This was the story last year too, he was playing C, until he wasn't. Not saying he won't play C, but just because they want him to play C doesn't mean he won't end up playing some wing again. I am not sure why folks get so bent out of shape about it. It wasn't like playing him on the wing was a demotion. If the team struggles and his 40% at the dot he managed last year slips, I don't see why they would keep him at C.

Edit: I didn't mean you specifically bent out of shape, but just saying people get offended if he isn't slotted at C.
- breadbag

Because they're "insiders" and a reliable source told them so.

Kahun won’t need to envoke the Euo-clause. He’ll stick with the Hawks in a top 9 role.
- DarthKane

My thinking as well. He could offer a nice option as a C at some point during the season and/or next year (he's signed for 2-years).

The Captain is usually the kiss of death for making it to the NHL. Organizations tend to lean towards AHL veterans.

The most logical choice for Rockford's next campaign is Andrew Campbell. The 30-year old been a captain in the AHL 4x total and 3x in the last 3 years (Toronto and Tucson).
- Justin Lowe

Good point. Forgot about Campbell. He's pretty much a career minor leaguer with a captaincy track record.

I'd still consider Johnson, Highmore, Pelletier, and T Sikura for the A's. Dahlstrom, too. Not all of them at the same time; maybe 2 for home games and 2 for road games.

Because they're "insiders" and a reliable source told them so.
- GPHawksfan

I'm sure some of the info from sources that float around can be legit, but even if the Hawks want him playing center, I'm sure it isn't sent in stone. The Hawks are a team with questions to answer and something to prove again. The forward lines they see now might not survive the pre-season or the first few games is all I mean.

I'm sure some of the info from sources that float around can be legit, but even if the Hawks want him playing center, I'm sure it isn't sent in stone. The Hawks are a team with questions to answer and something to prove again. The forward lines they see now might not survive the pre-season or the first few games is all I mean.
- breadbag

Oh I agree with everything you just said. I just find it funny that the go to defense is an insider.

https://www.nhl.com/news/.../c-299996774?sf92371263=1

Schmaltz will be playing center. No matter how many times he put on the wing by everyone.

The Hawks view him as a center.
- Elbows15

Hence one of the big problems with this team: wrong guys slotted in the wrong roles because there is no quality depth - especially at center.

So they just keep doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result.

There is a word for that....

Best lineup I see right now is:

Saad/Toews/Kane
Schmaltz/AA/ADB
Hayden/Kampf/Sikura
Kunitz/Kruger/Kahun

Keith/Seabrook
Jokiharju/Murphy
Manning/Ruuta

Make the big boys earn their money

Oh I agree with everything you just said. I just find it funny that the go to defense is an insider.
- GPHawksfan

Wait, genuine question: who said it was an insider is why people think Schmaltz will be a center?

I think it more has to do with how that's just the position the org talks about him playing, from Bowman and Q, and then that's where Q put him almost all of last season (save for 5-6 games). It suggests center is what they see Schmaltz playing - that's not insider info, that's just taking them at their public word and through their actions. That's what Bows meant it, for sure. And center may not be where Schmaltz ultimately stays, but the org def seems to want to give him every chance of playing there now and in the future.

Hence one of the big problems with this team: wrong guys slotted in the wrong roles because there is no quality depth - especially at center.

So they just keep doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result.

There is a word for that....

Best lineup I see right now is:

Saad/Toews/Kane
Schmaltz/AA/ADB
Hayden/Kampf/Sikura
Kunitz/Kruger/Kahun

Keith/Seabrook
Jokiharju/Murphy
Manning/Ruuta

Make the big boys earn their money
- Return of the Roar

Speaking of slotting guys incorrectly, did you mean to have Jokiharju listed on his off-side?

Wait, genuine question: who said it was an insider is why people think Schmaltz will be a center?

I think it more has to do with how that's just the position the org talks about him playing, from Bowman and Q, and then that's where Q put him almost all of last season (save for 5-6 games). It suggests center is what they see Schmaltz playing - that's not insider info, that's just taking them at their public word and through their actions. It may not be where he ultimately stays, but they seem to want to give him every chance of playing there now and in the future.
- L_B_R

Are you certain about that 5-6 games. When I looked it seems that he spent about ~20 of his 77 games on Anisimov's left wing. Anisimov and Kane were the combination of line-mates he had with the highest frequency. Last season, I think they struggled to find a consistent LW again (has been a pain point in the top 6 for much of the last 3 seasons) and AA got bumped up to 2C (I believe it was until he was injured.)

