When Steve from Glencoe and his son were at the draft, they talked to the Stenberg family and the younger brother to Blue's draftee Stenberg, told them he was going in the firdt round in his drfat year. Well he certainly isn't a scrub, so maybe...
- wiz1901

Wiz there are conflicting reports on matone not physical not a great skater not always engaged. So what is your quick assessment of him and is matone better than knies?

Those that scream the loudest for a rebuild are those with the least stomach for it.

Wiz there are conflicting reports on matone not physical not a great skater not always engaged. So what is your quick assessment of him and is matone better than knies?
- Scott1977

Martone’s Scouting report.
https://search.app/73EWja5esisgZ4gAA

Martone is a good skater, he has good speed and great balance, he needs to work on his first steps. He has a very good shot, he’s a good stick handler, and he’s an exceptional passer. Martone’s vision and hockey IQ are high. He’s tough as nails, he hits to hurt, he’s constantly jabbing, chirping and is involved in every scrum. He’s also one of the few 17 year olds who was a captain of his junior team.

As for Knies, it’s hard to tell where he will wind up, because if anyone foresaw how Knies plays today he would have been a first rounder.

Those that scream the loudest for a rebuild are those with the least stomach for it.
- wizardofi

Went to a hockey blog and fights broke out!

Not only you, but i am really enjoying reading all the impatient Blackhawk fans on here.

You guys reek of desperation.

He's gotta do this or he's gotta do that, the only thing he's gotta do is get the 3rd pick right.
- BetweenTheDots

Hawks are still rebuilding but yes this next season Hawks need to take that next in which playing meaningful games by the trade deadline. We all saw a glimpse of what the future could be the last month of last season. Imo the Hawks are finally on the upswing the offseason will be very interesting. Doubt marner will sign with Chicago but there are other avenues the Hawks can explore to improve their team.

The only thing that reeks is the on ice product. They haven't won a real playoff round since 2014.

Since when is signing the best available UFA desperate? The fans and the other players deserve some legit talent. 31 other teams would love to sign this guy.

Enjoyable watching how passive and patiently accepting horrible performance Blackhawk fans are on here.
- stevefrmglencoe

Case in point…there are some here who couldn’t even appreciate the team when it was winning Cups and certainly weren’t on board for the ride whenever it got the least bit bumpy. This “fan” seems to have blotted out an entire Cup winning season from memory/existence.

Some thoughts on the Ice Piggies from Powers yesterday in The Athletic…

3. Drew Commesso may have to still be patient for his NHL opportunity in net next season, considering who is ahead of him, but he at least has the Blackhawks’ attention again. From early March to the end of the season, he was often the reason why the IceHogs won games. In his final 15 regular-season starts, he had a .932 save percentage. In seven playoff games, he had a .926 save percentage.

4. If I were betting on one current Rockford forward prospect to become a permanent fixture with the Blackhawks, it’d probably be left winger Samuel Savoie. His speed and effort seem to affect the game consistently more than anyone else. He can change a game when he’s on and has more offense than given credit for, but he can still play an impactful role when he’s not producing. He gets on pucks quickly and either wins them or forces opponents into bad decisions. It’d be surprising if he didn’t get his first NHL look next season.

Some thoughts on the Ice Piggies from Powers yesterday in The Athletic…

3. Drew Commesso may have to still be patient for his NHL opportunity in net next season, considering who is ahead of him, but he at least has the Blackhawks’ attention again. From early March to the end of the season, he was often the reason why the IceHogs won games. In his final 15 regular-season starts, he had a .932 save percentage. In seven playoff games, he had a .926 save percentage.

4. If I were betting on one current Rockford forward prospect to become a permanent fixture with the Blackhawks, it’d probably be left winger Samuel Savoie. His speed and effort seem to affect the game consistently more than anyone else. He can change a game when he’s on and has more offense than given credit for, but he can still play an impactful role when he’s not producing. He gets on pucks quickly and either wins them or forces opponents into bad decisions. It’d be surprising if he didn’t get his first NHL look next season.
- HawkintheD

I really like Commesso overall, and think he will ultimately be at least a 1B, but he's done this three years now. He has a good and a bad partial season. Maybe some of that can be chalked up to not being healthy, but not all of it. From where I sit, he needs at least another year in Rockford to prove that he can be effective over an entire season.

Savoie is kind of a similar story. He started off like a bat out of hell, then was less noticeable in the middle of the season. He ended strong in about the last 10 games of the regular season and all through the playoffs. As with all the kids, consistency will be key.

