Faxes from Uncle Dale

Category: Hockey

  • High On The Hog: Alexandre Fortin’s Day Of Reckoning

    High On The Hog: Alexandre Fortin’s Day Of Reckoning

    The Chicago Blackhawks were hoping that they had found a diamond in the rough when they signed undrafted free agent Alexandre Fortin to an entry contract back in 2016. After dazzling the organization at that year’s prospect camp, Fortin turned in a solid effort in training camp and earned a three-year deal.

    That entry contract is set to expire at the close of the 2019-20 season. Fortin, who showed so much promise when the ink on his contract was still drying, is in his third season with the Rockford IceHogs. Did the Blackhawks strike it rich?

    No.

    Fortin was very noticeable on the ice at the BMO this weekend, where the IceHogs split a pair of games with San Antonio. As he enters the final months of his third pro season, Fortin is eyeing what may be his final chance to realize some of the raw potential he showed in the summer of 2016.

    Fortin was passed over in the 2015 and 2016 NHL drafts. The Blackhawks invited him to prospect camp after Fortin finished his junior season with Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. With the Huskies, he was ninth among team scorers with 19 goals and 24 assists in 54 games.

    Here’s what was being said about Fortin at the time of his signing. These quotes are from a Scott Powers article that ran in The Athletic back on September 25, 2016.

    “He’s a smart, cerebral kid who has a nice offensive skillset he’s been able to show early. He’s off to a real good start and trying to find a way into one of our exhibition games.”-former Blackhawks assistant coach Kevin Dineen.

    “I think he earned a contract. Right from the start, he stepped up and played. He’s been very consistent in every scrimmage. He’s been a threat to score out on the ice. I think he’s done a terrific job.”-former Chicago assistant Mike Kitchen.

    Fortin’s ELC slid for one season while he finished his junior career with Rouyn-Noranda in his final campaign in the QMJHL, he totaled 52 points (22 G, 30 A). Decent numbers but not eye-popping in what is considered a high-offense league.

    Fortin’s rookie year in Rockford yielded four goals and 17 assists in 53 games. He was called up early in the 2018-19 season and spent two months in Chicago. There, he collected his first NHL goal on October 21, 2018. This prompted a quote from Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville to Tom Musick of the Chicago Sun-Times:

    ‘‘He creates space and speed. He’s dangerous in that way.”I think defensively and technically, he’s getting better every game. . . . You’ve got that ingredient [of speed] that you don’t want to slow down.’

    Fortin totaled six points (3 G, 3 A) in 24 games with Chicago before being sent down to the IceHogs in mid-December. In 47 games with Rockford, he wound up with six goals and six helpers. Most of his goal output came in a pair of two-goal performances against the Chicago Wolves December 21 and February 1.

    Fortin has been injured a couple of times in this current season. He was injured after a six-points in five game (3 G, 3 A) stretch at the end of November and was out a month. He missed a month, returned for three games, then was out another two weeks.

    Since returning, Fortin had been scoreless up until this week. He had a two-assist performance in Tuesday’s win over Texas and a spectacular individual effort Friday to help Rockford beat San Antonio.

    Following Friday’s win, IceHogs coach Derek King was asked about Fortin’s shorthanded gem. Here was his response.

    “That’s his game, right? He’s not going to be a power play guy. He’s not going to be a top-six guy,” King said. “He can be a guy who kills penalties and creates energy and scores goals like that.”

    This weekend showcased Fortin at his best. A quick, hard-working defensive forward. Unfortunately, the weekend also showcased his limitations in terms of the impact he could have in the NHL.

    The kid created a ton of scoring chances, especially on Friday, but converted on just one. Let’s not downplay the importance of that goal or the effort involved. It was a great play. However, on the whole, Fortin does not possess the puck skills to consistently take advantage of the opportunities his feet create.

    Fortin does create space with his skating ability. He hustles after the puck and is an effective fore checker. Fortin also finds himself frequently losing the handle on pucks coming down the ice . This has improved some over his time in Rockford. However, it still is an issue even at the AHL level.

    Friday’s goal was just his fourth of the season. His shooting percentage of 6.8 percent is one of the lowest of the regular forwards. He is a bottom-six player in Rockford and has been for most of his time with the IceHogs. His offense just hasn’t developed all that much in three seasons.

