That the Rangers haven't suckered them out of their jocks says a lot no matter what happens tonight.
- rpeters01

Nice win!

Still only 2 goals.

I can see why Rangers fans are concerned. They look old.

Hawks have a couple D-Men that are developing into players at this level.

Looks like Boston and NY are in decline, I'm sure if they throw money at it they'll be able to bring in young premium talent.

Team played tonight with a lot of jump and just more creative (maybe a little less in their head about things??).

Soderblom is looking really comfortable this season, I'm happy for him on that.

Big save with 15 seconds left.. A wonderful brand of pressure the puck, keep your feet moving... I guess all teams are this way but when the Hawks get thru the neutral zone with speed they get dangerous... Seems every guy on the ice had their feet moving winning a good share of 50/50's and loose pucks.

Allan has really taken a step. Love he was trusted with a shift on the road up 1 with 50 seconds left.. Kid moved his feet and just made plays and no doubt was told to trust his reads and get off the blueline if there is a play to be made, a puck to poke, extend zone time.

Good for the group and especially Soderblom busting up the 5 game losing streak. Despite his great play this yr think he only had 1 win.

Big save with 15 seconds left.. A wonderful brand of pressure the puck, keep your feet moving... I guess all teams are this way but when the Hawks get thru the neutral zone with speed they get dangerous... Seems every guy on the ice had their feet moving winning a good share of 50/50's and loose pucks.

Allan has really taken a step. Love he was trusted with a shift on the road up 1 with 50 seconds left.. Kid moved his feet and just made plays and no doubt was told to trust his reads and get off the blueline if there is a play to be made, a puck to poke, extend zone time.

Good for the group and especially Soderblom busting up the 5 game losing streak. Despite his great play this yr think he only had 1 win.
- Mr Ricochet

It sure seemed 2 players were pressuring or angling the puck in every zone making it hard to make clean passes.

It also seemed like it was expected for the dman to activate, it seemed fluid how the forwards covered for the dmen, i don't know maybe I'm seeing things.

Watching the Rangers postgame is great. Blackhawks were the better team all night

It was a nice win, i just hope to see this brand of hockey every night. I liked how aggressive they were when it came to the puck in all 3 zones.

Was surprised that Pharand has added that much scoring this year. That might be enough to get him an ELC next year. Read somewhere that they thought he was a good candidate for the bottom 6. Been meaning to watch a Sudbury game on CHLTV but haven't done it yet.

There is quite the forward prospect logjam shaping up next year, even assuming that Nazar, Dach and Slaggert move up to the NHL. There are 7 or more forwards coming in.

Savoie - Ludwinski - Hayes
Lardis - Greene - Moore
James - Thompson - Pharand
Misiak - Luypen - Guttman
Marcel
-- and I think as Spellacy is a US player, he can come in also

Where do guys like Pharand, James and Thompson get the ice time to develop?

I'm guessing Guttman, Luypen, and Marcel may not return, but that still leaves a lot of prospects there.
- totem

And after next season Kancerov's contract in Russia is up. Kid has been money as a very young player in the KHL. IIRC kid had a 17:00 TOI on his KHL squad. That says much.

And no, Spellacy is not eligible for the AHL next yr. He has to play jrs this yr and next unless he makes an NHL roster.

Blackwood for Georgiev - does that solve COL goalie problems?
- totem

This trade has been made? I'll say this, Blackwood is playing better than I ever saw him play... Yea, this is an upgrade for COL IMO.

Losing is in the walls and they got to shake it out, hahaha

Re: Spellacy - these things still confuse me, is it all CHL players that have to stay to age 20 if they don't make the NHL, or is it only Canadian players? I guess I was assuming that if he was US born the rule might not apply.

Agree with your second point also, with so many prospects, they are likely to discard a couple of pretty good players who develop elsewhere. Guess that's the price for loading up on draft picks. Not sure how they figure out keeping most of the right ones.
- totem

Totem, a kid drafted out of the CHL has to play 2 more yrs in jrs. So it goes:

Drafted.
Play in jrs
Play in Jrs
Eligible for the AHL.

That is only kids DRAFTED out of the CHL. If you are drafted from anywhere else on earth you can play AHL the yr after you were drafted.