Note: Sounds like Arty is going to be training all offseason in Florida. Seems he has some friends down there and has a plan in place. If I were a betting man, I'd say he starts next year in the AHL, and then works his way back up. This is especially dependent on the coach, but I think they will want him to prove that he is more consistently dependable before they give him a spot in the NHL lineup.

Hawks are still rebuilding but yes this next season Hawks need to take that next in which playing meaningful games by the trade deadline. We all saw a glimpse of what the future could be the last month of last season. Imo the Hawks are finally on the upswing the offseason will be very interesting. Doubt marner will sign with Chicago but there are other avenues the Hawks can explore to improve their team.
- Scott1977

Signing Marner is like Toronto signing Tavares, a waste of time. Give him what he wants? WTF, great idea let's end up in salary cap hell even before we end up with a winning record.

I remember the good old days when we traded for Seth Jones, signed McCabe and made a couple of other moves, to end up with a grand total of 68 points. We were only shy of that total by 7 points this past season.

I'd rather they spend on 3 sound hard to play against hockey players so we have another line that can drive possession.

We lost so many 1 goal games this year

I think if the Blackhawks score less than 60 points next season his job may be in jeopardy.

I do have a sneaking suspicion when Danny signed up for this he understands it is going to take 5 years, because he knows if he brings someone else in they might blow it all up.

I'll even add, Danny's got to like what he's seeing in the farm system and young players who have seen time in the NHL. I don't think he's going to (frank) with the promise of tomorrow because he can't wait one more year.
- BetweenTheDots

They hit 59 points with a team that was trying to tank for Bedard. They hit 52 Bedard's first year and 61 this past year. If they don't hit at least 70 - five more wins - next year with a new coach (who is expected to be a notable upgrade from the past three years), the forward competition ramping up with all of the kids and potentially a high end FA/trade addition, the D-men all having extensive experience, and a competent set of goalies, I think KD is in serious trouble.

If you listen to everyone's end of year media, they all are saying the bottom is unacceptable, "we can't have a repeat of this again", "it's not good enough", "we need to put wins on the board". Danny doesn't give a poop about the farm system. He cares that the CHSN debacle resulted in a 78% decline in viewership, and that his attendance is leveling off and will potentially follow that. Everyone and their mother (fans/media/team staff/players) says they can't have another repeat of this season. If you think Danny will be happy about getting another top 3 pick, you are seriously fooling yourself.

Signing Marner is like Toronto signing Tavares, a waste of time. Give him what he wants? WTF, great idea let's end up in salary cap hell even before we end up with a winning record.

I remember the good old days when we traded for Seth Jones, signed McCabe and made a couple of other moves, to end up with a grand total of 68 points. We were only shy of that total by 7 points this past season.

I'd rather they spend on 3 sound hard to play against hockey players so we have another line that can drive possession.

We lost so many 1 goal games this year
- BetweenTheDots

Aren't those the lines where the majority of the kids will get their playing time? Greene, Moore, Slaggert, (potentially) the #3 pick, Savoie, Spellacy, Reichel, Misiak, Lardis, etc likely aren't going to be gifted top line duties right off the bat. That sounds like replacing Maroon/Smith/etc with similar guys, but younger. The Hawks were 26th in the league in goals and 31st in goals against. Despite people's reservations about his playoff "weaknesses" he is a bonafide top point producer in the league with solid defensive acumen. He (or someone like him) would basically be what everyone hoped TT would be last year - an actual linemate for Bedard.

They hit 59 points with a team that was trying to tank for Bedard. They hit 52 Bedard's first year and 61 this past year. If they don't hit at least 70 - five more wins - next year with a new coach (who is expected to be a notable upgrade from the past three years), the forward competition ramping up with all of the kids and potentially a high end FA/trade addition, the D-men all having extensive experience, and a competent set of goalies, I think KD is in serious trouble.

If you listen to everyone's end of year media, they all are saying the bottom is unacceptable, "we can't have a repeat of this again", "it's not good enough", "we need to put wins on the board". Danny doesn't give a poop about the farm system. He cares that the CHSN debacle resulted in a 78% decline in viewership, and that his attendance is leveling off and will potentially follow that. Everyone and their mother (fans/media/team staff/players) says they can't have another repeat of this season. If you think Danny will be happy about getting another top 3 pick, you are seriously fooling yourself.
- Chunk

So is Danny going to fire himself for the CHSN debacle? Probably not

Look i understand fans are frustrated but do you really think Danny didn't ask KD what kind of time line are we looking at? If KD said anything less than 5 years than he's a fool. There's plenty of fans including myself that understand this is for the greater good, maybe i have a thicker skin for losing since i grew up a Cubs fan, but from what i see he's going about in a great way. If anything i think KD bought himself more time with winning the Bedard sweepstakes, and how well Rinzel, Nazar, and Arty are showing.