    Could Fortin be a very effective checking forward at the next level? Possibly. Could Fortin be an offensive contributor on an ECHL squad next season? Possibly. In today’s NHL, however, I’m not sure he can sustain enough offensive potency to make an impact.

    What can you say about Fortin’s future in the organization? Well, the next couple months are key. Fortin will be an RFA this summer. If he stays healthy and can stick some of those scoring chances into opposing nets, he might be re-upped for another season.

    Let’s not throw around the B-word when discussing Fortin. Chicago made a low-risk signing of a player with great wheels and suspect hands. He’s turned out to be a player with great wheels and suspect hands. He has the next 26 games of this season to change that perception.

     

    Weekend Thoughts

    • The IceHogs were out shot by San Antonio in both games, but kept the Rampage at bay in terms of shots. The Rampage came into the weekend tops in the league with over 33 shots a game. They had 24 and 26 in the two games.
    • Collin Delia has started the last three games in Rockford.
    • San Antonio’s Ryan Olsen was suspended for Saturday’s tilt after a check to the head of Brandon Hagel in the third period of Friday’s game. Hagel was fine, playing on the resulting power play as well as the following evening. Bullet dodged; Hagel has been one of the bright spots for this team in the last few weeks.
    • Dylan Sikura has a seven-game point streak going. In that span, he has three goals and seven apples. With 27 points (12 G, 15 A) in 32 games, he’s back in second place to brother Tyler (12 G, 18 A) in scoring for Rockford.
    • Rockford is now 22-25-1-2 on the season. Their 47 points is good for sixth-place ahead of San Antonio in the AHL’s Central Division. However, their .470 points percentage places them under the Rampage in seventh place.
    • The IceHogs released Ben Youds from his PTO after 17 games. Youds played at both defense and forward, picking up seven assists in his second stint in Rockford. It looks like Youds is headed overseas to continue his career.
    • Rockford signed Garrett Mitchell to a PTO . Good signing. Mitchell is a long-time AHL veteran. He probably doesn’t score much with the Hogs, but he knows the game and should fit in well while he’s here. Mitchell played both games this weekend.
    • Gabriel Gagne has been a solid pickup for Rockford, with six points (3 G, 3 A) in ten games since signing his PTO January 18.
    • Brandon Bollig was back in Rockford as part of Blackhawks night and looked really happy to be there. He even took a spin on the Hamboni during the second intermission. It may have just been me, but he looked noticeably thinner (not in an unhealthy way by any measure) in his street clothes. Or maybe that’s the difference hockey pads make.
    • Also attending the contest Friday night was anthem singer Jim Cornelison, a terrific vocalist who has my respect. If only he would sing the anthem at a reasonable tempo from beginning to end. The third-graders who performed “The Star Spangled Banner” the following evening won’t be appearing with the Lyric Opera soon, but at least they nailed the pace.
    • Also appearing Friday was Tommy Hawk, who helped Hammy Hog handle the hyperbole around the BMO when he wasn’t thrashing him in the tic-tac-toe contest. In both of these endeavors, the Blackhawks mascot stood above his AHL conterpart for a similar reason. Namely, attire. It certainly is easier to incite the crowd and run/skate around the ice when you aren’t lugging the heft of a full-figured porcine.
    • That said, Hammy can benefit from the following unsolicited advice; when you come into the stands with the Papa John’s pizza promotion, under no circumstances should that box go to an adult. If you can’t find a kid to be the recipient, you aren’t looking hard enough.

     

    Recaps

    Friday, February 7-Rockford 3, San Antonio 2 (OT)

    Rockford prevailed 1:14 into the extra skating session. John Quenneville provided the game-winner to give the IceHogs consecutive victories for the first time in almost two months.

    After neither team dented a net in the opening twenty minutes, Rampage forward Klim Kostin powered to the Rockford net and slipped the biscuit past Hogs goalie Collin Delia in the first minute of the second period.

    Late in the middle frame, Alexandre Fortin outstanding individual effort led to shorthanded equalizer. Fortin, who created several breakaway opportunities on the evening with his skating, pounced on an errant pass in the neutral zone and made a beeline for the Rampage net.

    The end result was a sliding deke that allowed Fortin to flip the puck past San Antonio goalie Adam Wilcox, tying the game 1-1 at 18:35 of the second period.

