I don't believe that KFC has any desire to make this team better this year. He wants that top 1-3 pick. But as the team gets better how about a fourth line of Blackwell- Katchouk- Rafferty. They are tenatious!

What about a defenseman like Cale Makar? Like say a defenseman who plays for Saginaw in the OHL who has .5 goals and 1.5 points a game this season?
- paulr

Notice that I posted all things being equal Paul. I’m thinking that Makar would be in the conversation to go first overall, if all players in the world were draft eligible.

Man, not exactly sharpshooters on this team, but if we look at the roster… I’m going to bring up team defense. In the month of January the Hawks have played 14 games and have given up 40 goals, and four have been scored against them on empty nets. So basically their GAA is 2.58, that’s darn good in my book. LR and his coaching staff are setting a tone, that bodes well for their future. Imagine how much better their defense will be when Allan, Del Mastro, Kaiser, and/or Phillips become the replacements for guys like Megna and Tinordi. Always draft BPA, but if all things are equal, they have to draft forwards with their first two picks.
- Angotti

Imagine how much better the D will be when the puck is in the offensive zone, when they get to play with a lead??

Glad Wiz chimed in on Kuzmenko. I'll take his word that Kuz doesn't play defense but under the circumstances I'll still take him on this roster. They are in dire need of some kinda offense this yr, and he brings real speed, so development of the kids don't get stunted by an offense so bad and next yr a top 6 that has Bedard, Hall, Kurashev and Kuzmenko ain't the worst and it's a reasonable starting point to add to as kids like Dach comes up.

Notice that I posted all things being equal Paul. I’m thinking that Makar would be in the conversation to go first overall, if all players in the world were draft eligible.
- Angotti

With his numbers I’m surprised Parekh isn’t being talked about more. I haven’t seen enough of most of these players and I haven’t seen many live. I can tell you lots about Beckett Sennecke and Ben Danford, both draft eligible but neither top 15. I’ve only seen clips of Eiserman. I’ve seen Lindholm in a few games on TV but it’s not the same as live and I have no way of comparing guys who aren’t actually competing against each other. After Celebrini, who’s the consensus number one, I still like Lindholm for all the boxes he checks, but I have no idea if I’m right?

Man, not exactly sharpshooters on this team, but if we look at the roster… I’m going to bring up team defense. In the month of January the Hawks have played 14 games and have given up 40 goals, and four have been scored against them on empty nets. So basically their GAA is 2.58, that’s darn good in my book. LR and his coaching staff are setting a tone, that bodes well for their future. Imagine how much better their defense will be when Allan, Del Mastro, Kaiser, and/or Phillips become the replacements for guys like Megna and Tinordi. Always draft BPA, but if all things are equal, they have to draft forwards with their first two picks.
- Angotti

It is pretty good, you are right. I like that they have been limiting the goals against lately and playing mostly close games. I have to wonder though if some of that is also tied to the lack of offense. I feel like when the Hawks score goals, they get a lead, the other team will then turn up the heat and we give up more goals in the end. That might be me just being pessimistic.

Overall, in 2024, compared to the first few months of the season they limited the "High Danger" chances a bit more at 5v5 and the goaltending against those high danger chances has been coming up with more saves. I think some of it comes down to a bit better rebound control lately too, because those are where some of those high danger chances start to pile up. The goalie doesn't have to make the second or third high danger save or give up a goal on the second or third chance if they don't cough up a rebound, or control it by sending the puck to the corner.

I do hope they focus on defense first, as the goals will come as the forwards come back healthy and they build the forward ranks.

Jiříček

Doubtful. I don't think Danny Wirtz wants to pay the seamstress for all those extra symbols above the letters in his last name. Frugal genes die hard in the Wirtz family.
- Rota's Rooter

White out, and a black magic marker - and that addresses the potential thriftiness issues.



...edited- oh yeh - and get an intern to do it ...

