Mitchell or Beaudin are 2 that I have further along the curve than Boqvist... at this point. Things can change though over a season/offseason.

I mentioned this before but look at Jokiharju. Over last season and summer...he built up a lot of stretgth and physically the Hawks thought he looked more like a man vs. Boy.

I know for a fact, Ian Mitchell would LOVE to make this team next year and would be a dream come true to play with Duncan Keith on his right-side.

Mitchell is a small town kid from Alberta and really looks up to Keith in his career path and style.
- Justin Lowe

Cool story about Mitchell. Thanks for sharing. He's also been dubbed Keith Lite which would be nice for the Hawks and fans. Playing next to his idol would be a dream come true for him.

Friedman says CBJ's Bob. has sent his list of teams he would accept a trade to.

Jordin Tootoo retires after 13 seasons.

Not sure how old either one of these is, but I haven't come across them yet.
- I Am The Breadman

Bob is 30.

Tootoo is 35.

jk

Friedman says CBJ's Bob. has sent his list of teams he would accept a trade to.

Jordin Tootoo retires after 13 seasons.

Not sure how old either one of these is, but I haven't come across them yet.
- I Am The Breadman

I’m sure most here know about this site, but for those who don’t:

The best site for general (and some advanced) stats on hockey leagues, teams, players is hockey-reference.com.

There’s one for baseball, pro and college basketball, pro and college football....

Kind of like a digitized MacMillan’s Baseball Encyclopedia - easier to get to if you know what you’re looking for, not as easy (nor as much fun) to just browse and run across stuff.

Right now it may be true that Crawford is the best goalie in the NHL. This doesn’t change the fact that it is also true that he has struggled at certain points of his career
- Z3Hawk

when he 1st became a starter 8 years ago...oh yes the infamous 2012 playoff...

and what goalie or player has not "struggled at certain points"...

lets be clear other than quick (also with 2 cups) he has outperformed EVERY goalie in the league...including all the vezina winners: you can keep them all

price, rinne, bobro, holtby, fluery..they all "struggled" more than crow..

frankly i am not far from burish who called lundquist overrated...

Finally caught up to the board after working 9 of the last 10 days. Did anyone else see Kane say "Nice challenge" to one of the Rangers' players after his goal?

Mitchell or Beaudin are 2 that I have further along the curve than Boqvist... at this point. Things can change though over a season/offseason.

I mentioned this before but look at Jokiharju. Over last season and summer...he built up a lot of stretgth and physically the Hawks thought he looked more like a man vs. Boy.

I know for a fact, Ian Mitchell would LOVE to make this team next year and would be a dream come true to play with Duncan Keith on his right-side.

Mitchell is a small town kid from Alberta and really looks up to Keith in his career path and style.
- Justin Lowe

Agree, no reason to rush AB, let him mature. Year after next you'll have

Joker, Mitchell, Beaudin, and AB.

with Keith, Seabs, Dahlstrom, Hillman, Carlsson, Murphy, Krys, etc.

D will be set for a decade, time to start drafting the hell out of F's

Slick backhander, deep in the o zone. Very nice!!
Thank you, BB. Great video. Great for Boq. Great for the hawks.
- I Am The Breadman

Nice goal for Boq. He’d had 10 assists and lots of shots. However he gives away that he has been thinking about not having a goal - as he really throws that monkey off his back in his celebration.

Agree, no reason to rush AB, let him mature. Year after next you'll have

Joker, Mitchell, Beaudin, and AB.

with Keith, Seabs, Dahlstrom, Hillman, Carlsson, Murphy, Krys, etc.

D will be set for a decade, time to start drafting the hell out of F's
- vabeachbear

I believe you always draft best available and you can always trade a dman for a forward. But that's just me.

I thought Johnson played his best game yesterday so I'm not quite so anxious to see him replaced as I was but ultimately Sikura would be a better piece on that line whenever he is ready to play at the NHL level. Sikura reminds me of Teuvo where he is not going to drive a line but he can kind of be the glue player that facilitates plays for his line mates and with two speed demons like Fortin and Schmaltz he will have more room to make those great vision precision passes.
- EbonyRaptor

I like Johnsons effort he's always skating, i thing the interference penalty last night was a nice flop by the king, if he can stop with the penalties i think he'll settle in nicely.

when he 1st became a starter 8 years ago...oh yes the infamous 2012 playoff...

and what goalie or player has not "struggled at certain points"...

lets be clear other than quick (also with 2 cups) he has outperformed EVERY goalie in the league...including all the vezina winners: you can keep them all

price, rinne, bobro, holtby, fluery..they all "struggled" more than crow..

frankly i am not far from burish who called lundquist overrated...
- bogiedoc

One of the issues CC had was when he didn't know where the puck was way back when he got happy feet, several plays against the Rangers no idea where the puck was with all the traffic, he remains calm in position trusting his back side defenseman, since 2014 he's been a top 3 goalie in my opinion.