    The IceHogs took a 2-1 lead 13:50 into the third period while the teams were skating four to a side. Dylan McLaughlin brought the puck out of the Rockford zone to lead the rush, though his shot attempt was denied by Wilcox. McLaughlin regained possession and skated around the offensive zone until Nicolas Beaudin pinched into the slot. Beaudin’s third goal of the season quickly followed.

    Just over a minute later, Austin Poganski pulled the Rampage even, knocking in a loose puck in a goal-mouth scrum. It remained 2-2 through the end of regulation.

    Quenneville’s Gus Macker heroics were set up by Dylan Sikura and Lucas Carlsson. After a Mike Vecchione shot attempt went wide of the Hogs net, Sikura the Younger won a board battle for possession of the puck. Carlsson hauled in the pass and headed up the right side, fighting off Vecchione all the way. The contest ended on Quenneville’s strike from the left dot.

    Quenneville was voted the game’s First Star, followed by Beaudin and Fortin. Delia posted the win with a 22-save effort.

    Lines (Starters in italics)

    John Quenneville-Tyler Sikura (C)-Dylan Sikura

    Brandon Hagel-Jacob Nilsson (A)-MacKenzie Entwistle

    Alexandre Fortin-Dylan McLaughlin-Gabriel Gagne

    Joseph Cramarossa-Reese Johnson-Garrett Mitchell

    Ian McCoshen (A)-Dennis Gilbert

    Joni Tuulola-Jacob Carlsson

    Nicolas Beaudin-Dmitri Osipov

    Collin Delia

    Kevin Lankinen

    Power Play (0-7)

    Nilsson-Hagel-McLaughlin-Entwistle-Baeudin

    D. Sikura-T. Sikura-Gagne-Quenneville-Carlsson

    Penalty Kill (San Antonio was 0-4)

    Forwards-Fortin-T. Sikura-Mitchell-Nilsson-Johnson-Cramarossa

    Defense-Gilbert-Tuulola-McCoshen-Osipov

     

    Saturday, February 8-San Antonio 3, Rockford 2

    The Rampage took the rematch in another physical, back-and-forth contest. Rockford’s win streak was halted at two games.

    The hero from the previous evening, John Quenneville, opened the scoring 13:28 into the first period. With the Hogs on the man advantage, Quenneville took a pass from Lucas Carlsson and sent a shot from the top of the right circle into the upper right corner of San Antonio goalie Ville Husso’s net.

    Rockford held that 1-0 lead until the final minutes of the first, when Nathan Walker brought the Rampage even, avoiding a poke check attempt by Collin Delia and five-holing the Hogs goalie.

    San Antonio would go up 2-1 46 seconds into the middle frame when Mike Vecchione knocked a loose puck past a prone Delia. The IceHogs would tie the game late in the second, again on the power play.

    This time, Carlsson sent a blast from the point that struck the crossbar and settled behind Husso. Gabriel Gagne was on hand at the left post to deliver the equalizer into the cage at the 16:21 mark.

    The Rampage got the eventual game-winner past Delia 6:58 into period three when Mitch Reinke fired from the outside of the right circle. The offering got over Delia’s shoulder and caught the far side of the net.

    Lines (Starters in italics)

    Brandon Hagel-Jacob Nilsson (A)-MacKenzie Entwistle

    John Quenneville-Tyler Sikura (C)-Dylan Sikura

    Alexandre Fortin-Dylan McLaughlin-Gabriel Gagne

    Joseph Cramarossa-Reese Johnson-Garrett Mitchell

    Joni Tuulola-Jacob Carlsson

    Ian McCoshen (A)-Dennis Gilbert

    Nicolas Beaudin-Dmitri Osipov

    Collin Delia

    Kevin Lankinen

    Power Play (2-5)

    Nilsson-Hagel-McLaughlin-Entwistle-Baeudin

    D. Sikura-T. Sikura-Gagne-Quenneville-Carlsson

    Penalty Kill (San Antonio was 0-4)

    Forwards-Fortin-T. Sikura-Mitchell-Nilsson-Johnson-Cramarossa

    Defense-Gilbert-Tuulola-McCoshen-Osipov

     

    Coming Up

    After going 2-3-0-1 on their longest home stand of the season, Rockford heads to Manitoba for back-to-back games with the Moose Wednesday and Thursday. The Hogs return to the BMO Saturday night to host Cleveland.

    Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for my thoughts on the IceHogs all season long.