I honestly feel like Schmaltz at LW was more about AA having to move away from 3C and keeping him at Center. On the depth chart, no doubt that Schmaltz is a C, but my whole point is that they have flexibility to move him to wing where he has played a significant # of games in his young career. I'd prefer Schmaltz at C, but it may very well come down the top 6 wings and 3rd line C positions.

I deeply believe that when the Hawks were rumored to be shopping AA, it was so they could land a top 6 W and leave Schmaltz 100% at 2C.

Are you certain about that 5-6 games. When I looked it seems that he spent about ~20 of his 77 games on Anisimov's left wing. Anisimov and Kane were the combination of line-mates he had with the highest frequency. Last season, I think they struggled to find a consistent LW again (has been a pain point in the top 6 for much of the last 3 seasons) and AA got bumped up to 2C (I believe it was until he was injured.)

I honestly feel like Schmaltz at LW was more about AA having to move away from 3C and keeping him at Center. On the depth chart, no doubt that Schmaltz is a C, but my whole point is that they have flexibility to move him to wing where he has played a significant # of games in his young career. I'd prefer Schmaltz at C, but it may very well come down the top 6 wings and 3rd line C positions.

I deeply believe that when the Hawks were rumored to be shopping AA, it was so they could land a top 6 W and leave Schmaltz 100% at 2C.
- breadbag

I'm not totally certain, no - it def could be closer to ~10 games but it wasn't all that close to ~20 (they likely played only about 17-18 games together total when you consider overlapping minutes). I'm currently peer-reviewing tracked games for the passing project, and the games are random currently (we don't have them all done right away so random sample is used, but I've covered 11 games where AA-Schmaltz are together 5v5 for majority of the game and Anisimov has been the LW for 6 of those games. I was going off the number I had in my head from this but I could be underestimating the rest of the TOI with AA at center and Schmaltz at LW since it's not accounted for yet in the project.

An example that I just tracked was the Flames game from 2/3 (Schmaltz took 15 faceoffs to Anisimov's 4). Looking at other dates earlier when they played together, it looks like Schmaltz played center a few games at 2C when he first got back from injury and then shifted to wing for a bit with AA-Kane. Makes sense - Schmaltz was a little shaky coming back and probably wasn't fully healed then the team was still doing alright (not great but not horrible like at the second half).

Just an interesting note, there have been an addition 2 games I've tracked so far where Schmaltz-AA-Kane played together some but were not together as a "main" line. It was when Jurco-AA-Kane was the main 2nd line, but Schmaltz would shift up in place of Jurco a decent amount while playing primarily as 3C with Debrincat and Hinostroza/Highmore/etc. Kane would do the same thing in place of whoever was was Cat-Schmaltz in those games as well. I assume there is more than 2 but idk for sure. The also have minutes in which Schmaltz-AA-Kane are a line post after a PK or extending from a PP but I don't have that quantified.

So my game total from the other comment could def be off, but I can say pretty certainly that there are no games tracked post Jan 1st in which Schmaltz wasn't playing center regularly.

IMO i actually think smaltz would be a better player playing lw coming the ice and cutting to middle either to pass or shoot. Plus he would take some defensive responsibility off of him. If he going end up as a center he needs to get stronger faceoffs have got to improve tremendously and shoot the puck more which in the end will open up more opportunities to pass.

IMO i actually think smaltz would be a better player playing lw coming the ice and cutting to middle either to pass or shoot. Plus he would take some defensive responsibility off of him. If he going end up as a center he needs to get stronger faceoffs have got to improve tremendously and shoot the puck more which in the end will open up more opportunities to pass.
- Scott1977

I'm on the side of Schmaltz playing center. He was 3rd in the league in takeaways and I'll wager most of those came when he was playing up the middle in the neutral zone.