That the Rangers haven't suckered them out of their jocks says a lot no matter what happens tonight.
- rpeters01

Brodie with the least TOI out of the backend tonight with <15 minutes. Vlasic was a monster and Allan was very noticeable, in a good way. With Martinez being day to day, and Jones coming back in about a week, they’ll have nine dmen. Two will have to be moved, that includes going back to the Rock, let’s see how they handle the competition.

Totem, a kid drafted out of the CHL has to play 2 more yrs in jrs. So it goes:

Drafted.
Play in jrs
Play in Jrs
Eligible for the AHL.

That is only kids DRAFTED out of the CHL. If you are drafted from anywhere else on earth you can play AHL the yr after you were drafted.
- Mr Ricochet

What was confusing me was that Misiak could have gone to ROC this year. But I see he is already 20 so that is the reason.

And after next season Kancerov's contract in Russia is up. Kid has been money as a very young player in the KHL. IIRC kid had a 17:00 TOI on his KHL squad. That says much.

And no, Spellacy is not eligible for the AHL next yr. He has to play jrs this yr and next unless he makes an NHL roster.
- Mr Ricochet

Yes, Kantserov, Spellacy, Vanacker, maybe Boisvert and Felcman could be coming after next year. Will be interesting to see how they clear some spots for those guys.

What was confusing me was that Misiak could have gone to ROC this year. But I see he is already 20 so that is the reason.
- totem

Misiak was drafted out of the USHL so he could have gone to the ECHL or AHL at any time after he was drafted. He was drafted out of the USHL then went to the CHL the next yr and could have left at any time for pro.

But, he hasn't been ready and needs jrs.

Yes, Kantserov, Spellacy, Vanacker, maybe Boisvert and Felcman could be coming after next year. Will be interesting to see how they clear some spots for those guys.
- totem

Right on. If left alone there won't be enough spots at RKF for all the draft picks. ..... And it's all brand new cuz KD is a newbie GM with no history so to speak to assume how he'll play this.

It sure seemed 2 players were pressuring or angling the puck in every zone making it hard to make clean passes.

It also seemed like it was expected for the dman to activate, it seemed fluid how the forwards covered for the dmen, i don't know maybe I'm seeing things.

Watching the Rangers postgame is great. Blackhawks were the better team all night
- BetweenTheDots

You seem to pay attention to how the club is passing, but yea I thought the club was connected. .... They had some good outs and that allowed them to come thru the neutral zone with speed.

That's good. ...... I just liked pressuring the puck and keep your feet moving. You force the other team to make plays being pressured. Let's see if this is a thing or a blip but we gotta be happy with what we saw.

I enjoyed the game tonight. Hawks played well and hounded the puck.

Was surprised that Pharand has added that much scoring this year. That might be enough to get him an ELC next year. Read somewhere that they thought he was a good candidate for the bottom 6. Been meaning to watch a Sudbury game on CHLTV but haven't done it yet.

There is quite the forward prospect logjam shaping up next year, even assuming that Nazar, Dach and Slaggert move up to the NHL. There are 7 or more forwards coming in.

Savoie - Ludwinski - Hayes
Lardis - Greene - Moore
James - Thompson - Pharand
Misiak - Luypen - Guttman
Marcel
-- and I think as Spellacy is a US player, he can come in also

Where do guys like Pharand, James and Thompson get the ice time to develop?

I'm guessing Guttman, Luypen, and Marcel may not return, but that still leaves a lot of prospects there.
- totem

Thought of another kid besides Kancerov we forgot, Jack Pridham. ........ Kid planned on going the NCAA route, Boston U, so he was playing Jr A in the BCHL and was drafted. As soon as the NCAA ruled this yr CHL kids could play college hockey the kid jumped to OHL Kitchner.

He's been a fine fit. Kitchner is a damn good squad, 1st place IIRC, and he's skating 1RW and playing on PP1. He has 12 in 10 including 5 goals. ... Kid looks the part. Sturdy skater, strongish on the puck, shows very good IQ.
https://www.eliteprospect...layer/826090/jack-pridham

Kid was drafted in 2024 and as mentioned it was out of any league besides the CHL so he could play AHL this yr, right now.

