Everything Else

And Now We’re Done And We Can Go Home: Hawks 0 – Yotes 2

By Sam Fels 1167 0

I’m kind of anxious to get onto the break so I’m just going to hammer this out in the aftermath instead of waiting a bit to reflect as usual. I’m sure you all understand. Let’s get right to it.

-I don’t think the Hawks weren’t interested tonight. The effort was there, which I feared it might not be. What they weren’t was interested in the right ways. What you can’t do against the Coyotes when they’re on their game is fancy-pants your way through the neutral zone and you certainly can’t put your dump-ins where Mike Smith can get it. It’s hard to do, and it takes a fuckton of patience, but you have to chip pucks into the corners or go cross-corner with your dump-ins. The Hawks didn’t do much of either. If you don’t, Smith is going to smother your forecheck by himself.

Secondly, the Coyotes while blocking off the middle of the ice were also determined to outnumber the Hawks in every board battle in their zone. Two guys vs. one, or three guys vs. two. And the Hawks were reluctant to even match them in manpower. They Hawks aren’t blessed with guys who can outwork a numerical disadvantage along the wall. They have Hossa and… well, Hossa. They needed to be a more aggressive in matching the numbers on the wall tonight.

Everything Else

One More Special Message To Go: Hawks at Coyotes Preview/Pregame Thread/Remaing In The Waiting Room

By Sam Fels 1257 0

Hawk Wrestler vs. spacecoyote

FACEOFF: 8pm Central

TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN Radio

SORRY, I AM A COYOTE: Five For Howling

The Hawks head into the Olympic break with one more game in the desert against a Coyotes squad that is being kept around the playoff picture thanks to the utter incompetence of the Canucks and Kings. They’ll have to do it a little more shorthanded than they’ve been all season.

Everything Else

2014 Ivy Drip Spring Training Issue And Subscriptions Now Open

By Sam Fels 1209 0

It’s hard to believe that pitchers and catchers report next week, considering you can’t go outside without crying these days (and then having your tears freeze). What’s not hard to believe is that I got pretty bored during this break from the indian. So to make up for that, I’ve done a spring training preview issue of The Ivy Drip, which is now out.

 If you’re new to our publication family, during the summer I do a digital weekly about the Cubs called The Ivy Drip (sorry Sox fans. I keep trying to convince Feather to do one for them, but he’s not listening). It comes out every Monday (or Tuesday if the Cubs are off on Monday) to wrap up the previous week and preview the next one. It’s a fun little project, and most everyone really seemed to enjoy it in our first summer last year.
It’s just $35 for the whole season right now and I’ll keep it there for the next two weeks. That’s 27 issues during the baseball season. So dive on in and support the cause. You can sign up where you get the Indian, by hitting the button in the top right corner of the page.
Everything Else

View From The Island

By Sam Fels 1376 0

Our friend Dominik from LighthouseHockey.com was kind enough to send along his thoughts on Regin and Bouchard.

Regin sounds like a coach Q dream: defensively focused, but little offensive punch. He should be good depth at center for the Hawks. The Isles barely used him though, ultimately preferring Brock Nelson (who is really good) and Casey Cizikas (who brings the North American grits) at 3C and 4C respectively.

Bouchard you probably remember from Minnesota. He still has the skills, but definitely shies the hell away from contact, so your fans will call him soft and he will annoy you when he dodges board battles yet will produce nice underlying possession stats anyway. Another good depth addition I’m sure.

The Isles weren’t using either player, for somewhat mysterious reasons (Capuano is a more traditional cliche-loving coach), so you can read that as alarming that Chicago want a last place team’s scraps…or you can read it as the last place team’s GM’s pro scouting is not on the same page as its coach.

Everything Else

Hawks Acquire Peter Regin And Pierre-Marc Bouchard: First Reactions

By Sam Fels 1924 0

Well, I was off the grid until my brother called, and once again Stan Bowman has made a bargain bin, could be more effective than we think or could be nothing move to bolster his team. It’s funny, when I hear trade with the Islanders I immediately think it’s Frans Nielsen because the Hawks have been rumored to have gone after him multiple times. But he’s pretty entrenched on the Island now, so I guess that won’t ever happen. What they did get was Peter Regin and Pierre-Marc Bouchard for a 4th round pick. The Islanders are picking up half the tab money-wise as well, which leads me to believe that Stan Bowman puts GMs under some kind of hypnosis when it comes time to talk about money.

Bouchard has already been assigned to Rockford, along with Brandon Pirri (who can probably watch his Hawks career fading into the distance at this point). We mentioned Bouchard earlier in the year when he was on waivers. He’s had his concussion problems and isn’t exactly a heavy. But he’s been a possession-driver on the Isles this year when he was there and not Bridgeport. Before his injury problems this is a guy who has had four 45+ point seasons, and the one with 38 in just 59 games. They’re a couple years in the rearview obviously, but he’s still just 29 and there might be some gas left in the tank. Though I’m curious if he ever gets out of Rockford, really.

Regin is the more interesting pick up. He’s an actual center, but a bottom six one. He’s been playing something of a checking role for the Isles, though he’s helpless at the dot. Wonder if we don’t see him centering Smith and Bollig/Bouchard with Smith taking the draws, and slotting Kruger either to the 2nd or 3rd line. Regin is also a bigger body at 6-2, and size in the middle is not something the Hawks have a lot of. And some of that size (Handzus) can’t move. Regin can certainly do that.

Both of these guys have been getting drilled in PDO because the Isles’ goaltending has been utter horse manure. So some of their numbers are a little skewed I guess. Neither is signed beyond this year so this is something of a flier. Doesn’t really cost you anything to give them a look and if they don’t work you’re back to the team you had anyway.

We’ll be back with more later.