Agree, no reason to rush AB, let him mature. Year after next you'll have

Joker, Mitchell, Beaudin, and AB.

with Keith, Seabs, Dahlstrom, Hillman, Carlsson, Murphy, Krys, etc.

D will be set for a decade, time to start drafting the hell out of F's
- vabeachbear

Just like I predicted that DeBrincat was a lock to make the Hawks last year out of training camp I will predict that Boqvist is a lock to make the Hawks next year out of training camp. Whatever he may lack next year in physical attributes, if that is even an issue a year from now, will be more than made up for by his otherwordly skill. He already ran the First PP this year at this year’s Hawks’ camp.

Boqvist is never going to be a big player. As a Defender he will be relying on speed, skill, positioning and a good stick. Boqvist may not knock players flying often but he is already comfortable physically engaging and battling for pucks. He is also comfortable going to the tough areas as we see on his goal - just like DeBrincat was.

Finally caught up to the board after working 9 of the last 10 days. Did anyone else see Kane say "Nice challenge" to one of the Rangers' players after his goal?
- tvetter

Didn’t see. Funny. Nice catch - and welcome back. Damn work!

when he 1st became a starter 8 years ago...oh yes the infamous 2012 playoff...

and what goalie or player has not "struggled at certain points"...

lets be clear other than quick (also with 2 cups) he has outperformed EVERY goalie in the league...including all the vezina winners: you can keep them all

price, rinne, bobro, holtby, fluery..they all "struggled" more than crow..

frankly i am not far from burish who called lundquist overrated...
- bogiedoc

Disagree with you that other goalies have struggled more than Crow. 2012, LA Series, St, Louis Series and others - he has been outplayed at key times a number of times - and then there is the Darling year. I try to be objective which can be seen from the fact that I think he is the best goalie in the NHL right now. Certainly nobody is playing better. Hope he stays at the very top of his game.

Bob is 30.

Tootoo is 35.

jk
- tvetter

Hahaha, I see what you did there.

Kid is a D man. What's he doing coming out of the offensive corner?
- 6628

Answer: scoring a sweet goal.

I’m sure most here know about this site, but for those who don’t:

The best site for general (and some advanced) stats on hockey leagues, teams, players is hockey-reference.com.

There’s one for baseball, pro and college basketball, pro and college football....

Kind of like a digitized MacMillan’s Baseball Encyclopedia - easier to get to if you know what you’re looking for, not as easy (nor as much fun) to just browse and run across stuff.
- StLBravesFan

Thanks for the tip.

Are you saying Friedman isn't credible? Don't look at what he has to say? Just asking because I didn't know about the first site.

Mitchell or Beaudin are 2 that I have further along the curve than Boqvist... at this point. Things can change though over a season/offseason.

I mentioned this before but look at Jokiharju. Over last season and summer...he built up a lot of stretgth and physically the Hawks thought he looked more like a man vs. Boy.

I know for a fact, Ian Mitchell would LOVE to make this team next year and would be a dream come true to play with Duncan Keith on his right-side.

Mitchell is a small town kid from Alberta and really looks up to Keith in his career path and style.
- Justin Lowe

Reading just makes me want him to be a Hawk faster. Not good for his development, I know.

I like that he's on a team with his "hero." Looking forward to seeing him play.

Two very solid games in a row.

And, I know there are many factors to our great start. Toews back, young guys contributing....but....I can not tell you how much better I find watching the hawks play with Crawford back there. He makes such a difference to the whole team. Many say Crawford been overrated while on those Cup winning teams, I would say the opposite....Crawford doesn't get the credit he deserves because he was on those strong teams. Crawford is undeniably a top 5 goalie in the NHL. Fans of other teams really have no clue in this respect!!!
- hawk35

In my opinion, he is the best goalie in the league right now. Nobody else compares. His mental fortitude and almost perfect mechanics and positioning is better than any other goalie currently. And his reaction speed looks even better than before the concussion. Not to mention his rebound control is excellent as well. I just can't find anything wrong with his game right now. His puck handling started out kind of shaky when he came back, but that last game where he held on to the puck with such confidence and then made the right passes was much better.