  • Game #55: Hawks 2, Jets 5 – Despite There Being No Airport in Winnipeg, The Blackhawks Crashed

    Game #55: Hawks 2, Jets 5 – Despite There Being No Airport in Winnipeg, The Blackhawks Crashed

    Box Score

    Natural Stat Trick

    You guys, I’m telling you, I keep trying not to be too cynical/skeptical about this Blackhawks team. I keep wanting their little runs of success to be legitimate, wanting Coach Cool Youth Pastor’s system to finally be effective, wanting the blue line to overperform their on-paper skill, wanting Erik Gustafsson to just do one thing right in his own zone. And yet every time I think I may be getting what I want, the other shoe drops. Well tonight, that other shoe crashed down from the sky and landed hard in Winnipeg, though obviously not at an airport, because they don’t have one of those there. Let’s just get this over with:

    THE BULLETS (UNFORTUNATELY NOT THE KIND THAT COULD LODGE THEMSELVES IN MY BRAIN WHEN I”M WATCHING THE HAWKS)

    – First and foremost, my biggest takeaway from tonight is this – I cannot remember the last time I saw Alex DeBrincat have a game this bad. There just were very few moments where he really stood out for doing anything extremely well, and he had far too many there he stood out for doing something extremely bad. Two of those in particular led to really dangerous scoring chances for the Jets, one of which resulted in them scoring a shorthanded goal. In a season full of bad luck and disappointment that hasn’t always been his fault, a night like this from Top Cat was tough to watch.

    – Moving on, this was something of a wild ride to watch, because it almost felt like two different hockey games. The Blackhawks absolutely dominated the first period, to the tun of a 70.59 CF% at 5v5!!! That is NOT a typo! Things were looking up after that period, folks! And then that period ended, and then second period started, and then the Hawks got absolutely shellacked in possession in the second period, with a pathetic 41.67 CF%, and then again in the third with a 45.45%. They were getting overwhelmed constantly, and while they were able to generate 15 scoring chances in those two periods, only 5 of those were considered high danger. Otherwise, it just felt like the Jets were completely dominating the Hawks in the final 40, and the results obviously reflect that.

    – On top of the lackluster performances in the final 40 minutes, the Hawks gave the Jets entirely too many power plays tonight. You simply cannot give an opponent 6 tries with the extra man and expect to win a game, especially on the road. And *especially* when your own power play is running around with its pants around its ankles.

    – Yet again, we remind you that Corey Crawford is not appreciated nearly enough. While the Hawks really only lost this one by one goal (the Jets added two empty netters) they could’ve easily been down by three or four if not for the play of Crow, particularly in the second period. This man deserves to be treated as a legend by this organization and this fanbase.

    – One more thing I am repeating for the umpteenth time: launch Erik Gustafsson into the sun!

    – Hawks go next on Tuesday, against Connor McDavid and the Oilers, and guess what folks you have to deal with me for that one too. See ya then.

  • Game #55 – Hawks vs. Jets Preview: Sundays Are For Peg’ing

    Game #55 – Hawks vs. Jets Preview: Sundays Are For Peg’ing

    vs.

    RECORDS: Hawks 25-21-8   Jets 28-23-5

    PUCK DROP: 6pm

    TV: NBCSN Chicago

    QUEEN ELIZABETH IN THEIR LIVING ROOM: Jetsnation.ca

    It’s at points like these that you can understand Jonathan Toews’s frustration with the schedule of the NHL. There’s no logical reason that instead of spending consecutive Sundays in Winnipeg, with having to swing out to Western Canada in between, the Hawks and Jets couldn’t play just two consecutive games against each other and keep everyone more comfortable. But that’s not the world we have, so the Hawks will begin and end this vital road trip in Winnipeg. It’s even more of a bitch because you have to bus in every time, because they don’t have an airport as you know.

    However it’s laid out, the Hawks can shape the rest of their season with this trip, both good and bad. The Hawks enter tonight three points back of the last wildcard, but with three teams to leap to get there. But the next five games are all against teams around them. Even if the Oilers and Canucks are a bit separated, it’s not hard to see how either or both could slip right into range over the coming weeks. Given how the Pacific can’t seem to stop stepping on a rake this season, any and all combinations out of there are possible.

    The Jets come in having beat the Senators yesterday at home, and have also clubbed the Blues twice in the last week while also taking the Predators or OT. They’re three points ahead of the Hawks, but have played two games more. So you can see why this is a pretty big game for the Hawks. It’s your customary four-pointer.

