Hard to win a puck battle when it's 3 against 1, but yea he's a bust already
- BetweenTheDots

Obviously

I don't either, but at the same time i think Mintyukov is a minus player as well. I think its good to compare 19 year olds on bad teams. I also think he has a better defensive partner than KK and they definetly have better top 6 talent compared to us. I think that all factors in.

I would really like to see KKs numbers from when he was playing station to station to when he started flowing in the defensive zone, i imagine his numbers look much better now then they did then.

Vlasic s card looks real nice for the fancy stat people.
- BetweenTheDots

Hey Dots. On a horrible team there will be very few plus players. I'm not knocking him for that. I just want to see him progress in his overall game more.

https://hockeystatcards.com/compare

compare KK and Vlasic here. You get to see how Vlasic has at least been steadier. Again, KK is basically 3 years younger and a different kind of D-man. It's just something to watch as he grows.

Hahaha, just imagine 2 more really fast forwards with him
- BetweenTheDots

I've been able to watch a bit more of Moore. I like the direction he is headed. He plays the whole sheet of ice and likes to attack. Some things to clean up for sure, but he can certainly be one of these fast forwards that hounds the puck. I'm actually wondering if he eventually becomes a center for/with Bedard.

Not that I'm any sort of talent evaluator, but I keep thinking that Bedard on wing is not the worst thing in the world.

I've been able to watch a bit more of Moore. I like the direction he is headed. He plays the whole sheet of ice and likes to attack. Some things to clean up for sure, but he can certainly be one of these fast forwards that hounds the puck. I'm actually wondering if he eventually becomes a center for/with Bedard.

Not that I'm any sort of talent evaluator, but I keep thinking that Bedard on wing is not the worst thing in the world.
- Chunk

Believe me, it is not a bad move to draft really fast forwards, who think the game well and has so much lateral agility and great playmaking ability, or guys with short space quickbness and touch, or even take a chance on a smaller stocky Russian , but I gotta think there is going to stop being roster room for more smaller scoring options.

Believe me, it is not a bad move to draft really fast forwards, who think the game well and has so much lateral agility and great playmaking ability, or guys with short space quickbness and touch, or even take a chance on a smaller stocky Russian , but I gotta think there is going to stop being roster room for more smaller scoring options.
- wiz1901

But those smaller guys are still valuable in potential deals. This Kantserov looks to play above his size while a guy like Lardis plays small. I think it’s harder to find room for small guys who want to play a perimeter game.

Totem, he played Games 1 and 2 of this series, came out for warmups for Game 3 and was scratched afterwards......... Have you seen Medicine Hat live, Totem? If so have you noticed a kid plays for MH named Oasiz Wiesblatt? He was draft eligible last yr and went undrafted. Thick kid listed at 5ft 9in 185lb, kid is really stout, really stout, plays low and fast. I think he gets drafted this yr. He's a centerman, put up 91 pts and 95 PIM. 115 PIM last yr.. https://www.eliteprospect...er/562425/oasiz-wiesblatt

Watched the 1st period of Prince Goerge @ Spokane to see Catton. Kid has serious speed, quickness and hands. ..... Have seen at least parts of 6ish series of the OHL and WHL playoffs and the PG-Spokane series is the fastest most skilled hockey of them all so far. Some serious hockey being played between these two clubs.
- Mr Ricochet

Have only seen a couple of MH games on the CHL streaming, wasn't following Wiesblatt much, but he seems to be in on the forecheck a lot and always around the puck. Might be worth a late rounder. He and his brothers have some unusual names.

I'm a little confused as to when a player is a re-draft and when he is eligible to sign directly. Gabriel Szturc, Kelowna signed with Tampa Bay after falling through the draft last year (think that is a good signing). Others return to the draft for the next year like Wiesblatt.

Prince George is loaded this year and eliminated Spokane 4-0. Catton was struggling to find open ice it looked like. Only 4 assists in the playoffs, 116 points in 68 games regular season. Really liked draft eligibles Becher and Paraczak for PG in the series. Young goalie Ravensbergen for PG stood out, will be interesting to follow next year.

Correcton to my original post: He is transferring from St. Cloud State to St. Lawrence. Capfriendly has his sign by date as Aug 15, 2024. Maybe that will change since he will still be playing in college next year.
- boilermaker100

Seems like the sign date should slide, I think it did with Jake Wise and this year with Liam Gorman. Wonder how many of those 5th year guys actually get signed. Basse is still young for a goalie (23 next year) so maybe there is some upside left.

