Tyler Cameron: MAILBAG: Youth Movement, What’s Next for Hawks + More The Blackhawks have a chance to redeem themselves this weekend as they get back on the ice to take on the LA Kings (Sat) and Anaheim Ducks (Sun).

I won’t spend much time setting up the games as we have a bunch of great questions to go through below.

However, I will call out a couple things as it’s been a somewhat eventful week.

Just not in favor of this move. I think it would behoove both Dach and AB to gain experience and strength at a bit lower level. This seems rushed, which is exactly what you don't want. You want guys to marinate on the farm, either be ready or be over-ready. You stand a chance of really destroying a kids confidence and derailing a potentially excellent career.

Both these kids are under 20 and underweight/strength. So lets roll them out against 235 pound fast skating brute men to "save the day"? This has epic fail written all over it, but what do I know Bowman and Colliton are the experts.

Look at HawkintheD bogarting all the questions in 1 "question"......

Hog. ;

The first job of the coach is to play the guys who in the aggregate give the team the best chance to win that day. Players should understand and appreciate that concept even if a popular player is benched. That's a black and white statement and while I acknowledge there is often nuance and mitigating circumstances that play into the coach's decision of who plays and who doesn't - the basic fact remains true. If Colliton believes the team has a better chance to win without Seabrook in the lineup - then he shouldn't put him in the lineup regardless of the political fallout this has received.

I don't think it helps when you have 3 AHL dmen on the ice, never helps

The PK looks like it's finally getting better.

Honestly im sticking with my belief is JC is frustrated that the Hawks as a team are not playing 200 feet of hockey, they can talk about all the training they did in the off season but i don't believe a few of them, cough cough Toews, are in hockey shape and that's why they are having trouble scoring. Bottom 2 lines have looked great. Top 2 not so much.

Boqvist is up for the PP and he might be up because of the comment Keith made between periods last game?

Just not in favor of this move. I think it would behoove both Dach and AB to gain experience and strength at a bit lower level. This seems rushed, which is exactly what you don't want. You want guys to marinate on the farm, either be ready or be over-ready. You stand a chance of really destroying a kids confidence and derailing a potentially excellent career.

Both these kids are under 20 and underweight/strength. So lets roll them out against 235 pound fast skating brute men to "save the day"? This has epic fail written all over it, but what do I know Bowman and Colliton are the experts.
- kwolf68

Should Jack Hughes not be in the NHL yet? What about Dahlin last season or Matthews the season before? I understand the rule of thumb that it's better to err on the side of waiting longer than necessary than rushing ... but rules of thumb are not applicable across the board and there are many examples of high draft picks that have done well without the extra year of waiting to start their NHL career.

The best answer to the question of should the 18 year old play in the NHL yet is "it depends". It depends on the individual player - most should wait but some don't need to. From the 5/6 games I've seen Dach play he looks poised - not overwhelmed at all. We'll see if it works out but my thought is they made the right decision.

Seems we all have the same general questions.

BH NBC team brought in Mike Kelly to review and provide his take on what is wrong and how to fix it.

https://podcasts.apple.co...OCvCs5eaGZXBU-R-8YwW7xv6k

Lacking an identity. Switching to dump and chase (unfamiliar to many on this team) and not good enough to play man-on-man. and more

ETA: Oh, and the JC new system is really hurting Kane's game

Look at HawkintheD bogarting all the questions in 1 "question"......

Hog. ;
- mohel

Classic D... always making it about himself.

There could be lots of reasons for the slow start - and, more important, the overall look of confusion and uncertainty.

They could be struggling with what passes for Colliton’s new “systems” - individuals not knowing where to be, where to go, what to do when the flow changes (which happens every 10 seconds in hockey).

Colliton could have lost the traditional leaders in the room - Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Crawford, even AdB, Shaw - those who should be helping the newcomers and younger players adjust but maybe aren’t. He either has to get them back, or create new leaders - which would probably require moving out some of the core.

The old stars could be incapable of playing at an NHL level at this point - even tho they are still being relied on to carry much of the load because the replacements aren’t ready yet - Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Crawford, Shaw - even Kane, who seems certainly to be in one of his periodic funks.

The roster that Stan has been responsible for putting together just isn’t good enough, or can’t put together the chemistry to be a quality team.

Colliton isn’t NHL ready himself - can’t get his players to buy into his schemes, can’t put together balanced lines, can’t manage the game from the bench. And his assistants can’t (or, with an agenda of their own, won’t) help him.

Only 11 games, yeah - and they’ve looked - uhhh - decent in some of them. But in too many....