IMO i actually think smaltz would be a better player playing lw coming the ice and cutting to middle either to pass or shoot. Plus he would take some defensive responsibility off of him. If he going end up as a center he needs to get stronger faceoffs have got to improve tremendously and shoot the puck more which in the end will open up more opportunities to pass.
- Scott1977

Schmaltz is already excellent in transition, esp through the middle, and he's underrated defensively by some fans (Q had him on the PK for a reason). His bigger issue when it comes being a center is his physicality and strength. He doesn't need to be heavier but those that say he should play "bigger" are not wrong in some regards (though imo it goes overboard). He got good at being elusive last season when it came to hits/hard checks but he'll need to balance that with still protecting or battling for the puck where contact is necessary. That's something Kane had to learn too, to be fair.

As for faceoffs, Schmaltz does need to improve but really only about a 5-6% swing, which is doable (more is better but not critical). A lot of centers when they're first starting out have low FO numbers and they've either improved or it didn't hurt them. A center that lots here like, Scheifele, took 5 years to get to 50% or better and he hovered around 42/43% most of the other years. Some of the best still aren't all that great - I mean, McDavid is the best center in the league and his FO numbers are still like 41/42% and MacKinnon just had his best season and was at 42%. Schmaltz is not on those latter guys level so he likely cannot be that low throughout his career and be a center, but it kind of shows that not all centers start out great at the dot. It'd be great if he could have a Larkin like progression (41-45-50%), but I'd be happy enough with Schmaltz at least being consistent at 45/46% going forward.

Schmaltz does need to shoot more, but that has less to do with him being a center and more to do with just being a more balanced player. It would be true at wing, maybe even more so.

He also is older than most everyone in this tourney plus has been playing in a men's league in Europe and he should be better than most. Doesn't change the fact his skating is terrible.
- Elbows15

It is positive though at this point that he realizes his weakness is skating and is focusing on it in the off season.

You can be a better skater with hard work. Hands and a great shot are much harder to discover. He also made a point to say that the small rink takes getting used to. Play in Rockford for another year, working always on skating, next summer with an extra focus on skating, and in 2020 you may have a dangerous player.

IMO i actually think smaltz would be a better player playing lw coming the ice and cutting to middle either to pass or shoot. Plus he would take some defensive responsibility off of him. If he going end up as a center he needs to get stronger faceoffs have got to improve tremendously and shoot the puck more which in the end will open up more opportunities to pass.
- Scott1977

I am with you on this one! This would free him up to be a better offensive dynamo (which I think he can be) not necessarily a shoot-first mentality but more dangerous with more options. As we know, sometimes it is just the mere fear factor that can keep the opposing D honest and on their heels thus creating more time and space to make plays which Schmaltzy certainly can. He's got the skating and skills to dip inside or speed to go outside and hopefully to the net. Think of him coming on his forehand on his off wing and who do you see...#88 on his off wing.

But out of necessity, I think he will be slotted at center. In a perfect world, I think he can be a better winger not just on the O side but imagine him back checking from weak side helping out Kaner's strong side or just merely clogging up the middle of the ice!

Nalimov gave up 3 goals and took the loss today in the Kanlun's 3-1 loss. But, he stopped 37 of the 40 shots he saw for a .925 save percentage. He's started the season pretty well. It will be interesting to keep track of the guy who might be the Hawks starting goalie in the not too distant future.

Nordgren, who was injured in the u20 tourney in July returned to game action yesterday. He played for HIFK in the u20 league and got 3 assists in the 6-1 win.

I'm not totally certain, no - it def could be closer to ~10 games but it wasn't all that close to ~20 (they likely played only about 17-18 games together total when you consider overlapping minutes). I'm currently peer-reviewing tracked games for the passing project, and the games are random currently (we don't have them all done right away so random sample is used, but I've covered 11 games where AA-Schmaltz are together 5v5 for majority of the game and Anisimov has been the LW for 6 of those games. I was going off the number I had in my head from this but I could be underestimating the rest of the TOI with AA at center and Schmaltz at LW since it's not accounted for yet in the project.

An example that I just tracked was the Flames game from 2/3 (Schmaltz took 15 faceoffs to Anisimov's 4). Looking at other dates earlier when they played together, it looks like Schmaltz played center a few games at 2C when he first got back from injury and then shifted to wing for a bit with AA-Kane. Makes sense - Schmaltz was a little shaky coming back and probably wasn't fully healed then the team was still doing alright (not great but not horrible like at the second half).