Over the course of five years, Oakland has lost three professional sports clubs. Maybe they should take a look at what they are doing over there and adjust...
- Chunk

It's quite simple, taxpayers refused to pay for new stadiums. Could easily happen with the White Sox. The Bears can afford to build their own stadium if push comes to shove. But they want a friendly tax deal which Arlington Heights was previously balking at.

A writer in the Athletic discusses the league's best shut down defenseman. Given the crriteria he chose, the highest rated are Gudas, Vlasic, Doughty, Sanderson and Forsling.

https://theathletic.com/5...best-shutdown-defensemen/

Excerpt:

I started the exercise by using an initial filter for the following criteria:

- 40 games played minimum this season
- Ranks among the NHL’s top-128 defensemen for five-on-five ice time per game (Ice time is indicative of a coach’s trust. We only want top-four defensemen for this exercise — there are 32 teams, multiply that by four, and that gives us 128 players who’ve earned top-four quality trust at five-on-five.)
- Five-on-five goals-against rate below league average (Preventing goals is the ultimate goal for a defensive blueliner. Goals against can, however, be quite volatile and influenced by luck — some defenders prevent shots and scoring chances very well but get punished because their goaltender can’t make a save — so I didn’t want this filter to be too harsh.)
- Tougher matchups than league average (Like ice time, matchups can tell us a lot about which defensemen a coach trusts. A top shutdown defender should be matching up against top players more often than not. I used HockeyViz’s quality of competition data to measure this.)

After running this filter, we get a refined pool of defensemen who skate a lot of minutes, are trusted enough to defend top forwards on a regular basis and prevent goals against better than league average. From here, I decided to use Evolving-Hockey’s Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus (RAPM) tool to measure defensive impact and rank our pool of defenders.

Regarding Vlasic, he writes:

Speaking of impressive defensive results on a bad team, Alex Vlasic has overtaken Seth Jones as the Blackhawks’ best blueliner. Vlasic’s combo of a 6-foot-6 frame and excellent skating is a nightmare for attackers to navigate around. He covers so much space and closes gaps exceptionally quickly with his reach and feet. The 22-year-old left-shot has logged the most minutes against “elite” competition of all Chicago defenders. Despite difficult top pair usage, Vlasic is driving the best expected goal share on the entire team (forwards included). Chicago has a near break-even goal differential during Vlasic’s minutes but has a whopping minus-73 goal differential when he’s on the bench at five-on-five.

Don't know if anyone saw The Athletic Hawk player's poll on a variety of subjects.

Here were a few I thought were pretty funny...

Who's The Worst Dressed?

Megna: Korchinski. We’re working on it. We’re working on him. He’s going to get there.

Foligno: I love him, but Korch has got some tough style. We’ve got to work on Korch’s style.

Söderblom: Korchinski. He’s still young. He’s got some stuff to learn.

Reichel: Korchinski. Maybe in a couple years, but he’s got to get a new suit, for sure.

Vlasic: Korchinski. He’s not a slob, he just wears sweatpants all the time. I do, too, so I’m right up there.

Korchinski: I’m leading? Aw, man, that’s tough. Now I’m bummed out.

This one might've been my fave to "Have you touched Connor Bedard's stick? (and did he know?)

Petr Mrazek: People can’t touch it? I didn’t know that. I touch it if I want.

Dominic Basse, Hawks goalie prospect, is transferring to St. Cloud State for his 5th year of college hockey. Hawks have to sign him by this August 15th. I wonder if the Hawks do sign him knowing that he can play in college next season and his pro career won't start until 2025-26. That would avoid a log jam in the minors since Commesso and Stauber will probably be between the pipes in Rockford.
- boilermaker100

As I know it you can't be signed to a pro contract and play college hockey. If Basse does play NCAA hockey next yr I guess it means the Hawks lost him.

https://twitter.com/Chi_Prospects/status/1775562238167744988?s=19

This is a clip of Roman and his go get the puck mentality. Reichel needs to watch this, he's doing better but he really needs to be tenacious. I always get a kick out of Bedard checking his opponent all over the ice, it's nice to see a player of his caliber playing that way.

The way i understand it, Lardis, Moore, Nazar and many more of KDs prospects have this mentality. Can't wait to see those players start working their way up the ranks.
- BetweenTheDots

Thanks for posting, Dots...... Some damn fine hockey right there. Notice how the smaller Kantserov uses his smaller stature to his advantage and gets UNDER the bigger Dman and wins the leverage battle. Damn fine play by that Dman to win that battle. ....... No wonder the 19 yr old is getting 14:00 TOI in the KHL playoffs. Kid is hungry. ... And, reading that score thingy in the corner it says Game 1 so I'm assuming that is rd 2 of the playoffs. So, he's on a winning team.