We got a bonus top 3 pick this year, which we are not trading unless it's a fabulous deal.

Signing Marner is like Toronto signing Tavares, a waste of time. Give him what he wants? WTF, great idea let's end up in salary cap hell even before we end up with a winning record.

I remember the good old days when we traded for Seth Jones, signed McCabe and made a couple of other moves, to end up with a grand total of 68 points. We were only shy of that total by 7 points this past season.

I'd rather they spend on 3 sound hard to play against hockey players so we have another line that can drive possession.

We lost so many 1 goal games this year
- BetweenTheDots

Bowman was let go in October of that year because of the Beach fiasco, and KD came in and decided he was going to tank it immediately, by bringing in King as an interim and telling him not to change anything Colliton had put in place, and starting to rip it down by trading Hagel at the deadline.

So when management doesn't care to try and win games, guess what you get?

EDIT: Anaheim improves by 21 points last year, and they bring in Q. Verbeek was hired as GM the same time Davidson was hired asthe permanent GM by the Hawks.

Aren't those the lines where the majority of the kids will get their playing time? Greene, Moore, Slaggert, (potentially) the #3 pick, Savoie, Spellacy, Reichel, Misiak, Lardis, etc likely aren't going to be gifted top line duties right off the bat. That sounds like replacing Maroon/Smith/etc with similar guys, but younger. The Hawks were 26th in the league in goals and 31st in goals against. Despite people's reservations about his playoff "weaknesses" he is a bonafide top point producer in the league with solid defensive acumen. He (or someone like him) would basically be what everyone hoped TT would be last year - an actual linemate for Bedard.
- Chunk

If we were one player away, sure, but we are still in the research and development part of the rebuild.

It already looks like Bedard and Rinzel might get a significant increase in pay. Nazar sure looks like he might be a top 6 player, Arty has got the tool bag for sure and if it all comes together..... Knight is going to get an increase in pay as well, poop adds up quick, so I'll pass on overpaying on a very good FA.

Bowman was let go in October of that year because of the Beach fiasco, and KD came in and decided he was going to tank it immediately, by bringing in King as an interim and telling him not to change anything Colliton had put in place, and starting to rip it down by trading Hagel at the deadline.

So when management doesn't care to try and win games, guess what you get?

EDIT: Anaheim improves by 21 points last year, and they bring in Q. Verbeek was hired as GM the same time Davidson was hired asthe permanent GM by the Hawks.
- LAHawk

Didn't JC go like 1-13 to start the season, who you crapping

The 4 years before they started the rebuild didn't help either because they were being the Red Wings stuck in not making the playoffs and not getting a top 5 pick.

And if you look at the Ducks it took them 6 years to get to 80 points, so KD only gets 3, got it.

I had to look it up JC to start that season 1-11

Bowman was let go in October of that year because of the Beach fiasco, and KD came in and decided he was going to tank it immediately, by bringing in King as an interim and telling him not to change anything Colliton had put in place, and starting to rip it down by trading Hagel at the deadline.

So when management doesn't care to try and win games, guess what you get?

EDIT: Anaheim improves by 21 points last year, and they bring in Q. Verbeek was hired as GM the same time Davidson was hired asthe permanent GM by the Hawks.
- LAHawk

I don’t know when they decided to rebuild/retool but it started earlier…maybe when they drafted Zegras?

Not sure, but Verbeek also already had players in place like McTavish, Terry, Vatrano, Zegras and a few others when he took over the team.

So is Danny going to fire himself for the CHSN debacle? Probably not

Look i understand fans are frustrated but do you really think Danny didn't ask KD what kind of time line are we looking at? If KD said anything less than 5 years than he's a fool. There's plenty of fans including myself that understand this is for the greater good, maybe i have a thicker skin for losing since i grew up a Cubs fan, but from what i see he's going about in a great way. If anything i think KD bought himself more time with winning the Bedard sweepstakes, and how well Rinzel, Nazar, and Arty are showing.

We got a bonus top 3 pick this year, which we are not trading unless it's a fabulous deal.
- BetweenTheDots

WTF are you talking about? I literally said that he doesn't want his attendance to start going the way of his viewership. What's the quickest way for that to happen... oh yeah, the team sucking ass for the fourth year straight and no progress being shown.

No one cares what's in the pipeline if the team on the ice shows no signs of being competitive or PROGRESSING. This will be Bedard's third year. Nazar's second (sort of). KK and Rinzel are likely to break camp with the Hawks. Arty has a good chance, but I think they'll make sure he is trustworthy first. That's five of KD's first round picks, with the possibility of Moore and whoever they draft this year.

