a majority of his goals in college in-close, just like Debrincat did in juniors and the latter translated to the NHL just fine with high danger goals. If you mean someone who will stand to block the goalie, yeah, probably not going to happen, but if he's scoring and helping others score while playing a defensively responsible game, who cares? Can we wait to see the kid perform before we write him off as a perimeter player based on his size alone??

Also, you guys seriously oversell how many small forwards are on this team: Kane, Schmaltz, Sikura, Debrincat and maybe Kahun are the only players that are under 180 that are likely going to be on the team. That's 4 or 5 out of 12. Omg so many. I don't want like all the tiny guys on a line but the freak out is silly.

On the other end, there are a lot of guys who are good at puck retrieval / board battles in Toews, Saad, Anisimov, Kruger, Kunitz for those who for sure are making the team + Hayden and Kampf who are probably making the team or have a high likelihood. None of them are really big outside of AA and Hayden but they've all played that role and done that type of work before. If your concern is actually performing those types of tasks and not just worrying about size, they could be really solid mixing and matching these guys with those with skill.

As always, it's about balance. And (frank)ing waiting to see how they all perform together.

PS. Doesn't like pretty much everyone here worship the drafting and team building of Yzerman? Cause the Lightning have had the smallest / lightest forward cores in the league for years and yet it doesn't stop people from salivating over that roster most of the time.
- L_B_R

Ya...but Stevie Y has the good kind of small players, Stan has the bad kind.

Ward's new mask

Also, you guys seriously oversell how many small forwards are on this team: Kane, Schmaltz, Sikura, Debrincat and maybe Kahun are the only players that are under 180 that are likely going to be on the team.
- L_B_R

The issue is that four of those five are in the "top six", where most offense went to die last season.

And to suggest that Toews and Saad are good at puck retrieval and board battles is also to deny what the truth was last season, and likely will be again this season without more balance on top.

Hayden, Kampf, yes, some potential, but not top six level potential. Both are still fringe NHL players, with a likely trajectory in the bottom six. Retread Kruger is back, but coming off of a sports hernia surgery - just another addition to the "ifs" column.

Yes, it is about balance, and they have precious little to none of it at the top end of the lineup. So, sorry, hard to get fired up about this season. One only needs to look at the widening gap between this team and the rest of their division to know it is all setting up for another bad outcome.

Ward's new mask


- DarthKane

Better be made of military grade kevlar. He is going to need it.

[quote=Return of the Roar]
The issue is that four of those five are in the "top six", where most offense went to die last season.

And to suggest that Toews and Saad are good at puck retrieval and board battles is also to deny what the truth was last season, and likely will be again this season without more balance on top.

OK, but the point being made was that DeBrincat, and Kane and Sikura, all go to the net and are not just perimeter players They may not overpower people in the corners, but they often come out with the puck.

I'm not denying the role that size or strength play on a hockey team, but I'm a big fan of function over form. If a "smaller guy" can still go get the puck, why do we care at all how it is done? Schmaltz was one of the best players last year at taking the puck away. While he wasn't knocking anyone over or clearing a crease, that is still a very valuable part of the defense.

Have the Hawks released their roster for the TC tournament yet?

My guess is Sikura makes the team out of training camp and plays with the Hawks all season. I don't know if it will happen right away but I think eventually he will be a high assist guy, especially if he plays with guys that anticipate plays as well as he does. I think he's similar to Teuvo with his nifty little passes and he will have lots of success as long as the guy he's passing to is ready for the pass.
- EbonyRaptor

I'm thinking the same thing about the type of offense that could be expected of Sikura: mostly assists but I could see him contributing double-digit goals once he hits his stride. Similar to Schmaltz, actually.

As for passing to someone ready for the pass, I say DeBrincat would be up for the task which is why I could see a line of those two plus Toews.

I'm thinking the same thing about the type of offense that could be expected of Sikura: mostly assists but I could see him contributing double-digit goals once he hits his stride. Similar to Schmaltz, actually.

As for passing to someone ready for the pass, I say DeBrincat would be up for the task which is why I could see a line of those two plus Toews.
- AEL_Fox

I know it would be the third line, but I think ADB-AA-Sikura could be a really effective line...shades of Panarin and Kane with AA. That being said, my guess is at least ADB is top 6 all season.

I'm thinking the same thing about the type of offense that could be expected of Sikura: mostly assists but I could see him contributing double-digit goals once he hits his stride. Similar to Schmaltz, actually.

As for passing to someone ready for the pass, I say DeBrincat would be up for the task which is why I could see a line of those two plus Toews.
- AEL_Fox

I know it would be the third line, but I think ADB-AA-Sikura could be a really effective line...shades of Panarin and Kane with AA. That being said, my guess is at least ADB is top 6 all season.

The issue is that four of those five are in the "top six", where most offense went to die last season.

And to suggest that Toews and Saad are good at puck retrieval and board battles is also to deny what the truth was last season, and likely will be again this season without more balance on top.

Hayden, Kampf, yes, some potential, but not top six level potential. Both are still fringe NHL players, with a likely trajectory in the bottom six. Retread Kruger is back, but coming off of a sports hernia surgery - just another addition to the "ifs" column.