... part of the problem of having everyone play '200 ft of hockey' -is that the wingers tend to get pulled in way too low and suddenly you have no outlet ...

or in other words- that sounds a lot like 'man to man d scheme' - or the equivalent ... and I don't really know that it actually works at any level.

The part that is confusing to me is that the 3rd and 4th lines were fairly dominant for 4 out of 5 games for a stretch. So the new guys and the young guys seem to understand what's wanted and needed from them to be successful, it's the "core" that doesn't.

For me the jury is still out on JC, the people that are saying he sucks and is in over his head, need to explain how a terrible coach can get such a high performance out of his bottom two lines instead of just pointing out how his top two lines are terrible.

Of course, Murphy was not injured and that seems to have had a big effect.

Look at HawkintheD bogarting all the questions in 1 "question"......

Hog. ;
- mohel

HawkintheD is a brown noser, I bet he brought Tyler an apple too!

There could be lots of reasons for the slow start - and, more important, the overall look of confusion and uncertainty.

They could be struggling with what passes for Colliton’s new “systems” - individuals not knowing where to be, where to go, what to do when the flow changes (which happens every 10 seconds in hockey).

Colliton could have lost the traditional leaders in the room - Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Crawford, even AdB, Shaw - those who should be helping the newcomers and younger players adjust but maybe aren’t. He either has to get them back, or create new leaders - which would probably require moving out some of the core.

The old stars could be incapable of playing at an NHL level at this point - even tho they are still being relied on to carry much of the load because the replacements aren’t ready yet - Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Crawford, Shaw - even Kane, who seems certainly to be in one of his periodic funks.

The roster that Stan has been responsible for putting together just isn’t good enough, or can’t put together the chemistry to be a quality team.

Colliton isn’t NHL ready himself - can’t get his players to buy into his schemes, can’t put together balanced lines, can’t manage the game from the bench. And his assistants can’t (or, with an agenda of their own, won’t) help him.

Only 11 games, yeah - and they’ve looked - uhhh - decent in some of them. But in too many....
- StLBravesFan

Great post. Is it possible that the confusion and uncertainty would eventually go away as they become comfortable with JC's "system"? That would make them look a step slow, right?

The last game was horrendous, but maybe they need some time to adjust. Just trying to give it a positive spin here, no idea if that's the case.

Just not in favor of this move. I think it would behoove both Dach and AB to gain experience and strength at a bit lower level. This seems rushed, which is exactly what you don't want. You want guys to marinate on the farm, either be ready or be over-ready. You stand a chance of really destroying a kids confidence and derailing a potentially excellent career.

Both these kids are under 20 and underweight/strength. So lets roll them out against 235 pound fast skating brute men to "save the day"? This has epic fail written all over it, but what do I know Bowman and Colliton are the experts.
- kwolf68

I agree, the team doesn't need them to get ahead in the standings, this appears to be a business move to sell tickets? and not a move for the long term. Both Dach and Boqvist aren't ready to compete in the NHL. Both need to work on facets of their game and as you say get stronger and faster.

Great post. Is it possible that the confusion and uncertainty would eventually go away as they become comfortable with JC's "system"? That would make them look a step slow, right?

The last game was horrendous, but maybe they need some time to adjust. Just trying to give it a positive spin here, no idea if that's the case.
- tazer_and_diet

By my count, we’re a few games away from hitting a full year on the implementation of JC’s ‘system’. While some of the roster is new, there’s quite a few that we’re here when JC took over last season.

Either the players still don’t get it, or it’s just a bad system that doesn’t work at the NHL level.

Seems we all have the same general questions.

BH NBC team brought in Mike Kelly to review and provide his take on what is wrong and how to fix it.

https://podcasts.apple.co...OCvCs5eaGZXBU-R-8YwW7xv6k

Lacking an identity. Switching to dump and chase (unfamiliar to many on this team) and not good enough to play man-on-man. and more

ETA: Oh, and the JC new system is really hurting Kane's game
- pdx2ord

Didn't they play the same system last year? If so, it didn't seem to hurt Kane then. And Toews had his best year in several seasons.

Should Jack Hughes not be in the NHL yet? What about Dahlin last season or Matthews the season before? I understand the rule of thumb that it's better to err on the side of waiting longer than necessary than rushing ... but rules of thumb are not applicable across the board and there are many examples of high draft picks that have done well without the extra year of waiting to start their NHL career.

