I'm fully aware that they play different positions, but watching Sikura reminds me of Danault when he first came up. He has speed, and is willing to forecheck, but just isn't great at it yet and is kind of slight. I say we let him develop a bit before burying him.

As tickets are readily available (and relatively cheap), I am going to the game tonight (I'm sure you all are happy for me). Implications are that CC starts tonight.
- Chunk

How is Danault doing now? I agree about letting him develop. I see progress. Course maybe he should be out there throwing hits all over the place.

Have fun at the game.

They can. Let Kampf play center and gain more experience there. He could be the shutdown center going forward. Hawks are kinda of limited at the center position anyway. Unless you have a need to see more Kruger.What is the harm is letting Sikura play? This team is going nowhere. Better to find out now if he can be a useful piece moving forward.
- Elbows15

Well there’s two sides to that coin with Sikura. The other side of the argument is “killing the confidence” or “stunting development” for having players in the NHL who aren’t ready.

Sikura has hands, vision and some speed. But not quite enough speed to create separation often, and definitely not enough strength. I’d like to give Hayden a look with 20+15 whoops Kampf is out.

Mark Lazerus‏Verified account @MarkLazerus · 22s22 seconds ago

Crawford starts. Perlini and Forsling are the scratches.
- Chunk

Guy can't even beat out 107 year old Kunitz. Pretty sad.

Well there’s two sides to that coin with Sikura. The other side of the argument is “killing the confidence” or “stunting development” for having players in the NHL who aren’t ready.

Sikura has hands, vision and some speed. But not quite enough speed to create separation often, and definitely not enough strength. I’d like to give Hayden a look with 20+15 whoops Kampf is out.
- EnzoD

So Hayden can kill every offensive possession? Sikura isn't that fragile mentally. If he is going to lose confidence that easily it still is better to find it out now on a team going nowhere. They need to make a decision on whether to sign him after this season and for how much.

Discussion for another day, but man does Bowen Byram look good based on the highlights I’ve seen of him lately. If the Hawks do end up picking in that 6-8 range, and he’s still there, I would love to snag him. He’s made immense strides this season and has truly developed into an all-situations d-man who excels defensively and now has vastly improved offensively as well.

Him and Boqvist could be our franchise anchors from the back for the next 10+ years.

So Hayden can kill every offensive possession? Sikura isn't that fragile mentally. If he is going to lose confidence that easily it still is better to find it out now on a team going nowhere. They need to make a decision on whether to sign him after this season and for how much.
- Elbows15

My opinion too. His play has been trending upward, albeit ever so slightly, so I see no reason to not keep playing him and see what happens. I would probably be less patient with Sikura if he were blocking a prospect who has played well enough to get the ice time Sikura is getting - but he's not. Hayden has his moments but we've watched him for over 100 games with the Hawks so we pretty much know what to expect from him. Perlini may have a higher upside but at this point he's competing more against Hayden for ice time than Sikura.

Discussion for another day, but man does Bowen Byram look good based on the highlights I’ve seen of him lately. If the Hawks do end up picking in that 6-8 range, and he’s still there, I would love to snag him. He’s made immense strides this season and has truly developed into an all-situations d-man who excels defensively and now has vastly improved offensively as well.

Him and Boqvist could be our franchise anchors from the back for the next 10+ years.
- TommyHawk

Can you imagine the heads exploding on Hawks message boards if Stan selects another d-man in the 1st round? It would almost be worth it.

My opinion too. His play has been trending upward, albeit ever so slightly, so I see no reason to not keep playing him and see what happens. I would probably less patient with Sikura if he were blocking a prospect who has played well enough to get the ice time Sikura is getting - but he's not. Hayden has his moments but we've watched him for over 100 games with the Hawks so we pretty much know what to expect from him. Perlini may have a higher upside but at this point he's competing more against Hayden for ice time than Sikura.
- EbonyRaptor

I think Sikura for sure warrants a consistent look at the very least until the playoffs in Rockford.

Recently he himself said that he finally began embracing himself as a bottom-six winger rather than a top-six winger which he had expected. That’s a big mental hurdle for a player to clear, especially considering how hyped he was at the end of last season when there was a litany of scrutiny as to whether or not he would sign with the Hawks.

He’s got speed, he goes to the corners, and you can tell he’s got the talent to stick in this league. He’s got 3 assists in his 6 games since being called back up, so it’s progress.

If he continues to play hard on the forecheck, continue to go to the dirty areas, and hold his own defensively, I like what he brings to the bottom six, and the Hawks absolutely need consistency in that regard, so having him step up in this last leg of the year would be a huge boost to the team heading into next season when the bottom-six will surely be addressed.

KooKoo ran over Ward in the Detroit game
- LAHawk

Oh yeah that's right. Well hopefully Kokopuffs, Strome or anyone else doesn't run over Corey tonight

Can you imagine the heads exploding on Hawks message boards if Stan selects another d-man in the 1st round? It would almost be worth it.
- EbonyRaptor

In theory it’d be funny because it’d be three years in a row, with all 4 draft picks being d-men, but at the end of the day, Stan and Co. HAVE to go BPA rather than drafting for need. Let’s not forget how barren we were in regards to defensive prospects not too long ago (remember when people were actually upset with Johns being moved?)

Would be ecstatic to see the team add another top-pairing d-man talent. The more in our pipeline, the better.

I think for as long as we have Kane and Toews producing at a high level, our forwards in the top-six won’t matter as much.