Yes, it is about balance, and they have precious little to none of it at the top end of the lineup. So, sorry, hard to get fired up about this season. One only needs to look at the widening gap between this team and the rest of their division to know it is all setting up for another bad outcome.
- Return of the Roar

Look, I totally get the concerns and I'm not trying to downplay them - size and physicality definitely have their place in hockey, there is no denying it. But you're making a lot of assumptions based on nothing or very very little lbr. I'm not saying stop speculating, but you can't just box in some players or write them off without having seen them really play or play together.

Like you're assuming Sikura will be a perimeter player based on his size when that hasn't been the case his colligate career the same way it wasn't for Debrincat. I don't know if it will translate but we shouldn't paint him as a type of player he's never been before just because he's small.

Plus you're assuming all 4 of those higher skilled guys will be top 6 when really we don't know where Q will really slot any of these players, much less that they'll stay there consistently. We can make guesses, and that's fun, but to make assumptions of how good/bad something will be based on fan created line-ups is a bit silly, no? Only Kane and Schmaltz are really guaranteed for the top 6 and the rest will be on merit. I guess they probably will be, but we really have to wait cause Q also likes to spread out his offensive player. Q isn't going to shove all the small guys together or he wouldn't be opposed to Cat-Kane.

And so no one is asking you to be fired up about the season, but just to acknowledge that if there are so many 'ifs' for the team, why make assumptions based on little to nothing and then angst about those assumptions? They might be soft, they might not be; they might be too small, they might be so skilled it doesn't matter as much. Dunno yet.

PS. Micro trackers had Saad-Toews (and Panik) doing very well at puck retrieval and so did Sportslogiq (independent, what Mike Kelly references a lot). That really wasn't their problem - Sadd-Toews-Panik could cycle the hell out of a puck - it was getting it to the net off a good pass or in the right situation (they needed a better shot assist player / playmaker on their line tbh).

Have the Hawks released their roster for the TC tournament yet?
- tvetter

Not yet.

It should be out this week.

Look, I totally get the concerns and I'm not trying to downplay them - size and physicality definitely have their place in hockey, there is no denying it. But you're making a lot of assumptions based on nothing or very very little lbr. I'm not saying stop speculating, but you can't just box in some players or write them off without having seen them really play or play together.

Like you're assuming Sikura will be a perimeter player based on his size when that hasn't been the case his colligate career the same way it wasn't for Debrincat. I don't know if it will translate but we shouldn't paint him as a type of player he's never been before just because he's small.

Plus you're assuming all 4 of those higher skilled guys will be top 6 when really we don't know where Q will really slot any of these players, much less that they'll stay there consistently. We can make guesses, and that's fun, but to make assumptions of how good/bad something will be based on fan created line-ups is a bit silly, no? Only Kane and Schmaltz are really guaranteed for the top 6 and the rest will be on merit. I guess they probably will be, but we really have to wait cause Q also likes to spread out his offensive player. Q isn't going to shove all the small guys together or he wouldn't be opposed to Cat-Kane.

And so no one is asking you to be fired up about the season, but just to acknowledge that if there are so many 'ifs' for the team, why make assumptions based on little to nothing and then angst about those assumptions? They might be soft, they might not be; they might be too small, they might be so skilled it doesn't matter as much. Dunno yet.

PS. Micro trackers had Saad-Toews (and Panik) doing very well at puck retrieval and so did Sportslogiq (independent, what Mike Kelly references a lot). That really wasn't their problem - Sadd-Toews-Panik could cycle the hell out of a puck - it was getting it to the net off a good pass or in the right situation (they needed a better shot assist player / playmaker on their line tbh).
- L_B_R

That's rhetorical right?

That's rhetorical right?
- HawkintheD

I'm actually looking forward to this season. I don't know if the Hawks will be contenders for the first overall pick, contenders for the Cup or somewhere in between. But there are some things to look forward to:

1. The continued development of Schmaltz and Debrincat.
2. The new faces on the team to start the season (I'm thinking Jokiharju, Kahun and Sikura).
3. The new faces called up during the season (Ejdsell, Hillman).
4. Will the old core bounce back?
5. What moves will Stan make to improve the team (I don't think he's done).

If the reason Q doesn't like the Cat-Kane combo is because Cat-Schmaltz-Kane would be too small - and I don't know if that is part of Q's reasoning - but if it is, that put Cat and Kane with Toews and drop Saad down to play with Schmaltz:

Cat-Toews-Kane
Saad-Schmaltz-Sikura

nhlprospectreport.ca

I'm actually looking forward to this season. I don't know if the Hawks will be contenders for the first overall pick, contenders for the Cup or somewhere in between. But there are some things to look forward to:

1. The continued development of Schmaltz and Debrincat.
2. The new faces on the team to start the season (I'm thinking Jokiharju, Kahun and Sikura).
3. The new faces called up during the season (Ejdsell, Hillman).
4. Will the old core bounce back?
5. What moves will Stan make to improve the team (I don't think he's done).
- DarthKane

This.

I'm actually looking forward to this season. I don't know if the Hawks will be contenders for the first overall pick, contenders for the Cup or somewhere in between. But there are some things to look forward to:

1. The continued development of Schmaltz and Debrincat.
2. The new faces on the team to start the season (I'm thinking Jokiharju, Kahun and Sikura).
3. The new faces called up during the season (Ejdsell, Hillman).
4. Will the old core bounce back?
5. What moves will Stan make to improve the team (I don't think he's done).
- DarthKane

I second this!