Scott Powers wirtes about Del Mastro in the Athletic -

The Chicago Blackhawks aren’t the only ones tracking their prospects’ development.

Other teams are as well.

The abundance of defenseman prospects in the Blackhawks’ pipeline is no secret around the league. While the likes of Kevin Korchinski and Alex Vlasic may be untouchable at this point, if a lot of their young defensemen develop into NHL-caliber players, there may not be enough space for them with the Blackhawks. It’s not a bad problem to have too many prospects pan out, but other teams are doing their homework to see if someone like Gustav Forsling might slip through the organizational cracks.

Ethan Del Mastro is one of those defenseman prospects many people are intrigued about. He isn’t as highly touted as some of the other Blackhawks prospects, but he was a top defenseman in the OHL, has played for Canada internationally and possesses some attributes that could translate well to the NHL level.

And so far in his first pro season, Del Mastro is showing he’s worth keeping an eye on over the coming years. He’s utilized his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame to be a presence in the defensive zone for the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL. He’s run the IceHogs’ power play and produced. He’s worked to be more aggressive, get his feet moving and not sit back so much against the rush. They’re all reasons why Del Mastro was selected by the AHL coaches as the IceHogs representative at the upcoming AHL All-Star Game.

“I think he’s come a long way with his overall play, especially his defensive habits,” IceHogs coach Anders Sorensen said. “His stick has gotten a lot better. How he defends the rush is better. And obviously where we saw some opportunity was as our power-play guy.”

Del Mastro’s skills with a puck are a bonus, but it’s his size and defensive-zone play that will be evaluated most in whether he cracks the NHL. Del Mastro also realizes he has to be patient.

“You know, first year, you’re not expecting anything crazy,” Del Mastro said about being promoted to the NHL. “It’s about being in the moment and getting better in the place you’re in. I think here in Rockford, I’m given a lot of opportunity as a young guy. I think that’s very valuable and should not (take) that for granted and kind of use that to the best of my ability to take steps and show them I’m ready for the next level. I think that’s where I’m kind of right now.”

The 21-year-old Del Mastro isn’t on the verge of the NHL just yet. There is a lot of development still to be done, but he is progressing. He is a left-handed defenseman, but he said he’s comfortable playing on the right side, too. The IceHogs haven’t tried him there yet. For now, there are other areas to focus on.

“We’ve been encouraging him to gap up early coming out of the offensive zone, kind of surf in on guys, taking on rushes skating forward,” Sorensen said. “He is a big guy, but he covers a lot of ice. The biggest thing for him is trying to get his feet moving and defending forward, but also having a good stick. Because he is so rangy, he can break up a lot of plays with that. And then the big thing is defending from the middle out, and we’ve worked with him a lot on that.”

Something Sorensen has worked on with Del Mastro and the other young defensemen prospects in Rockford differently this season is their defensive zone breakouts.

“As far as puck movement, we have created more of a roadmap for our D because we felt like we had a lot of young D coming in,” Sorensen said. “We put them in a lot of retrieval situations in practices and they have to know where our outs are. We have a structure where everybody knows where it’s going all the time. I think that’s helped our D be more predictable for each other, but also for our forwards.”

Scott Powers wirtes about Del Mastro in the Athletic -

The Chicago Blackhawks aren’t the only ones tracking their prospects’ development.

Other teams are as well.

The abundance of defenseman prospects in the Blackhawks’ pipeline is no secret around the league. While the likes of Kevin Korchinski and Alex Vlasic may be untouchable at this point, if a lot of their young defensemen develop into NHL-caliber players, there may not be enough space for them with the Blackhawks. It’s not a bad problem to have too many prospects pan out, but other teams are doing their homework to see if someone like Gustav Forsling might slip through the organizational cracks.

Ethan Del Mastro is one of those defenseman prospects many people are intrigued about. He isn’t as highly touted as some of the other Blackhawks prospects, but he was a top defenseman in the OHL, has played for Canada internationally and possesses some attributes that could translate well to the NHL level.

