ICYMI, Sharpie said tonight that Hedman is still the best defenseman in the NHL, and it shows in the games that matter.
- 333inthe3rd

I believe him. The guy controls the game when he's on the ice against the best players of other teams.

I believe him. The guy controls the game when he's on the ice against the best players of other teams.
- mohel

2009 Draft was a helluva year for defenceman, lots of them still in the league and playing well. Hedman clearly the best of the bunch, but consider some of the others:

Mattias Ekholm - #102 overall
Dimitri Orlov - #55 overall
Bryan Dumoulin - #51 oa
Nick Leddy - #16
Tyson Barrie - #64
Oliver Ekman Larsson - #6
Ryan Ellis - #11
Ben Chiarot - #120
David Savard - #94

And then there were also the guys Stanbo decided he liked alot:

Dylan Olsen - #29
David Rundblad - #17
Calvin de Haan - #12

Gotta wait and be patient for defenceman to develop. I like what Coach R is doing so far.

I guess it depends on what the free agent market for goalies is like this summer. He has one more year, so the injury risks become less of a concern. If not this summer, maybe next deadline. The motivation to move him would be greater if they felt that the other goalies in the system were ready to play in the NHL. I assume Stalock signs elsewhere this summer.
- 333inthe3rd

One of Stalock or Mrazek will be on the team next year. Hawks are not going to go with 2 rookie goalies.

The league knows what Mrazek is, like Peck’s bad boy. When he is good he is very very good, but when he is bad, he is very very bad.

My guess is Stalock as a FA signs elsewhere, as he won t cost a team any assets in a trade.

Buyer beware on both. Injuries still
Plague both.

I believe him. The guy controls the game when he's on the ice against the best players of other teams.
- mohel

. It’s amazing the amount of people writing him off. He’s still one of the best defensemen in the regular season and seems to elevate his game in the playoffs.

https://twitter.com/bn_bl...&t=7QS1BT7usoSZETkPdmqBqg

The future is looking up.

https://twitter.com/bn_blackhawks/status/1634911882774446086?s=61&t=7QS1BT7usoSZETkPdmqBqg

The future is looking up.
- LAHawk

It's very encouraging to see many of our draft picks producing very well in the leagues they are in.

. It’s amazing the amount of people writing him off. He’s still one of the best defensemen in the regular season and seems to elevate his game in the playoffs.
- paulr

For sure. Except maybe for sections of the BOD, where amazing occurs on a regular basis!

Ducks and Yotes with winnable home games today.

Sharks vs Jackets Tuesday. I think we should concede the worst record to the Jackets and hope the Sharks win. Hope Sharks and Ducks win a few games and leave the Hawks with the 2nd worst record.

Carolina was 23rd in the off season power rankings. With a rookie QB they could be worse. So I am ok with the trade. It probably means Bears spend a lot of money on free agent offensive and defensive lineman. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming (the Blackhawks).
- Ztra

A rookie QB and no DJ Moore, it should be a very high pick next year.

Maybe if Collinton was still coaching, but not with this coaching staff. If the Hawks get lucky with Bedard, then they’ll have to give him some pieces to play with, and if that happens, I don’t see the Hawks as a bottom five team next year.
- Angotti

KD isn't the kind of GM who will put Bedard in the NHL right away.

2009 Draft was a helluva year for defenceman, lots of them still in the league and playing well. Hedman clearly the best of the bunch, but consider some of the others:

Mattias Ekholm - #102 overall
Dimitri Orlov - #55 overall
Bryan Dumoulin - #51 oa
Nick Leddy - #16
Tyson Barrie - #64
Oliver Ekman Larsson - #6
Ryan Ellis - #11
Ben Chiarot - #120
David Savard - #94

And then there were also the guys Stanbo decided he liked alot:

Dylan Olsen - #29
David Rundblad - #17
Calvin de Haan - #12

Gotta wait and be patient for defenceman to develop. I like what Coach R is doing so far.
- RickJ

I agree - especially when compared to forwards. The traditional view is that it typically takes @300 games before you can appreciably assess a defenseman. With that being said, I think it’s premature that some folks are already dismissing Mitchell.

I agree - especially when compared to forwards. The traditional view is that it typically takes @300 games before you can appreciably assess a defenseman. With that being said, I think it’s premature that some folks are already dismissing Mitchell.
- Chief4Feathers

Not writing him off, but he is a RFA, has shown he is not ready for the NHL. Plus he has 3 untradeable right handed D ahead of him. S. Jones, Murphy, Zaitsev.

Then you have the logjam that will either be with the Hawks or in the A ,Vlasic, Phillips, Kaiser, deMastro, Allan, Roos,

What do you do with him? Sign him (now has to clear waivers) and see if he figures it out in the A? Keep him as the seventh defenseman? Trade his rights? Not even sign him?

