Thanks for posting. And from the same Powers' article, and for all you Phillips fans, here are some encouraging words about him.

Phillips has been noticeably knocking teammates around during the few days of camp. It hasn’t been anything malicious, but he certainly hasn’t been holding back.

The 22-year-old, entering his fifth professional season, entered camp with a focus on being more physical. He took the offseason to assess his development and decided after watching video of the game’s best shutdown defensemen that he needed to bring more of that physical element to his game.

“I haven’t always used my size in the way I feel like I could, so it’s definitely something I want to show in this camp is being that physical presence,” Phillips said. “If I want to be that shutdown pair type of guy who can be relied upon, that I can throw some big hits, use my body more. So that’s what I’m looking to show hopefully over here, then preseason games and continue on that path.”

Phillips admitted he is enjoying it, too.

“It’s fun,” Phillips said. “It’s great. Knocking someone down, it’s great. It feels good. It’s like, f— yeah, I can do that. … Sorry for swearing. But, yeah, it’s great. When you feel confident in your size and ability, it’s fun.”

You would have to think Phillips is likely in the running for the Blackhawks’ seventh defenseman spot. He and Crevier saw some time in that role last season.
- boilermaker100

Thanks Boiler. Phillips is either making the team or will be traded, as he can be claimed off waivers if sent down.

So Eklund created “Eklund meters” as of today

Covers his first entry, Montreal Canadiens, pretty good fashion. Montreal is where hockey starts, Eklund crowed

But cold steel on ice is Blackhawks for us whilst all other is merely mingled in our readership because we do love hockey and want to stay updated, informed.

Will be interesting to see his report as compared to our own Blackhawks column

ALSO
Steve Rain can you get excited about Cubs’ prospects? Three hard hitting mashers at AAA are close to mLB challenge


I know a prospect is a prospect is a prospect eternally it appears until he isn’t……remember the man boy Saad come up which may have been debated his readiness in old The Daily Herald blog. Nonetheless we live some us more than others with the rise and sometimes fall of prospects. NHL Entry Drsft then training camp is our time to be excited about our team’s “prospectus.”

Well you know for all of that 'Winning Ugly' talk the Sox had in 1983 --- they have finally tapped into that whole Losing Ugly thing -- that's quite the achievement.

Well you know for all of that 'Winning Ugly' talk the Sox had in 1983 --- they have finally tapped into that whole Losing Ugly thing -- that's quite the achievement.
- SC116

Bears, on offense, have had three ugly games so far. They were lucky to win the first game. Same old, same old.

Other than alliteration, Yeti kind of sucks too. Don't know about you but Utah doesn't really conjure thoughts of Bigfoot or the Abominable Snowman, but from a marketing standpoint that one likely wins out.

On another note, this was in The Athletic this am from Powers...

Nick Lardis isn’t making the Chicago Blackhawks out of camp. The Blackhawks aren’t selling him false hope, and he understands his reality.

But when it comes to the future, no player may have done as much to build expectations as Lardis in recent weeks. What Lardis has shown with his shot, quickness and hockey IQ in the last two weeks has Chicago management even more excited for his eventual NHL arrival.

Outside of Connor Bedard, the 19-year-old Lardis may be the Blackhawks’ best bet for an elite goal scorer in the years to come. As much hype as Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore and other prospects have been creating, most of them would lean more toward playmakers than goal scorers. Lardis is a pure goal scorer.

Lardis is coming off a season in which he scored 29 goals in 37 regular-season OHL games and another four goals in six playoff games. Those goal numbers would have been much higher if it weren’t for a wrist injury. He should compete for an OHL goal-scoring title this season.

In recent weeks, Lardis has made the case that his offensive ability could translate to the NHL level. He scored a goal off a one-timer and had another scoring chance while playing with a stomach bug at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. He’s followed that up with a noticeable training camp while playing alongside Nazar and Colton Dach on a line.

Lardis is well aware of where he needs to score goals if he’s going to succeed in the NHL.

“I think just keeping doing what I’m doing in junior, but I think it’s important for me to kind of learn the habits more, just kind of getting to the net,” Lardis said. “I think like 85 percent of the goals are scored right around the crease, so it’s important for me to get to the net. I thought in the first scrimmage I did that and got rewarded there, too. I just want to keep continuing to do that more and kind of have that as a habit in my game.”
- HawkintheD

Are there Mormon Yeti's?