Crawford has had a problem or two over the years - like the "high glove side" vulnerability that was exploited. But what goalie has been perfect game after game and year after year. I'll take CC against any of them provided he's healthy. The one area of weakness he's had forever has been puck handling behind his net. In the short sample size so far this season it looks like he may have improved a little bit because more passes are arriving on a teammate's stick than not. There were times I hoped Q would tell him not to leave his crease no matter what because he was god-awful at passing the puck. But other than that - CC is one of the best.

Crawford has had a problem or two over the years - like the "high glove side" vulnerability that was exploited. But what goalie has been perfect game after game and year after year. I'll take CC against any of them provided he's healthy. The one area of weakness he's had forever has been puck handling behind his net. In the short sample size so far this season it looks like he may have improved a little bit because more passes are arriving on a teammate's stick than not. There were times I hoped Q would tell him not to leave his crease no matter what because he was god-awful at passing the puck. But other than that - CC is one of the best.
- EbonyRaptor

Wonder if the early goings of him not venturing from the crease this season has to do with not wanting to get bowled over or nudged by the opponent and aggravating his injury.

Disagree with you that other goalies have struggled more than Crow. 2012, LA Series, St, Louis Series and others - he has been outplayed at key times a number of times - and then there is the Darling year. I try to be objective which can be seen from the fact that I think he is the best goalie in the NHL right now. Certainly nobody is playing better. Hope he stays at the very top of his game.
- Z3Hawk

Hey Z3, I'm trying to agree with you, especially because I try to objectively look at the game/players as well. This might be a more subjective matter.

I don't think struggles are easy to guage. To say Crow has struggled more than Fleury. I'm not sure. Concussions, multiple for both. You have to look at the severity and length, but the players definitely know more about that than we do. Quick and Price are hurt every year, it seems, and puts their teams in bad situations a lot. They tend to be why their teams are good, they hide the flaws, but when it comes to the big test, only Quick and Crow shine above every other goalie, in my book. Fleury can be third. For Crow it went beyond concussions, he had a gaping hole on glove side, and shakey playoff starts. He outgrew those, and thinks the game more and is better prepared. I don't think that is enough to say he has struggled more, though.

I have a hard time sympathizing with Crow because he's a self-inflicted injury kind of guy. It took him some time to grow up, stop drinking, stop partying, stop being in bad situations because he has a kid and wife/gf (I'm not sure.) I feel like he knows what he can lose.

I think he's the best and Quick is right behind. Rinne, Rask, Bob, Lunq-head, Holtby, Price ... you can see the effects they have on their team's chances of winning. Rask and Holtby have won, but they definitely had their trials to get there. All goalies get injured, and they seem to have their tough playoff games where they can't settle in or settle down. That list of 6 plus others that didn't fall off of the top of my head I don't think are overrated, they are great regular season preformers, but the big stage changes everything.

Send Fortin down.
- DarthKane

I told you Darth that Fortin was my pick to click! He was the only player that has the speed to play in the NHL.

Great comparisons on snipers, one proven and one that for sure it's on his way. Yes. I believe Kessel is the faster skater given his lower body (yes girth) and Debrincat is the quicker (spurts) and better skater overall. We all know Kessel can snipe especially on coming down the right wing as he uses a very low flex stick that creates a whip for his low hard and accurate shots. I truly believe Debrincat has a trickier shot because he has better in tight hands, meaning subtly change angles of shot quickly and using defender as screen; thus Debrincat's shot is harder to read off his blade. And yes it is accurate as well!
- D2D

Debrincat's shot can be very deceptive/surprising. His shot has surprised me at times. He is in the high slot and all of a sudden the puck is shot on net, there is no wind up/noticeable preparation, the shot seems to come from nowhere. I think he is going to score at least 40 goals this year.

All good Z3.

That he is... its easy to accidentally hit that button.
- Justin Lowe

People have been talking about Panarin more than usual around here.

Debrincat's shot can be very deceptive/surprising. His shot has surprised me at times. He is in the high slot and all of a sudden the puck is shot on net, there is no wind up/noticeable preparation, the shot seems to come from nowhere. I think he is going to score at least 40 goals this year.
- ToewsdNKanefusd

DK sent that at me for 2 reasons that I can guess.
1. I said send Johnson down, so he said send Fortin down as a way of saying Johnson is bring as much to that line as Fortin, they both are playing well.
2. He knows I like Fortin and I hit a nerve with him because he likes LJ. It was retaliatory.
I think he was leaning more towards 2.