Just an interesting note, there have been an addition 2 games I've tracked so far where Schmaltz-AA-Kane played together some but were not together as a "main" line. It was when Jurco-AA-Kane was the main 2nd line, but Schmaltz would shift up in place of Jurco a decent amount while playing primarily as 3C with Debrincat and Hinostroza/Highmore/etc. Kane would do the same thing in place of whoever was was Cat-Schmaltz in those games as well. I assume there is more than 2 but idk for sure. The also have minutes in which Schmaltz-AA-Kane are a line post after a PK or extending from a PP but I don't have that quantified.

So my game total from the other comment could def be off, but I can say pretty certainly that there are no games tracked post Jan 1st in which Schmaltz wasn't playing center regularly.
- L_B_R

Not getting into get into tracking individual games, just saying that Schmaltz averaged about 14.25 minutes 5v5 and spent about 288 of those minutes on AA's wing last year. While it was probably broken up at times, it was roughtly about 20 games worth of minutes for Nick. I believe it was mostly between game 15 to about game 33 or 34 and another span between games 50-60.

Not getting into get into tracking individual games, just saying that Schmaltz averaged about 14.25 minutes 5v5 and spent about 288 of those minutes on AA's wing last year. While it was probably broken up at times, it was roughtly about 20 games worth of minutes for Nick. I believe it was mostly between game 15 to about game 33 or 34 and another span between games 50-60.
- breadbag

That's 288 minutes on the same line, right? AA wasn't always playing center when they were together.

That's 288 minutes on the same line, right? AA wasn't always playing center when they were together.
- tvetter

He rarely didn't play center when they were together. Honestly, this has gotten so far off the point. Schmaltz can play wing and center. He has played significant time at both positions successfully in his first two seasons. The Hawks can move him around even if he is a C on the depth chart. They have proven many times that they don't mind AA in the top 6. That is great flexibility that they might need in moving players around to get the forward lines to work. Schmaltz wasn't only a C last year and he "may" play wing again if they need him too. He is productive in either position.

He rarely didn't play center when they were together. Honestly, this has gotten so far off the point. Schmaltz can play wing and center. He has played significant time at both positions successfully in his first two seasons. The Hawks can move him around even if he is a C on the depth chart. They have proven many times that they don't mind AA in the top 6. That is great flexibility that they might need in moving players around to get the forward lines to work. Schmaltz wasn't only a C last year and he "may" play wing again if they need him too. He is productive in either position.
- breadbag

The only point I was trying to make was to explain why some believe Q will play Schmaltz at center, at least to start. And that was because 1) Q seemed to prefer to play Schmaltz primarily at center (exclusively in the second half) and 2) that the org (Bowman, Q) talk mostly about him as a center (like all their comments his summer).

So yeah, those two things are why people go "Schmaltz will play center", not because of some inside source as someone suggested. It's just how people are reading the words from the FO and actions of the coach that they think Schmaltz will get every opportunity to be a center, esp to start. Nothing more, nothing less. I was mostly like "who said anything about an insider"?

Though I agree with you completely, Schmaltz can play both and I personally don't care which he plays as long as he helps the team be successful.

He rarely didn't play center when they were together. Honestly, this has gotten so far off the point. Schmaltz can play wing and center. He has played significant time at both positions successfully in his first two seasons. The Hawks can move him around even if he is a C on the depth chart. They have proven many times that they don't mind AA in the top 6. That is great flexibility that they might need in moving players around to get the forward lines to work. Schmaltz wasn't only a C last year and he "may" play wing again if they need him too. He is productive in either position.
- breadbag

Oh, I agree with you. I'd actually like to see Schmaltz with Toews and Saad, and see if ADB can play the role of Panarin on line 2.

It won't happen.... But I would like to see Martinsen, Entwistle, and Hayden play on the same line in an exhibition game.

Oh, I agree with you. I'd actually like to see Schmaltz with Toews and Saad, and see if ADB can play the role of Panarin on line 2.
- tvetter

Is this thinking in hopes of replicating past success with:

Schmaltz - Toews - Panik
(sub in Saad for Panik now)

Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
(sub in DeBrincat for Panarin now)

Those past lines had success so the model logically makes sense. Yet your guess is as good as mine as to what Q will roll out.