Who are these guys??? .. Last game someone posted the compete was noticeably better, then a couple more chimed in that they agreed.. I thought I didn't really notice much difference but thought about it and I think I agree. Tonight though, seems the whole roster is puck hounding and dare I say coming in waves?.. Listening to the NYR feed they mentioned the Hawk forecheck is pretty good.

I was really concerned by a couple sequences in last game. His reads had him down and anchored a few times and that's 2023 Soderblom.. But he's dialed, tracking really reaaly well and is economical. .. Big chance for the Svede to show he's an NHL goalie as he carries the load of a #1 over some period of time.

I stand by Allan making a jump after his scratch. Kid looks confident and is in a way reading and just playing.

I'd rather not have Bedard and KK on the ice at the same time and noticed it a few times.
- Mr Ricochet

scratch kurashev one thing I have noticed is the d is more involved up the ice in the offensive zone and not playing a trap type defensive system as much. Imo any player on the Rangers that would a good fit for the Hawks besides lafeniarin and fox

Offense! If they play both Nazar and KK, then I think that's why they are making the change. I think the management of the team wants to push the offense of both Bedard and the team. A lot of media noise lately about Bedard slumping and he has been in the goal scoring dept, no question he isn't burying chances right now.

With him not making Canada's 4 nation roster and with the outdoor game coming, there is pressure to get him going and get the team playing a more exciting brand of hockey, even if they aren't winning. Too much bad press around Bedard not scoring enough. Of course they want to win more and I think the belief is they need to get over that 2 goal per game hump.

Make no mistake, KK could have been playing on this roster right now out of camp without a dramatic difference in the defense performance of the team. He improved over the course of last season in his end and the tale of him being overwhelmed at the NHL level was overblown. Nobody did great defensively last year when they played so much with Kurashev, an 18 year old Bedard and Megna as a partner. I'm not saying he won't make mistakes, but he has the skating to also add some dynamic elements to the play on the ice and helps create more options when he joins the rush.

LR had the team playing a defensive first mentality, and that's not a problem in general, however we haven't had enough individual firepower to breakthrough offensively enough to win those 3-2 games. If Bedard was a 25 year old and in his prime, probably it works out better, because he would be able to individually be an X-factor to influence the game more. As a 19 year old, it's tougher for him to play in that environment.

folks like to pile on and blame KD for not giving Bedard enough help, but I think that's only part of the equation. I think the Hawks are trying to solve 2 of the 3 things contributing to his slump. 1) provide him some more offensive minded players to be on the ice with. 2) Change up the game plan to be open up the offense a bit with the coaching change. 3) It's on Bedard to elevate his game a little bit, he hasn't been bad but some of it is him growing more into the player he will become.
- breadbag

I agree with most of this, BB. And, I also have no problem with the coaching change as long as it wasn't done in panic mode. I do give KD and Crew the benefit of the doubt and like that they seem proactive to address whatever problems the see.

I'm just a big advocate of proper development that stays the path, especially in a rebuild. ...... I do disagree with you thinking KK was fine, or even ok, last yr. IMO he just hung on as best he could and to me he showed a lot just not getting swamped on a horrid roster last yr and had to deal with his Pops' death. Kid went thru a lotta adversity and did ok.

Yea bring KK and Nazar up if only to gauge where they are at but no way have they developed good habits long enough. But, KD had a card to play by bringing up the two very good offensive players and he played it.

Fun to watch, especially if tonight was a preview of things to some.

If the net was 4 feet higher Murphy would've had a goal there.
- HawkintheD

Field Goal.

Still only 2 goals.

I can see why Rangers fans are concerned. They look old.
- BetweenTheDots

Bedard had a great chance and Donato blew a breakaway.

Brodie with the least TOI out of the backend tonight with <15 minutes. Vlasic was a monster and Allan was very noticeable, in a good way. With Martinez being day to day, and Jones coming back in about a week, they’ll have nine dmen. Two will have to be moved, that includes going back to the Rock, let’s see how they handle the competition.
- Angotti

Allan got away with a bad give away Soderblom bailed him out but that used to happen to Keith regularly. If you play you make mistakes.