We will know what the Hawks really think of him this off-season.

I agree - especially when compared to forwards. The traditional view is that it typically takes @300 games before you can appreciably assess a defenseman. With that being said, I think it’s premature that some folks are already dismissing Mitchell.
- Chief4Feathers

Yea he's over matched right now to be in the NHL. I'm all for development but i have to imagine he's feeling a great deal of urgency to perform since the pipeline is getting full of defensive prospects, and now he's battling S Jones, Murphy and Zaitsev for playing time

Yea he's over matched right now to be in the NHL. I'm all for development but i have to imagine he's feeling a great deal of urgency to perform since the pipeline is getting full of defensive prospects, and now he's battling S Jones, Murphy and Zaitsev for playing time
- BetweenTheDots

Buying out Zaitsev is an option. Would still have a fairly sizable cap hit and it would free up a spot.

Not writing him off, but he is a RFA, has shown he is not ready for the NHL. Plus he has 3 untradeable right handed D ahead of him. S. Jones, Murphy, Zaitsev.

Then you have the logjam that will either be with the Hawks or in the A ,Vlasic, Phillips, Kaiser, deMastro, Allan, Roos,

What do you do with him? Sign him (now has to clear waivers) and see if he figures it out in the A? Keep him as the seventh defenseman? Trade his rights? Not even sign him?

We will know what the Hawks really think of him this off-season.
- LAHawk

It’s a dilemma, no doubt about it. I think the best route would be to sign him (via QO) and see what his camp looks like. If there’s a concern about him being ready or others more ready - then have him start in the A to find his game there with more and more responsible minutes. Then based upon his play and organizational need - bring him up when you feel he’s ready - or trade him in a package around the TDL. I don’t think his future on the team (or any other dman) should be impacted by the presence of Murphy or Zaitsev - other than finite number of contracts the team can have.

Buying out Zaitsev is an option. Would still have a fairly sizable cap hit and it would free up a spot.
- totem

Unless they sign a boatload of UFA’s or get a REALLY bad contract in trade, you will need Zaitsev’s entire cap hit to reach the floor next year. Another option is to put Zaitsev on waivers likevOttawa did this year, and eat the buried cap hit while he plays in Rockford.

https://www.prohockeyrumo...gent-market-forwards.html

Interesting article on some potential college UDFAs coming available after the Frozen Four.

KD isn't the kind of GM who will put Bedard in the NHL right away.
- rpeters01

If the Hawks are lucky enough to draft Bedard I’m 99.9% certain he’ll play in the NHL next season. I think they should hold back to build the team and to save a year of contract control, but I think it’s very hard not to allow him to play especially from a business standpoint.

Buying out Zaitsev is an option. Would still have a fairly sizable cap hit and it would free up a spot.
- totem

I think if they resign Mitchell they can have him comeback next year and he can be part of the rotation with Zaitsev, he does need to get quicker and stronger hopefully those are things he can work on in the offseason.

Not writing him off, but he is a RFA, has shown he is not ready for the NHL. Plus he has 3 untradeable right handed D ahead of him. S. Jones, Murphy, Zaitsev.

Then you have the logjam that will either be with the Hawks or in the A ,Vlasic, Phillips, Kaiser, deMastro, Allan, Roos,

What do you do with him? Sign him (now has to clear waivers) and see if he figures it out in the A? Keep him as the seventh defenseman? Trade his rights? Not even sign him?

We will know what the Hawks really think of him this off-season.
- LAHawk

The thing is that all of the aforementioned are LD if I’m not mistaken, this is why Mitchell will be given an opportunity to stick around, maybe. Other small defenders play in the NHL and play well, but there’s no doubt that Mitchell needs to gain strength to become an everyday NHL defenseman. Of the current Blackhawks defensemen on the roster, Mitchell is the best passer, hands down.

I think if they resign Mitchell they can have him comeback next year and he can be part of the rotation with Zaitsev, he does need to get quicker and stronger hopefully those are things he can work on in the offseason.
- BetweenTheDots

There were many good parts in his game and other things - like using his stick and ways he battles against a larger forward when they are stationed near the net and the puck play is being rotated closer to our net. But the accomplishments have been at the AHL level. On ice and in the locker room the coaches and KD have to assess whether Mitchell can improve through strength training workouts so that his all around game can improve at the NHL level

We had Boqvist who had similar strength issues. He has improved his strength but to what degree is he now strong enough to effectively neutralize and defend against larger size forwards Boqvist has great ability which has not shown up enough apparently now with him in Columbus.

Is Mitchell potentially a Boqvist lesser light. Sometimes a smaller frame lightweight defenseman breaks through and is able to carve out an NHL playing career

With Mitchell remember he was Bowman and Kelly’s draft. Obviously KD knows Mitchell is very good at the AHL level.