And so far in his first pro season, Del Mastro is showing he’s worth keeping an eye on over the coming years. He’s utilized his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame to be a presence in the defensive zone for the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL. He’s run the IceHogs’ power play and produced. He’s worked to be more aggressive, get his feet moving and not sit back so much against the rush. They’re all reasons why Del Mastro was selected by the AHL coaches as the IceHogs representative at the upcoming AHL All-Star Game.

“I think he’s come a long way with his overall play, especially his defensive habits,” IceHogs coach Anders Sorensen said. “His stick has gotten a lot better. How he defends the rush is better. And obviously where we saw some opportunity was as our power-play guy.”

Del Mastro’s skills with a puck are a bonus, but it’s his size and defensive-zone play that will be evaluated most in whether he cracks the NHL. Del Mastro also realizes he has to be patient.

“You know, first year, you’re not expecting anything crazy,” Del Mastro said about being promoted to the NHL. “It’s about being in the moment and getting better in the place you’re in. I think here in Rockford, I’m given a lot of opportunity as a young guy. I think that’s very valuable and should not (take) that for granted and kind of use that to the best of my ability to take steps and show them I’m ready for the next level. I think that’s where I’m kind of right now.”

The 21-year-old Del Mastro isn’t on the verge of the NHL just yet. There is a lot of development still to be done, but he is progressing. He is a left-handed defenseman, but he said he’s comfortable playing on the right side, too. The IceHogs haven’t tried him there yet. For now, there are other areas to focus on.

“We’ve been encouraging him to gap up early coming out of the offensive zone, kind of surf in on guys, taking on rushes skating forward,” Sorensen said. “He is a big guy, but he covers a lot of ice. The biggest thing for him is trying to get his feet moving and defending forward, but also having a good stick. Because he is so rangy, he can break up a lot of plays with that. And then the big thing is defending from the middle out, and we’ve worked with him a lot on that.”

Something Sorensen has worked on with Del Mastro and the other young defensemen prospects in Rockford differently this season is their defensive zone breakouts.

“As far as puck movement, we have created more of a roadmap for our D because we felt like we had a lot of young D coming in,” Sorensen said. “We put them in a lot of retrieval situations in practices and they have to know where our outs are. We have a structure where everybody knows where it’s going all the time. I think that’s helped our D be more predictable for each other, but also for our forwards.”

- boilermaker100

Ethan Del Busto.

Ethan Del Busto.
- paulr

Not this kid, he will prove to be a very astute selection at 105th overall by the previous regime. And he's a big boy too, I just want to see another 10 lbs on that frame.

Bye bye Tinordi, Zaitsev, Roos and maybe Phillips to clear the way for him. Might see him in a coupke of NHL games this year.

Not this kid, he will prove to be a very astute selection at 105th overall by the previous regime. And he's a big boy too, I just want to see another 10 lbs on that frame.

Bye bye Tinordi, Zaitsev, Roos and maybe Phillips to clear the way for him. Might see him in a coupke of NHL games this year.
- RickJ

It'd be nice to say goodbye to them, well except for Phillips not working out, I just keep thinking what a fortunate way to rebuild, to have Vlasic, Del Mastro and Allen in the system developing their games already. You add Korchinski to that mix this blue line is taking shape.

Thanks for the replies on Kouzmenko yesterday, guys. I would be inclined to trade for him not only because he could potentially bring the scoring this team needs, but because if he did, he'd get a great return at next year's deadline. Vancouver has a real need to move his contract for cap space. I doubt the Hawks could extract a 2nd along with him, as they did with D*ckinson, but they shouldn't be as desperate for a forward as they were when they gave them a fifth for Beauvillier.

Ethan Del Busto.
- paulr

Stan and the previous scouting group drafted every defenseman in pipeline not named KK. That doesn't fit the narrative.