They've moved out most of the dead weight, and Foligno and Richardenson are still somewhat useful. I'd guess Donato gets resigned, and Reichel will be on a very short leash.

For every one fan like you, there are 100 that will say "I'm not paying to watch an AHL team get slaughtered."

If you have all that high end talent playing and nothing to show for it, what do you think will happen. If you were running a company, and your GM said "hey, look at all this talent I brought in" and you were no better (or worse) than when you started four years ago, are you keeping that guy in charge? I'm sure KD said that this thing will take time, but Danny will need to see some sort of progress this year, or KD gonna get poop-canned. You don't just magically go from the basement to playoffs. There are stages of progression (unless you are Buffalo, then it's just wading in poop).

WTF are you talking about? I literally said that he doesn't want his attendance to start going the way of his viewership. What's the quickest way for that to happen... oh yeah, the team sucking ass for the fourth year straight and no progress being shown.

No one cares what's in the pipeline if the team on the ice shows no signs of being competitive or PROGRESSING. This will be Bedard's third year. Nazar's second (sort of). KK and Rinzel are likely to break camp with the Hawks. Arty has a good chance, but I think they'll make sure he is trustworthy first. That's five of KD's first round picks, with the possibility of Moore and whoever they draft this year.

They've moved out most of the dead weight, and Foligno and Richardenson are still somewhat useful. I'd guess Donato gets resigned, and Reichel will be on a very short leash.

For every one fan like you, there are 100 that will say "I'm not paying to watch an AHL team get slaughtered."

If you have all that high end talent playing and nothing to show for it, what do you think will happen. If you were running a company, and your GM said "hey, look at all this talent I brought in" and you were no better (or worse) than when you started four years ago, are you keeping that guy in charge? I'm sure KD said that this thing will take time, but Danny will need to see some sort of progress this year, or KD gonna get poop-canned. You don't just magically go from the basement to playoffs. There are stages of progression (unless you are Buffalo, then it's just wading in poop).
- Chunk

The attendance won't Chunk, and Pope posted an article about how attendance actually went up this year,

I was wrong it did go down
https://x.com/BenPopeCST/...tatus/1911495307268944362

I don’t know when they decided to rebuild/retool but it started earlier…maybe when they drafted Zegras?

Not sure, but Verbeek also already had players in place like McTavish, Terry, Vatrano, Zegras and a few others when he took over the team.
- HawkintheD

I dunno if we are overly paitent, Steve, or we just understand how cyclic things become after Championships, that same doldrums that the Lkightning are experiencing, good to compete, but not enough horses to win.

I do not ever remember a complete tear down the likes of which Kyle Davidson embarked;everone seems to think it was simply to get in range for better quality shots at drafting elite players, but can anyone think of any team who has embarks on a simiar path to the extent the Blackhawks did? I certainlt can't.

I think that there was a projected timeline and the two UFA strikes at veteran additions didn't attract the high end UFA, and you can blame KD for not procuring additions or just know in your hearts that no player necessarily wants to miss the playoffs.
I think you let the plan continue.
The better news is they added a goalie and big Sam Rinzel adds a defender who is adavnce much further than #55 Arty or #14 KK and Rinzel hits the ice and instantly passes the farm Murphy, Crevier, Kaiser, Vlasic and the farm.

Ths makes this team better to improve.

The cother ollege boys will add some energy and whthere they get a vet, a promising young NHLer, or help from their draft, this is now a situation where you want to coach these kids to success.

I can wait as lnga s it takes...

I want KD to get Tavares or Brock Nelson for 2 to 3 years at around $7M. I don't want Ehlers, Marner or Boeser for 7 years when we have a lot of prospects coming and not sure who will play where. I think in 2 to 3 years we will have a good idea of what we need.

I think as long as we see modest improvement next year, and the kids continue to play, there will be interest from the fans. I can tell you the last 10 games were a lot more enjoyable to watch than the previous 72.

And for the draft mark me down for Desnoyers. That is a kid you will win with.

The attendance won't Chunk, and Pope posted an article about how attendance actually went up this year,

I was wrong it did go down
https://x.com/BenPopeCST/...tatus/1911495307268944362
- BetweenTheDots

One interesting trend during the 2025 portion of the season was the difference in crowd sizes for weekend vs. weeknight games. After New Year’s, the Hawks’ average attendance was 17,020 for Monday-through-Thursday games and 19,452 for Friday-through-Sunday games.

They announced fewer than 17,000 five times; all came in weeknight games during 2025. They exceeded 20,000 four times, three of which came after March 22.

And you don't think those numbers get worse if the team performs again like it did this season?