    The story remains the same with the Jets. They are woeful structurally, and do their best to try and outshoot and outscore it with their wealth of top line talent. It’s been harder for them this season, as the defense has been truly wretched with the departures of Jacob Trouba and Dustin Byfuglien. They haven’t been helped by injuries, but through the combo of that and general helplessness they’ve played 10 different guys. Morrissey and Pionk have been the only constants, and the only ones they can even dream of counting on.

    Connor Hellebuyck has combined with their top tier scoring to keep them afloat, with a SV% of .920 while being under siege most nights. He didn’t start yesterday so he was saved for the Hawks, which makes you think the Jets think they need this one badly too.

    As for the Hawks, they’ll be something of a lineup shuffle, at least as much as there’s been of late. Adam Boqvist will be given a little more time to heal his shoulder made of cardboard, so Nick Seeler will make his Hawks debut. Don’t expect much, and if you get a game where you barely notice him, so much the better. He’s slow, he had a tendency to be dumb, so this might be Connor Murphy’s biggest project of the season. They’ll be paired together tonight. Matthew Highmore will also come back in for Alex Nylander on the fourth line.

    Three points is a bigger gap than it sounds in this everybody-gets-a-trophy NHL, but it’s also not insurmountable. The Hawks have to not get buried on this trip. 3-2 is probably the minimum they need, though 2-2-1 probably won’t kill them. But none of these teams on the schedule are monsters. The Hawks have already beaten the Jets twice, and soundly, and outplayed them for long stretches of their OT loss to them. The Oilers, Canucks, and Flames can all lay an egg on any given night, and the Hawks have wins against them this season.

    This is supposed to be where it gets fun. The Hawks can make it so.

  • Game #55 – Hawks vs Jets Spotlight: Ehlers Choice

    Game #55 – Hawks vs Jets Spotlight: Ehlers Choice

    We’ve perhaps, although maybe this is just our tendency to toot our own horn, led the charge on labeling Patrik Laine a passenger on the Jets. This will be the third straight season, likely, that he won’t live up to that 44-goal campaign he had. They’ve bent their team around him, they’ve given him a prove-it contract, and they’re mired in the muck. There are plenty of other factors, like Dustin Byfuglien fucking off to the ice fishing hut and Jacob Trouba escaping as soon as he could , which has stripped their blue line bare.

    But perhaps they can find more answers in exchange for Laine, because they have a ready-made replacement on their top line in Nikolaj Ehlers.

    The weird thing is, it seems like GM Kevin Chevyldayoff already likes Ehlers more than Laine, and has for a while. Whereas Laine went through a whole drama about his second contract, Ehlers was given one as soon as possible that will take him in unrestricted free agency in five years. There was no hesitation, as he was signed to it a full season before his entry level deal was up.

    And there was little reason not to. Ehlers was coming off a 64-point season, which he would match in the first year of this contract. And while the Jets have always been a weird team in the sense they’ve usually been able to outshoot what their metrics say, Ehlers was the one player who had great underlying numbers. He has consistently been way in the black in Corsi and expected-goals, and this year his mark in the latter is a full six points above the team-rate. When he’s on the ice, the Jets have the puck more than they do when anyone else is out there.

    Ehlers can’t manage the goals and points-total of late of Laine, but that might have a lot to do with getting less than half the power play time that Laine does. The first PP unit for the Jets has four forwards, the top line (Laine-Scheifele-Connor) plus Blake Wheeler. And they stay out there as long as they can. So Ehlers and the rest only get slightly more than a minute of time with the man-advantage.

    You wonder what Ehlers might do with it, as he has the same amount of even-strength goals and points as Laine’s floating ass this year as he did last year. Other than his 20-PPG binge of ’17-’18, Laine hasn’t put numbers up on the power play that Ehlers would find impossible to reach.

    Without the Finn, and a top line of Ehlers-Scheifele-Connor, the Jets would still have Wheeler, Copp, Roslovic, and a few forwards to make for one of the better bottom sixes in the league. The question is what Laine’s value is now. He only has one year on his second deal, though it’s only at $6.7M and he’ll still be restricted when it’s up. Can the Jets still get a top pairing d-man for him? It’s what they need desperately, as they lost both they had for this season and beyond.