On the Del maestro article:

how "Gustav Forsling might slip through the organizational cracks."

The Vancouver organization's cracks?

b/c that is how they acquired him.

In 2019 StanBo felt adding DeHaan 4.5 mil contract solidified the defense more than Forsling's trade-off as a more offensive and less defensive end player wherewithall. And also partially due to being injured with different issues while a hawk.

He was 23 and the hawks chose to go another way, and I think StanBo figured that there wasn't room for both Forsling and their new star, Adam Boqvist.

So Forsling with 122 NHL games under his belt, he was waived in Carolina, and Florida got a young defenseman after he was surrounded by the Panther veteran defensemen.

This says a lot about the impatience that teams GM can have, sometimes the continual trading to revitalize the on ice product ends up reversing fortunes.

He never played a game in Carolina, and probably let them know he wasn't pleased.


I think there is a lessons behind this.

Teams that are I the must win mode, are sometime great to transition young players into to improve, but also they are under microscopes game to game.

Situations like Chicago current rebuild gives young players a longer rope, and the luxury or being moved in and out of the line-up.

I haven't even started to read the Del Mastro article, but I don't think he or Nolan become trade fodder, as there has been improvement by many of the kids they have up.

I don't think any are going to be traded off in the not too distant future because of "logjam."

The fact the Blackhawks are in on a top 5 pick this season, and will still be in the lottery running even in 2025 and will again get a good player and a chance at another with that Toronto pick.

Richardson HAS a staff that works patiently with the huge number of kids on the backline, and I think they are doing a good as they have less stress of standings situation, and they can strengthen the kids games, so when they are going to trade one, two, they will have better barter.

I suspect they will happily start having conversations when some team(s) start offering their surplus at young forward.

Thanks for the replies on Kouzmenko yesterday, guys. I would be inclined to trade for him not only because he could potentially bring the scoring this team needs, but because if he did, he'd get a great return at next year's deadline. Vancouver has a real need to move his contract for cap space. I doubt the Hawks could extract a 2nd along with him, as they did with D*ckinson, but they shouldn't be as desperate for a forward as they were when they gave them a fifth for Beauvillier.
- 333inthe3rd

No, they could extract a second from the Canucks...they probably would have to throw one in, because the Canucks are not giving him away, despite their cap issues.

I saw that the scribes were wondering if Kuzmenko would even be willing to go to non-playoff team.
Jeez, less than two years in the league, and he thinks he has privilege?
That seems an insult to every player scratching and working to score goals and stick with an NHL club.
This isn't Panarin lite.
(Because Panarin will occasionally fight hard for possessions, while everything I have seen form this guy is he is more shy of contact than Kurashev.)

Not this kid, he will prove to be a very astute selection at 105th overall by the previous regime. And he's a big boy too, I just want to see another 10 lbs on that frame.

Bye bye Tinordi, Zaitsev, Roos and maybe Phillips to clear the way for him. Might see him in a coupke of NHL games this year.
- RickJ

I was being sarcastic, I hope for him to be an important part of the team. We saw a glimpse in the world juniors of an all around defenseman capable of shutting down opponents while still being able to move the puck and contribute on offense.

I was being sarcastic, I hope for him to be an important part of the team. We saw a glimpse in the world juniors of an all around defenseman capable of shutting down opponents while still being able to move the puck and contribute on offense.
- paulr

I believe Ethan Allen are being groomed to be the third pairing dmen in Chicago, if not next season the season after.

I believe Ethan Allen are being groomed to be the third pairing dmen in Chicago, if not next season the season after.
- BetweenTheDots

Why do you believe that? I would believe that Allen and Del Mastro are being developed to be the best they are capable of be it third, second, first pairing, seventh defenseman or Rockford farmhand.

Not this kid, he will prove to be a very astute selection at 105th overall by the previous regime. And he's a big boy too, I just want to see another 10 lbs on that frame.