You just showed a clip of how I evaluate watching jrs. If I saw a kid make a play like the clip shows he's My Guy from then on out. Don't need to see anymore, he's My Guy. Period. Gimme a team full of these types but of course that's not really possible and shows my "scouting" flaws. But I'll be glad to miss every time on guys that play like the clip shows, including that Dman who matched his battle and won the puck.

This is exactly how I evaluated Scott Morrow live. He made a play like this vs the Steel in the playoffs I saw live. Didn't need to see anymore, he's My Guy. That summer he went to CAR in rd 2.

I've been able to watch a bit more of Moore. I like the direction he is headed. He plays the whole sheet of ice and likes to attack. Some things to clean up for sure, but he can certainly be one of these fast forwards that hounds the puck. I'm actually wondering if he eventually becomes a center for/with Bedard.

Not that I'm any sort of talent evaluator, but I keep thinking that Bedard on wing is not the worst thing in the world.
- Chunk

I absolutely love seeing Bedard at wing, "for now". He's 18 and undersized and drawing the opponent's best. Free the kid up from having to defend to Kopitar's of the league who are bigger, stonger and elite 200 ft players.

That line with D!ckenson centering it for 2 games has destroyed in the fancies. Great move, and waaaaaaay to late, by LR to free the kid up both on the ice and in the film room.

Believe me, it is not a bad move to draft really fast forwards, who think the game well and has so much lateral agility and great playmaking ability, or guys with short space quickbness and touch, or even take a chance on a smaller stocky Russian , but I gotta think there is going to stop being roster room for more smaller scoring options.
- wiz1901

Yep, and another angle that makes this draft so interesting, Wiz. Lindstrom in particular. The top forward prospects in the system are smallish but fast and skilled. Are the Hawks thinking like you are? We gotta look for some top 6 size?

That said how would the smallish Catton look with Bedard??? ..... It ain't easy GMing.

Dominic Basse, Hawks goalie prospect, is transferring to St. Cloud State for his 5th year of college hockey. Hawks have to sign him by this August 15th. I wonder if the Hawks do sign him knowing that he can play in college next season and his pro career won't start until 2025-26. That would avoid a log jam in the minors since Commesso and Stauber will probably be between the pipes in Rockford.
- boilermaker100

I certainly advocate the Hawks taking a chance on be obscure goalies that have seen while out scouting others.

I think when you have lots of picks, you don't necessarily hurt your long term outlook if you try and fail with later round tries at finding one.

Even in a year where the hawks have all those before slot 75 there's no reason to by pass a kid who looks like there is an upside.

I think Basse's college merry go round says a lot about how he fit/didn't fit at each school.

My favorite article on The Athletic is the one about the Chicago Steel's Michael Hage. Remember, I had him as the Hawks first pick in the second round, and then got frightened because I felt he very easily could have gone off the board earlier in the first and simply threw him up at the top of the 3rd round where I surmised the Tampa pick could stall if the they have an unsuccessful early series (like last year). we all just don't know how playoff series end up, but I figure, that slot will be "enough."
But the author, Scott Wheeler, commented when a Hawk fan said, "I was hoping he (Hage) is there at Chicago’s Tampa pick, but it sounds like he may go higher now."
and Wheeler agreed[/I].

As I said in his profile, he is basically carrying the load for an average supporting cast so there may be lots of upside in his game.
But IF he is gone, there certainly are lots of other nice forwards there and maybe that is a spot to grab a RD if the forwards grade out less exciting.

Dominic Basse, Hawks goalie prospect, is transferring to St. Cloud State for his 5th year of college hockey. Hawks have to sign him by this August 15th. I wonder if the Hawks do sign him knowing that he can play in college next season and his pro career won't start until 2025-26. That would avoid a log jam in the minors since Commesso and Stauber will probably be between the pipes in Rockford.
- boilermaker100

I certainly advocate the Hawks taking a chance on be obscure goalies that have seen while out scouting others.

I think when you have lots of picks, you don't necessarily hurt your long term outlook if you try and fail with later round tries at finding one.

Even in a year where the hawks have all those before slot 75 there's no reason to by pass a kid who looks like there is an upside.

I think Basse's college merry go round says a lot about how he fit/didn't fit at each school.