Bears, on offense, have had three ugly games so far. They were lucky to win the first game. Same old, same old.
- boilermaker100

Yep, they just seem to hire the same coaches don't they. I can't tell the difference between the last o coordinator and the new one.

I wish they would bring in someone who just lets the offense be, no huddle, 11 best players on the field

Yep, they just seem to hire the same coaches don't they. I can't tell the difference between the last o coordinator and the new one.
- BetweenTheDots

My Steelers thank you for their quarterback.

Team hasn't been the same since The Biebs stepped on it.
- HawkintheD

Should have made him clean the carpet.

My Steelers thank you for their quarterback.
- paulr

Speaking of great coaches

Thanks for posting. And from the same Powers' article, and for all you Phillips fans, here are some encouraging words about him.

Phillips has been noticeably knocking teammates around during the few days of camp. It hasn’t been anything malicious, but he certainly hasn’t been holding back.

The 22-year-old, entering his fifth professional season, entered camp with a focus on being more physical. He took the offseason to assess his development and decided after watching video of the game’s best shutdown defensemen that he needed to bring more of that physical element to his game.

“I haven’t always used my size in the way I feel like I could, so it’s definitely something I want to show in this camp is being that physical presence,” Phillips said. “If I want to be that shutdown pair type of guy who can be relied upon, that I can throw some big hits, use my body more. So that’s what I’m looking to show hopefully over here, then preseason games and continue on that path.”

Phillips admitted he is enjoying it, too.

“It’s fun,” Phillips said. “It’s great. Knocking someone down, it’s great. It feels good. It’s like, f— yeah, I can do that. … Sorry for swearing. But, yeah, it’s great. When you feel confident in your size and ability, it’s fun.”

You would have to think Phillips is likely in the running for the Blackhawks’ seventh defenseman spot. He and Crevier saw some time in that role last season.
- boilermaker100

I love hearing this, i always felt like he was so eager to leave the zone and got burned because of it. Saying he's enjoying it? I'm curious to see him play hopefully on Wednesday

Well you know for all of that 'Winning Ugly' talk the Sox had in 1983 --- they have finally tapped into that whole Losing Ugly thing -- that's quite the achievement.
- SC116

UFB!

My Steelers thank you for their quarterback.
- paulr

I'll take the 4th round pick and you can figure out what to pay Fields next year.

Thanks for posting. And from the same Powers' article, and for all you Phillips fans, here are some encouraging words about him.

Phillips has been noticeably knocking teammates around during the few days of camp. It hasn’t been anything malicious, but he certainly hasn’t been holding back.

The 22-year-old, entering his fifth professional season, entered camp with a focus on being more physical. He took the offseason to assess his development and decided after watching video of the game’s best shutdown defensemen that he needed to bring more of that physical element to his game.

“I haven’t always used my size in the way I feel like I could, so it’s definitely something I want to show in this camp is being that physical presence,” Phillips said. “If I want to be that shutdown pair type of guy who can be relied upon, that I can throw some big hits, use my body more. So that’s what I’m looking to show hopefully over here, then preseason games and continue on that path.”

Phillips admitted he is enjoying it, too.

“It’s fun,” Phillips said. “It’s great. Knocking someone down, it’s great. It feels good. It’s like, f— yeah, I can do that. … Sorry for swearing. But, yeah, it’s great. When you feel confident in your size and ability, it’s fun.”

You would have to think Phillips is likely in the running for the Blackhawks’ seventh defenseman spot. He and Crevier saw some time in that role last season.
- boilermaker100

Phillips has a shot if he can just finally demonstrate consistency on a nightly basis. That was the huge issues in my eyes last year. A good shift now and then, but a lot of bad ones.

Bears, on offense, have had three ugly games so far. They were lucky to win the first game. Same old, same old.
- boilermaker100

Paper doll offensive line. QB learning the difference between college and pros.

My Steelers thank you for their quarterback.
- paulr

Hold that thought.

I'll take the 4th round pick and you can figure out what to pay Fields next year.
- rpeters01

Yep. Small sample size against 2nd tier teams. Falcons, Broncos, Chargers, and Colts. Averaging 17 pts per game. Whoopie!