    Perhaps it’ll depend on how this season finishes for both. The Jets are in a scrap just to make the playoffs, and neither Ehlers or Laine have proven to be playoff dynamos yet. But if Ehlers comes to play these last 25 games or so, and Laine continues to wait for the game to come to him every night, the Jets’ roadmap should be obvious.

  • Game #55 – Hawks vs. Jets: Hedley Lamarr’s Nitwits, Halfwits, And Dimwits

    Game #55 – Hawks vs. Jets: Hedley Lamarr’s Nitwits, Halfwits, And Dimwits

    Patrik Laine – All jokes about how he looks like he’d ask you three questions to let you cross his bridge, the Jets have bent over backwards for this guy in recent years and he’s pretty much just been a floater. They listened to him bitch incessantly last year about playing on the second line. So they handed him a new contract, shifted their captain back to center and Laine up to play on their top line. He’s given them a fine 30-goal pace season but also doesn’t impact the game in any other way. He is what everyone wanted to believe Alex Ovechkin was back in the day. His metrics are woeful. This guy stands around and waits to shoot and nothing else, and the Jets might want to consdier what they could get for him in the trade market one day soon.

    Paul Maurice: Not easy to keep a job you clearly suck at. This is still one of the most talented forward groups in the league, with a goalie playing at a Vezina level. They’re still not in the playoffs, his players clearly hate him, and they haven’t played defense in two seasons. And yet he can’t get fired. God bless the NHL.

  • Game #55 – Hawks vs. Jets: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

    Game #55 – Hawks vs. Jets: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

  • Game #55 – Hawks vs. Jets: Lineups & How They Were Built

    Game #55 – Hawks vs. Jets: Lineups & How They Were Built

    Hawks

    Notes: They were making noise like Boqvist could make the bell tonight, but our guess is he sits this one out to get an extra day before the rest of the trip. That means Seeler would make his debut which makes this defense somehow even slower, if you can believe it. If that’s how it shakes out, expect Keith and Murphy to play 25 minutes…otherwise would expect the lineup to stay the same. There may be more breaking up of Dach, Saad, and Kane, because they’ve been woeful defensively…

    Jets

    Notes: The Jets are beat up, especially on the bottom six, with Lowry and Perreault out. It’s moved Copp to center…Laine is on a heater again, with six goals in his last five and a hat trick against the Sens last out. We still think he’s a passenger though. Hellebuyck didn’t play yesterday and they got a rare win from their backup so he’ll go tonight. He’s been brilliant of late as out of the 113 shots he’s seen in his last three starts he’s stopped 107…

  • Brent Seabrook Completes His Surgeries, Might Be Darth Vader Now

    Brent Seabrook Completes His Surgeries, Might Be Darth Vader Now

    It was a brief snippet on social media, but yesterday the Hawks announced that Brent Seabrook had undergone the third of his three major surgeries–both hips and one of his shoulders–and that he was expected to be fully recovered in five to six months. Which would put him on course to be ready for training camp, and even give him some runway to train on his own in August to ramp up for it. Which is not a runway he’s really used before, but here we are.

    This doesn’t mean the Hawks are clear of the headache.

    While the whole saga still remains fishy to me, i have little doubts that Seabrook had these surgeries. I mean, I just don’t think the Hawks are capable of pulling the kind of sideshow conspiracy of announcing he’s out for the year with these problems and then stashing him off in Bermuda or Belize or whatever. And he’s been around the team at times, so we know that. Still, it’s awfully weird that Seabrook was carrying injuries this bad for this long, if you believe him and the Hawks and that’s why his play sucked, and they kept sending him out there. But we’ve had that talk.

    If I were a betting man–and my recent ass-pounding at Santa Anita would suggest I’m either very much not or I very much shouldn’t be–I’d still say that somewhere between the convention and camp next summer the Hawks announce that during his rehab, Seabrook either suffered a setback or realized he can’t be the player he was or something to that effect and he’s hanging them up. And I would bet they turn the home opener into some kind of “One Last Shift”/retirement ceremony for him. That would just be my guess.

    They could also be trying to prep the ground for some kind of trade if he really wants to play. “Hey, we’ve cleaned all this up now and he’s basically part bionic but he can still help a third pairing for the cool price of $3.4M per year!” The Hawks obviously would have to eat half his salary to move him along, or more to the point of having any prayer of doing so.