The best answer to the question of should the 18 year old play in the NHL yet is "it depends". It depends on the individual player - most should wait but some don't need to. From the 5/6 games I've seen Dach play he looks poised - not overwhelmed at all. We'll see if it works out but my thought is they made the right decision.
- EbonyRaptor

18 and 19 year olds are in most cases better off in junior or college to work on the weaker areas of their game, to allow them to learn without the enormous amount of pressure in the NHL. Dach has some nice moves, he thinks the game well but is a half step slow in the NHL, he was a good not great scorer in junior. Boqvist seems to have all kinds of offensive potential but is no better than Gus defensively. Some players are able to step into the pro game as an 18 year old, most are not. The critical part of retooling/rebuilding isn't just acquiring the talent, it's developing the talent. Where is the best place for development? I don't think it's the NHL.

Tyler fantastic wrap up and great insight as to whom you possibly see as GM or coaching candidates.

Imo I believe if the hawks continue to underperform Stan would be the next person to go, but I believe Chicago would want to have their new GM interviewed ahead of time and selected.

JC would be IMO a end of season firing.

How would keeping boqvist in the lineup full time affect the expansion selection ?

I agree, the team doesn't need them to get ahead in the standings, this appears to be a business move to seel tickets? and not a move for the long term. Both Dach and Boqvist aren't ready to compete in the NHL. Both need to work on facets of their game and as you say get stronger and faster.
- paulr

I went to the Kings game Sunday, plenty of seats available directly from the Hawks available, plus lots of secondary tickets available too.

I received a call on Tuesday from a Blackhawk employee, offering a 10 ticket package, with the ability to choose any game and any available tickets. I could get all 10 for a single game, 2 per for 5 games, 10 singles, any combo I wanted. Plus enhanced status for playoff games.

McD is doing his best to keep the UC filled.

Should Jack Hughes not be in the NHL yet? What about Dahlin last season or Matthews the season before? I understand the rule of thumb that it's better to err on the side of waiting longer than necessary than rushing ... but rules of thumb are not applicable across the board and there are many examples of high draft picks that have done well without the extra year of waiting to start their NHL career.

The best answer to the question of should the 18 year old play in the NHL yet is "it depends". It depends on the individual player - most should wait but some don't need to. From the 5/6 games I've seen Dach play he looks poised - not overwhelmed at all. We'll see if it works out but my thought is they made the right decision.
- EbonyRaptor

I think he's shown (up to this point) that he's capable of playing in the NHL now. My only question is why didn't they give him the full 14 days in the AHL, and 9 games in the NHL, and then make the announcement?

Look at HawkintheD bogarting all the questions in 1 "question"......

Hog. ;
- mohel

Might as well have called this particular blog "D" mail "bag"

A lot of normally positive people asking doom & gloom questions.

I went to the Kings game Sunday, plenty of seats available directly from the Hawks available, plus lots of secondary tickets available.

I received a call on Tuesday from a Blackhawk employee, offering a 10 ticket package, with the ability to choose any game and any available tickets. I could get all 10 for a single game, 2 per for 5 games, 10 singles, any combo I wanted. Plus enhanced status for playoff games.

McD is doing his best to keep the UC filled.
- scottak

As he should! But is it wise to take a chance with their development to sell a few tickets now?

Great questions, great answers.
I guess I'm the only guy here who thought the first 15 minutes in Nashville did not look bad. I thought the D did pretty good keeping stuff funneled away from the middle and wished a couple of the 'Hawk rushes could netted a tap-in/deflection goal in that time frame. After the first goal, their fans actually started the " Corey Corey" chant, thus proving their imbecility.
And I'm ok with Dach and Boqvist being in the show. Boq should get some NHL time until Murphy's back and I'm ok with quite a bit of it even being in the press box. He'll observe and play at the top level. If he stays healthy, it's good for him.

I would agree it's highly unlikely any line with Kaner on it will ever be awesome at dump and chase and you MUST play to his strengths.

Great post. Is it possible that the confusion and uncertainty would eventually go away as they become comfortable with JC's "system"? That would make them look a step slow, right?

The last game was horrendous, but maybe they need some time to adjust. Just trying to give it a positive spin here, no idea if that's the case.
- tazer_and_diet

Per Kelly in that pod above, it's not that the JC system can't work in the NHL. It's that the system has not been designed to exploit the skills we DO have and minimize deficiencies. Maybe it is the best system for the bottom 6, but it's not designed to get best production out of Kane, Toews, DBC.

His emphasis was that JC and coaching team need to design some kind of possession/dump and chase hybrid.

Didn't they play the same system last year? If so, it didn't seem to hurt Kane then. And Toews had his best year in several seasons.
- mohel

Not according to Kelly and the other guys. He's switched it up from Kane and others carrying the puck through the neutral zone (more a possession game) to almost 100% dump and chase (which we don't have the skills to be successful doing in his opinion).