My favorite article on The Athletic is the one about the Chicago Steel's Michael Hage. Remember, I had him as the Hawks first pick in the second round, and then got frightened because I felt he very easily could have gone off the board earlier in the first and simply threw him up at the top of the 3rd round where I surmised the Tampa pick could stall if the they have an unsuccessful early series (like last year). we all just don't know how playoff series end up, but I figure, that slot will be "enough."
But the author, Scott Wheeler, commented when a Hawk fan said, "I was hoping he (Hage) is there at Chicago’s Tampa pick, but it sounds like he may go higher now."
and Wheeler agreed.

As I said in his profile, he is basically carrying the load for an average supporting cast so there may be lots of upside in his game.
But IF he is gone, there certainly are lots of other nice forwards there and maybe that is a spot to grab a RD if the forwards grade out less exciting.

Thought this was a pretty good read from Bamford looking at the rebuild foundation starting to show itself. https://www.bleachernatio...ndation-become-more-real/

Thought this was a pretty good read from Bamford looking at the rebuild foundation starting to show itself. https://www.bleachernatio...ndation-become-more-real/
- Mr Ricochet

In the 2000s when i watched i didn't know any of the prospects, sure i heard of them and so on but they really weren't real to me until i was able to see them with my own eyes in a Blackhawks game. The internet has made this rebuild for me far more enjoyable with the ability to get clips, college hockey games, streaming and so on.

For example if this was the 2000s we never see that pass by Nazar to his teammate.

Hey Wiz, been watching the Erie v Kitchner series to get a look at Misiak. Erie won tonight to knot the series at 2 and it was their first home playoff win since 2017.

But two Erie kids really jum ped out but ain't draft eligible until 2025. Dman Scheafer is 16 with a September 5th birthday. At 6ft 1 in at 16 real nice size but this kid can really play. In a lotta plays, you can't miss the kid.... Assuming he's on your radar.

Same for 17 yr old 2025 draft eligible winger Malcolm Spence. Sept 25th birthday so he's near oldest a 2006 can be. Played Hlinka and last yr as a 16 yr old put of 42 pts with Erie. Helluva player at 6ft 2in 192lbs skating L1 and 1st unit PP with 62 in 65 reg season games. ...... Assume he too is on your radar.

The Erie roster seems really young and should be really tough next yr. Lotta 16 and 17 yr olds on a roster that made the playoffs and are making noise in them vs a very good Kitchner squad, that by the way traded for Sale. The Erie roster.. ........ .https://www.eliteprospect....com/team/868/erie-otters

The coach likes to shorten his bench, use Misiak for Dzone faceoffs and then get off so it's tough to get a read on him and what line he is. He's either L2 or L3 and is not on the top PP. Assuming he'll be back in Erie next yr for his final jrs season.

In the 2000s when i watched i didn't know any of the prospects, sure i heard of them and so on but they really weren't real to me until i was able to see them with my own eyes in a Blackhawks game. The internet has made this rebuild for me far more enjoyable with the ability to get clips, college hockey games, streaming and so on.

For example if this was the 2000s we never see that pass by Nazar to his teammate.
- BetweenTheDots

AND this clip is from Russia!!........ I absolutely love that guys like you, Hawk fans, that never paid much attention to jrs or NCAA play cuz the Hawks were good, winnin cups and drafted low are now interested in, and with the internets now exposed to, that wonderful world of hockey outside of the NHL.

Anyway, seems like you have some very good followers on the Twitter. Keep posting links of what you see. Very helpful.

A writer in the Athletic discusses the league's best shut down defenseman. Given the crriteria he chose, the highest rated are Gudas, Vlasic, Doughty, Sanderson and Forsling.

https://theathletic.com/5...best-shutdown-defensemen/


- boilermaker100

A gift from StanBowPops&McD. But, fair to ask would they have developed him properly? We'll never know, and don't have to, cuz KD and crew certainly did.

Always liked the kid, who wouldn't with that size/skating combo, going back to watching him live with the NTDP. But it was the game(s) v EDM that told me the kid is special. Kid was frustrating McDavid, causing him to check up once he saw it was Vlasic in front of him. That along with a play where McD enters at full speed, does a 360 in front of Vlasic at the dot and Vlasic's feet, read, and reach framed the freakish McD perfectly that told me that's all I need to see.

Another case where the fancies back up the eye test.

Vlasic is a difference maker, no doubt, and will get even better. A patient kid who took an extra yr at BU and accepted being in RKF last yr. He's always had his mind in the right place.