    That could set up an ugly exchange though, where Seabrook is saying he’s healthy enough to play but the Hawks say he’s either not or he doesn’t fit into their plans and we know the front office wants to avoid that like the goddamn plague.

    Still, it’s really hard to see how Seabs fits in next year. Let’s be optimistic (or “optimisty” as Sammy Sosa would say) and say Ian Mitchell signs after his college season. We know the Hawks defense would at least look like this:

    Keith-Murphy

    de Haan-Boqvist

    -Mitchell

    That’s…fine? But it could be better. It lacks either a third puck mover, depending on if Mitchell is even going to be that (though he should) and whether you can even consider Keith that at 37. It would need more mobility, and Seabrook does not provide that. And this is assuming the Hawks have the foresight to buy out Olli Maatta for the mere $800K it would cost, and no one should be sure they have that kind of vision.

    And if Mitchell doesn’t sign? Well now you’re probably two d-men short, and sure Seabrook can be on the third pairing but you’d better find a plus-puck-mover with wheels to pair with him down there and Seabrook’s salary makes it awfully hard to find room for say a Tyson Barrie or Torey Krug or Sami Vatanen.

    And there’s the rub. With Seabrook on the team, the Hawks only have $10M in space for next year, with Kubalik, Strome, and two goalies needing to be put back on the roster. As discussed, a buyout of Maatta opens up $3M+, but that’s still not enough. And don’t forget that Caggiula is probably playing himself into a raise, too. And once again we’re assuming the Hawks are smart enough to let Erik Gustafsson walk, which sounds like a great way to end up stabbing ourselves.

    It’s at this point that I have to say this would be a shitty way for Seabrook to have to end his career, especially if it’s in some sort of spat with the only organization he’s ever known. There is a way to thread this needle of course. Everyone can be clear with each other right after this season ends, with Seabrook saying he wants to play and the Hawks saying that’s great but they have to move on on their blue line. And then trying to do right by him by doing their best to find him a new home. It’s something of the same playbook they didn’t use last summer that we put forth.

    How the Hawks end this season will probably play into it. If they miss the playoffs, which is still the more likely outcome given everything, it would be easy for players and management to point at the missing leadership and “oeuvre” of Seabrook as a cause. At least they could use it to justify not having to make the hard decision, which we know they love to do. But if they do make the playoffs without him, even with a departing Gustafsson, that becomes trickier.

    It’ll make for excellent television, though.

     

  • High On The Hog: Rampage Weekend

    High On The Hog: Rampage Weekend

    The Rockford IceHogs end a six-game home stand this weekend against the San Antonio Rampage. Rockford has been trying to get its arrow pointed up for some time. A nice win over Texas on Tuesday night has the team entering Friday’s action on the positive tip.

    The IceHogs posted a 5-2 victory against the Stars, with goals from Dylan Sikura, John Quenneville, Gabriel Gagne, Brandon Hagel and Dennis Gilbert. Collin Delia fended off 35 shots to help get Rockford a much-needed win.

    Hagel continues to be the standout rookie on the IceHogs this season. His 17 goals lead the club and places him in a tie for fourth among freshmen goal scorers. With 25 points on the season, Hagel is 15th among rookies.

    Sikura the Younger’s tally was his twelfth of the campaign, tying him with brother Tyler for second place in team scoring. Sikura the Elder leads Rockford with 29 points (12 G, 17 A).

     

    Roster News

    Dylan Sikura did leave Tuesday’s game in the second period. However, Jacob Nilsson was back in action after a kneeing incident last Friday. Nick Moutrey did not skate on Tuesday after being injured last weekend.

    The IceHogs released Peter Quenneville from his tryout contract this week, signing veteran skater Garrett Mitchell to a PTO on Thursday. Mitchell was a long-time member of the AHL’s Hershey Bears, though he has been primarily an ECHL player this season. Rockford also sent D Jack Ramsey back to the ECHL’s Indy Fuel Thursday.

     

    Bringing Brandon Bollig Back To The BMO

    Former IceHogs forward Brandon Bollig will be at the puck-dropping ceremony at the BMO Harris Bank Center Friday night. Bollig spent parts of three seasons with the IceHogs. He is second all-time to Jake Dowell on Rockford’s AHL leader board with 44 fighting majors.

    Bollig was an undrafted free agent who wound up playing five NHL seasons and winning a Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2013. I’ll remember Bollig for the ecstatic grin he wore as he hammered away at an opponent. Which he would do regularly.