Bye bye Tinordi, Zaitsev, Roos and maybe Phillips to clear the way for him. Might see him in a coupke of NHL games this year.
- RickJ

And remember Del Mastro only made the WJC roster 2 yrs back because of injury and then worked his way up to the 1st pairing IIRC. Paths matter in how a player sees himself both physically and more importantly mentally.

Del Mastro is not blue chipper and given the advantages of one. Doubt he'll take anything for granted and understands the value, and his need, to work hard for what he'll get.

But, like any player he's an asset to make the organIzation better. If that is filling a spot in the rotation or moving him for a need that's what you do, although there is nothing about the kid I do not like.

I was being sarcastic, I hope for him to be an important part of the team. We saw a glimpse in the world juniors of an all around defenseman capable of shutting down opponents while still being able to move the puck and contribute on offense.
- paulr

I know you were. I saw same as you, he played big minutes in that championship game. (While KK was used very sparingly). Just don't rush him, keep giving him big minutes in Rockford.

I know you were. I saw same as you, he played big minutes in that championship game. (While KK was used very sparingly). Just don't rush him, keep giving him big minutes in Rockford.
- RickJ

What I like, and I was hoping Phillips would show and what I hope Vlasic will is Del Mastro has a big mean streak. I think Allen has that make up as well. With Sudbury Phillips was a man against boys, he was hard to play against and he was physical. Either he’s not comfortable playing that way yet or he doesn’t have the confidence to bring that game to the next level.

I read the Powers piece on Rockford teaching defenders but ended on the John Scott podcast that was taken down per the organization.
I was concerning Corey Perry.
Has anybody heard it before he was ordered to take it down.

I think that Davidson hammered him, as a show the team had changed and was not going to put up with Perry type issues with could lead to suits involving sexual harassment.
Quoting Powers: "John Scott defended Perry, nonchalantly suggested why he thought Perry’s contract was terminated — which also happened to put the focus on another person — and then downplayed everything."


I would just like to know what was really said.

It won't change my decision on the fact the Hawks did what they thought they had to.

I read the Powers piece on Rockford teaching defenders but ended on the John Scott podcast that was taken down per the organization.
I was concerning Corey Perry.
Has anybody heard it before he was ordered to take it down.

I think that Davidson hammered him, as a show the team had changed and was not going to put up with Perry type issues with could lead to suits involving sexual harassment.
Quoting Powers: "John Scott defended Perry, nonchalantly suggested why he thought Perry’s contract was terminated — which also happened to put the focus on another person — and then downplayed everything."


I would just like to know what was really said.
- wiz1901

https://youtu.be/XQ4-HguUC90?si=QjNzJILBQU0JZEeh

Wiz I’m really liking Luke Misa, brother of expected top five draft pick in 2025 Michael Misa. He’s a great skater, has a great shot and release, is above average defensively and is slated for late second or third round in 2024. What is it about him that’s holding him from being a late first, early second pick?

Why do you believe that? I would believe that Allen and Del Mastro are being developed to be the best they are capable of be it third, second, first pairing, seventh defenseman or Rockford farmhand.
- paulr

I totally agree!

This is a potential future 3rd pair that they wants NHL ready to play hard minutes against better NHL lines, but all that IS projection.

The rest of the youngsters here are being taught, evaluated and I doubt right now they are looking back that these two are filling their spots here.

They are going to eventually see how much impact the current call-up can be counted on in the future and that excess is surplus they will use to trade for hopefully a young forward or two.

Wiz I’m really liking Luke Misa, brother of expected top five draft pick in 2025 Michael Misa. He’s a great skater, has a great shot and release, is above average defensively and is slated for late second or third round in 2024. What is it about him that’s holding him from being a late first, early second pick?
- paulr

Yeah, I am with you and I like of us getting lucky and selecting brother Michael Misa with teh 4th pick in 2025.