A writer in the Athletic discusses the league's best shut down defenseman. Given the crriteria he chose, the highest rated are Gudas, Vlasic, Doughty, Sanderson and Forsling.

https://theathletic.com/5...best-shutdown-defensemen/

Excerpt:

Regarding Vlasic, he writes:

Speaking of impressive defensive results on a bad team, Alex Vlasic has overtaken Seth Jones as the Blackhawks’ best blueliner. Vlasic’s combo of a 6-foot-6 frame and excellent skating is a nightmare for attackers to navigate around. He covers so much space and closes gaps exceptionally quickly with his reach and feet. The 22-year-old left-shot has logged the most minutes against “elite” competition of all Chicago defenders. Despite difficult top pair usage, Vlasic is driving the best expected goal share on the entire team (forwards included). Chicago has a near break-even goal differential during Vlasic’s minutes but has a whopping minus-73 goal differential when he’s on the bench at five-on-five.
- boilermaker100

There's an article today about another shutdown D who appears in the piece you mention, Chris Tanev. He's ranked in the top 15 and here's the excerpt...

Chris Tanev has consistently been one of the best defensive blueliners of the last decade. He’s a warrior shot-blocker, always on point with his positioning and reads and an underrated puck mover. Tanev is exactly what the Stars needed to beef up their top four for a playoff run.[/I]

The article today talks about the Hawks matchup with Dallas tomorrow and how Tanev was one of Bedard's fave Canuck players growing up.

Tanev was also one of the dmen mentioned as a guy the Hawks could target in the offseason to round out their blue line. Not sure if that's the direction they'll go but would be interesting.

This is from the other article appearing on the Hawk page today in The Athletic, titled, "Finding positive thoughts for 11 of the NHL’s non-playoff teams".

Chicago Blackhawks:

The negative: Year one of the Connor Bedard era may see them end up even worse than they were last season, which is really something since they spent all last year actively trying to lose.

Positive thought #1: Come on. You have Connor Bedard. Nobody feels sorry for you, and no reasonable Blackhawks fan is sulking right now. Bedard is amazing, he’ll be ridiculous in a few more years, and you’ve already locked in the single toughest piece of a Cup winner to find. We all hate you guys a little bit. Fine, sorry, that was wrong. It’s not a little bit.

Positive thought #2: While it’s pretty clear that contending wasn’t the plan this year, it’s worth remembering this team did go out and get Taylor Hall and Corey Perry in the offseason, then lost both early in the year. Maybe all that cost them was a few draft picks at the deadline, but it’s worth factoring in. Add a healthy Hall to a veteran core that includes an improved Seth Jones and a surprising Petr Mrazek, and there could be something here to build on.

Positive thought #3: I’m not saying you’re going to win the lottery and get Macklin Celebrini, but I’m also not not saying it. But even if you don’t, you’ll have a top-five pick to pad an already excellent prospect pool. Kyle Davidson knows what he’s doing, and while this is the easy part, he’s acing it. It just happens that acing it means losing a lot… for now.

This is from the other article appearing on the Hawk page today in The Athletic, titled, "Finding positive thoughts for 11 of the NHL’s non-playoff teams".

Chicago Blackhawks:

The negative: Year one of the Connor Bedard era may see them end up even worse than they were last season, which is really something since they spent all last year actively trying to lose.

Positive thought #1: Come on. You have Connor Bedard. Nobody feels sorry for you, and no reasonable Blackhawks fan is sulking right now. Bedard is amazing, he’ll be ridiculous in a few more years, and you’ve already locked in the single toughest piece of a Cup winner to find. We all hate you guys a little bit. Fine, sorry, that was wrong. It’s not a little bit.

Positive thought #2: While it’s pretty clear that contending wasn’t the plan this year, it’s worth remembering this team did go out and get Taylor Hall and Corey Perry in the offseason, then lost both early in the year. Maybe all that cost them was a few draft picks at the deadline, but it’s worth factoring in. Add a healthy Hall to a veteran core that includes an improved Seth Jones and a surprising Petr Mrazek, and there could be something here to build on.

Positive thought #3: I’m not saying you’re going to win the lottery and get Macklin Celebrini, but I’m also not not saying it. But even if you don’t, you’ll have a top-five pick to pad an already excellent prospect pool. Kyle Davidson knows what he’s doing, and while this is the easy part, he’s acing it. It just happens that acing it means losing a lot… for now.
- HawkintheD[/quote]

That is well said. Really curious to see what players they bring in next year. I think this team will be better and when i say better they will score more goals and give up less goals. The team record, well we'll see where that ends up falling.