The logical outcome for Mitchell would be his being dealt for a forward prospect who is a greenhorn or has a developmental shortcoming which may not be overcome. Such as the strength issue. We do not know how hard and how much Mitchell might improve. I have to believe his tentativeness is related to strength issue

However if I take the time to review old posts someone on this blog pointed out Mitchell poor decisions on ice - how to defend, turning puck over in defensive and offensive situations

So in the final analysis KD will make a call on Mitchell…….when….I’d say he has one year remaining to show noticeable improvement- if they like him and his contract is re Up for one year

I like Crevier skill set and see him as someone overcoming the tall skinny frame. He improves much next season in the AHL then he could move ahead of Mitchell

Kaiser probably needs to gain strength too as the NHL is a man’s league and teenagers are transitioning with their body at different stages as they grow into (or not) a man’s body

I believe in KD so I believe he will put much review into his decisions. You know Roos is sort of in the same situation. I like his ability and he needs most likely better strength and playing time. I wonder how Roos and Mitchell were able to produce decent statistical numbers against Tampa as they were a pairing. Now Regula might just not have the feet but if he can improve enough he could have a great offensive game one day as a third pair

So we just wait and see how all these prospects turn out. And Mr Richochet this includes your favorite, Phillips, ascending piecemeal step to regular NHL employment

There were many good parts in his game and other things - like using his stick and ways he battles against a larger forward when they are stationed near the net and the puck play is being rotated closer to our net. But the accomplishments have been at the AHL level. On ice and in the locker room the coaches and KD have to assess whether Mitchell can improve through strength training workouts so that his all around game can improve at the NHL level

We had Boqvist who had similar strength issues. He has improved his strength but to what degree is he now strong enough to effectively neutralize and defend against larger size forwards Boqvist has great ability which has not shown up enough apparently now with him in Columbus.

Is Mitchell potentially a Boqvist lesser light. Sometimes a smaller frame lightweight defenseman breaks through and is able to carve out an NHL playing career

With Mitchell remember he was Bowman and Kelly’s draft. Obviously KD knows Mitchell is very good at the AHL level.

The logical outcome for Mitchell would be his being dealt for a forward prospect who is a greenhorn or has a developmental shortcoming which may not be overcome. Such as the strength issue. We do not know how hard and how much Mitchell might improve. I have to believe his tentativeness is related to strength issue

However if I take the time to review old posts someone on this blog pointed out Mitchell poor decisions on ice - how to defend, turning puck over in defensive and offensive situations

So in the final analysis KD will make a call on Mitchell…….when….I’d say he has one year remaining to show noticeable improvement- if they like him and his contract is re Up for one year

I like Crevier skill set and see him as someone overcoming the tall skinny frame. He improves much next season in the AHL then he could move ahead of Mitchell

Kaiser probably needs to gain strength too as the NHL is a man’s league and teenagers are transitioning with their body at different stages as they grow into (or not) a man’s body

I believe in KD so I believe he will put much review into his decisions. You know Roos is sort of in the same situation. I like his ability and he needs most likely better strength and playing time. I wonder how Roos and Mitchell were able to produce decent statistical numbers against Tampa as they were a pairing. Now Regula might just not have the feet but if he can improve enough he could have a great offensive game one day as a third pair

So we just wait and see how all these prospects turn out. And Mr Richochet this includes your favorite, Phillips, ascending piecemeal step to regular NHL employment
- jhawk59

Kaiser has put on 15 solid pounds in the last year. Difference between Mitchell and Kaiser is that Kaiser is already strong in the defensive zone.

To me the talent outweighs whether the player shoots left or right. Roos can play the offside, Del Mastro has, and so has Allen.Hjarmalson did pretty good on his offside.

Kaiser has put on 15 solid pounds in the last year. Difference between Mitchell and Kaiser is that Kaiser is already strong in the defensive zone.

To me the talent outweighs whether the player shoots left or right. Roos can play the offside, Del Mastro has, and so has Allen.Hjarmalson did pretty good on his offside.
- LAHawk

Kaiser's been eating his wheat germ and throwing around five gallon buckets filled with cement!

Unless they sign a boatload of UFA’s or get a REALLY bad contract in trade, you will need Zaitsev’s entire cap hit to reach the floor next year. Another option is to put Zaitsev on waivers likev Ottawa did this year, and eat the buried cap hit while he plays in Rockford.
- LAHawk

I think he is basically on a tryout now. LR will see what his speed, skill and attitude are and will determine whether he can make an NHL defensemen out of him. If he lacks skill or has a bad attitude they will find a way to move him or cut him loose. Same thing if LR does not think he takes instruction well. I can see them keeping him as their 7th defensemen, especially if they do not resign Caleb Jones (which I fear they will). I wonder if they can loan Zaitsev to the KHL (like they did with Cristobal Huet).