Can you imagine the heads exploding on Hawks message boards if Stan selects another d-man in the 1st round? It would almost be worth it.
- EbonyRaptor

What dO you mean ALMOST😁

The more you pick the better your odds

It would be probably the same kind of melt down that TG will have if they trade Gusto next season.

How is Danault doing now? I agree about letting him develop. I see progress. Course maybe he should be out there throwing hits all over the place.

Have fun at the game.
- Elbows15

Definite benefit of living in a place that doesn't really care about the majority of the pro sports teams in the area. Tix are pretty easy to get.

Can you imagine the heads exploding on Hawks message boards if Stan selects another d-man in the 1st round? It would almost be worth it.
- EbonyRaptor

If the best player available whenever they end up picking is a D-man, then he should.

What dO you mean ALMOST😁

The more you pick the better your odds

It would be probably the same kind of melt down that TG will have if they trade Gusto next season.
- BetweenTheDots

If I were a GM, Imthink I’d draft nothing but Centers and D men in the first 3 rounds.

Can you imagine the heads exploding on Hawks message boards if Stan selects another d-man in the 1st round? It would almost be worth it.
- EbonyRaptor

I would be okay with Bowen if they deem him to be the BPA with their pick. Really would like them to snag one of Turcotte, Boldy or Zegras, tho.

My opinion too. His play has been trending upward, albeit ever so slightly, so I see no reason to not keep playing him and see what happens. I would probably be less patient with Sikura if he were blocking a prospect who has played well enough to get the ice time Sikura is getting - but he's not. Hayden has his moments but we've watched him for over 100 games with the Hawks so we pretty much know what to expect from him. Perlini may have a higher upside but at this point he's competing more against Hayden for ice time than Sikura.
- EbonyRaptor

Hayden has been making some progress, too. He is looking for his mates more often than he was earlier in the season. Wouldn't mind giving him a shot in the slot position on PP2. He has a wicked wrister.

If I were a GM, Imthink I’d draft nothing but Centers and D men in the first 3 rounds.
- Ogilthorpe2

After RD 2 it appears the Hawks go with boom or bust types. Which is the way it should be, imo.

So Q should have changed his system to fit Daley? A system that he won 3 Cups using?

Let's not forget that Daley is the one who went and asked for a trade. IF what was reported by a couple of sources is to be believed.
- Elbows15

Lets not pretend Daley was good either. Pretty bad in his own zone and went rover. He could carry the puck well but Q doesn't like that so I dunno.

Q also got 20 goals out of Stalberg and other guys with some holes to their game paid so it's not like he couldn't get usefulness out of average or dumb players.

After RD 2 it appears the Hawks go with boom or bust types. Which is the way it should be, imo.
- Elbows15

i agree, C and D are positions with most Asset value to either keep or trade if you need to

Perlini is really an enigma. He had 14 goals as a rookie two seasons ago and followed it up with 17 goals last season. He has only 3 goals and 1 assist in 29 games with the Hawks this season and looks totally lost. He's still only 22 so it's too soon to write him off. Too bad he would have to clear waivers to go to Rockford because hitting the reset button in Rockford would probably be the best way to get confidence and his career back on track.

i agree, C and D are positions with most Asset value to either keep or trade if you need to
- glennjpawlak22

Plus, centers can usually be pretty effective on the wing if need be.

Perlini is really an enigma. He had 14 goals as a rookie two seasons ago and followed it up with 17 goals last season. He has only 3 goals and 1 assist in 29 games with the Hawks this season and looks totally lost. He's still only 22 so it's too soon to write him off. Too bad he would have to clear waivers to go to Rockford because hitting the reset button in Rockford would probably be the best way to get confidence and his career back on track.
- EbonyRaptor

I say they should have put him on waivers in time to help Rockford in the playoffs. If he didn't clear, it's no big loss. If he did clear, it may help him develop into an actual NHL player. IMO, he would have cleared based on the fact that he couldn't crack the lineup of one of the worst teams in the NHL.

Lets not pretend Daley was good either. Pretty bad in his own zone and went rover. He could carry the puck well but Q doesn't like that so I dunno.

Q also got 20 goals out of Stalberg and other guys with some holes to their game paid so it's not like he couldn't get usefulness out of average or dumb players.
- fattybeef

Meh Stalberg scored 8 or 9 of those against Columbus in 6 games. He sucked the rest of the season.

Lets not pretend Daley was good either. Pretty bad in his own zone and went rover. He could carry the puck well but Q doesn't like that so I dunno.

Q also got 20 goals out of Stalberg and other guys with some holes to their game paid so it's not like he couldn't get usefulness out of average or dumb players.
- fattybeef

I could never pretend Daley was good. I think the whole Q didn't like his D-men carrying the puck is fantasy. He wanted the first pass up ice to start the attack and hopefully catch a couple of the opposing forwards in too deep. I would say it worked but WTFDIK?

Daley couldn't grasp the whole stick position thing, either. He had a huge problem with it. Daley played with his stick off the ice a lot. Q hated that.

Perlini is really an enigma. He had 14 goals as a rookie two seasons ago and followed it up with 17 goals last season. He has only 3 goals and 1 assist in 29 games with the Hawks this season and looks totally lost. He's still only 22 so it's too soon to write him off. Too bad he would have to clear waivers to go to Rockford because hitting the reset button in Rockford would probably be the best way to get confidence and his career back on track.
- EbonyRaptor

He has enough skill to pick up points playing along side talented offensive players but he has no IQ and is terrible on D. Put him in a bottom 6 role and he is putrid.