Yep. Small sample size against 2nd tier teams. Falcons, Broncos, Chargers, and Colts. Averaging 17 pts per game. Whoopie!
- Ztra

True enough but what I’ve noticed is he’s not getting himself into trouble with poor decisions….. so far. Sometimes a change of scenery, or the kick in the ass out of Chicago may be what he needed. Time will tell, but so far so good.

True enough but what I’ve noticed is he’s not getting himself into trouble with poor decisions….. so far. Sometimes a change of scenery, or the kick in the ass out of Chicago may be what he needed. Time will tell, but so far so good.
- paulr

Justin was progressing at a glacier pace. He's a phenomenal talent and i think you can win a SB around him but you are going to have to have a great supporting cast. Processing the game especially zone not so good. Having him throw less than 30 times a game is ideal.

And like someone mentioned after this season he's getting paid.

Mark Lazerus
@MarkLazerus
Lines/pairings in the morning scrimmage:
Hall-Bedard-Bertuzzi
Reichel-Kurashev-Teräväinen
Foligno-Richardinson-Mikheyev
Maroon-Athanasiou-Smith
Donato-Spellacy-Anderson
Dach-Nazar-Lardis

Martinez-Jones
Vlasic-Brodie
Kaiser-Murphy
Korchinski-Crevier
Allan-Del Mastro
Strand-Phillips

Mark Lazerus
@MarkLazerus
Lines/pairings in the morning scrimmage:
Hall-Bedard-Bertuzzi
Reichel-Kurashev-Teräväinen
Foligno-Richardinson-Mikheyev
Maroon-Athanasiou-Smith
Donato-Spellacy-Anderson
Dach-Nazar-Lardis

Martinez-Jones
Vlasic-Brodie
Kaiser-Murphy
Korchinski-Crevier
Allan-Del Mastro
Strand-Phillips
- LAHawk

Nice to see the small step forward in depth over last year. I still think we are going to have a bad time if we are penciling in Martinez for top pair minutes. He will be on a ventilator by the end of Oct.

Paper doll offensive line. QB learning the difference between college and pros.
- rpeters01

EXACTLY what I said to everyone I know who was drinking the kool aid after the draft and pre season. Kid was way to cocky. No pressure and he's fine. NFL pressure and good luck. Now we get to see if he learns to make quicker decisions. Right now Bagent helps them win more than the kid.

Really nice to see more people coming around on Lardis as a prospect that might be sneakily good at putting up goals. I know he is on the smaller side weight wise, but I wonder how up to date the reported 165-170 ish lbs is. Probably at least another year or 2 to get stronger, but I think he is a pretty athletic kid.

Although this was written about the Cubs and baseball, I find this article to be relevant to the Hawks rebuild;
https://www.bleachernatio...23/desire-paths-and-cubs/

As a matter of fact, I beleive that KD this year (after hearing from Foligno primarily) took the desired trail, as opposed tothe first 2 years when IMO he took the "by the book path"

EXACTLY what I said to everyone I know who was drinking the kool aid after the draft and pre season. Kid was way to cocky. No pressure and he's fine. NFL pressure and good luck. Now we get to see if he learns to make quicker decisions. Right now Bagent helps them win more than the kid.
- 6628

I can agree with the rookie QB part, but not sure where you get the bolded. There's a difference between confident and cocky and I don't think Williams came off like that at all.

Playing Bagent and possibly getting a few wins in a season they were at best competing for a wild card does nothing to move the needle overall. You didn't draft Williams to sit and as disjointed as the offense has looked, it's been three games. As ugly as it was at times yesterday I think he showed progress and that is still what this season is about, is developing Williams.

You still have to be able to run the ball and run block. You really think they are winning games right now averaging about 2.5 yds a carry and relying on Bagen't arm? Good luck with that.

Bears, on offense, have had three ugly games so far. They were lucky to win the first game. Same old, same old.
- boilermaker100

I can tell you that this also is to no end of amusement to Packer fans... all I can actually reply is - look, I think you guys need to apologise to Trubisky... maybe it wasn't him.

But I mean ... that doesn't help. Those people north of the state line live to gloat...