    This year’s IceHogs team, by the way, is up to 18 fighting majors heading into the weekend. At this pace, this will be the feistiest Rockford teams in several seasons. Joseph Cramarossa leads the Hogs in this category with five scraps, while Dmitri Osipov has dropped the gloves four times.

     

    Rampage On The Road (To Vegas)

    Visiting San Antonio, in the midst of a ten-game road jaunt, was purchased by the Vegas Golden Knights for the purpose of moving the franchise to Nevada this fall. The Rampage sit right below the Hogs in the seventh spot in the Central Division as they pull into the BMO for games on Friday and Saturday.

    Rockford is 2-1 against San Antonio this season. They last saw the Rampage in Texas back in November, when they split the last two games of their Lone Star swing.

    San Antonio was shut out by Iowa Wednesday night. Like Rockford, the Rampage have struggled of late, having just three wins in their last ten games. San Antonio leads the league with 33.30 shots per game Though they have had trouble getting those shots into the net, this could be a factor this weekend since the IceHogs have been giving up a lot of shots themselves.

    Defenseman Derrick Pouliot paces San Antonio with 32 points (6 G, 26 A). Two of those goals have come against Rockford. The Rampage have two 18-goal scorers in Nathan Walker and Mike Vecchione.

    Ville Husso has had the bulk of the workload in the San Antonio net. Husso is 11-13-8 this season with a 2.94 GAA and an .898 save percentage. Rockford may also see Adam Wilcox (5-6-3, 2.92, .881) between the pipes this weekend.

    Follow me on twitter @JonFromi for my thoughts on the scene in Rockford throughout the season.

     

     

     

     

  • Game #54: Bruins 1, Hawks 1, Bruins Win Jenga Match: Don’t You Know the Deuce Is Still Wild

    In a way, the Hawks should be glad they managed to get even one point tonight, after being dominated by the Bruins for much of the game. But it feels wrong because it’s a waste of yet another stellar goaltending performance, and they were so close to winning and yet had a goal called back for a spurious hand pass. I’m not going to sit here and blame the refs—the blame falls squarely on the Hawks for not being better than their opponent—but this ones leaves a bitter taste. Let’s get through it:

    Box Score

    Natural Stat Trick

    –The Hawks got totally outplayed, but the very least we can say is that they were genuinely trying—they’re just not as good as Boston. This game was not like last night’s against the Wild where they just couldn’t be bothered to give a shit for the first two-thirds of the game. They definitely gave a shit, but the best they could do was just hold the Bruins off. In the first two periods, the Hawks managed just a 31 and 38 CF%, respectively. They were outshot 16-5 in the first and ended the night outshot 40 to 22 (they’ve got to stop with these 40-shot games). Coach Gemstone did them no favors early on by having the galaxy brain idea of starting our fourth line, including the illustrious talents of Alex Nylander, against what is basically the best line in hockey, in Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak. That went exactly how you think it would, and Robin Lehner was racking up saves basically from the opening whistle. This dumb mismatch led to the logical fallacy of tripping-diving on Nylander and Pastrnak late in the third, but the NHL have never been ones for consistent or sane thinking (how can it be a penalty if it’s also a dive?! THIS CAN’T BE). Neither is Colliton when it comes to matchups, apparently. Nylander-Carpenter-Smith barfed up a 20 CF% at evens, and he kept throwing them out there despite their blatant inability to keep up with the Bruins’ top line.

    –Relatedly, Lehner was outstanding and showed no rust coming off a long break. Granted, he let in a softie to Kuraly, but you can’t even be mad about that when it’s compared with the 1,827 highlight reel saves he made throughout the rest of the game. A penalty kill in the first period was a particularly indigestion-inducing sequence when he made what seemed like impossible leaps across the crease. Krejci had a flurry of chances and was visibly frustrated by Lehner stopping them repeatedly. His east-west movement all night was outstanding, and it had to be for the Hawks to even have a chance. The OT goal was a heartbreaker where Dach, who otherwise had a good game, just got beat and there was nothing Lehner could do. I’m sure he’s salty about this one, but he has every right to be.

    –Something very concerning was Adam Boqvist ‘s shoulder injury. He got boarded by David Krejci in the second and immediately skated off with his arm limp, and while he hasn’t been the most solid of players lately, the last damn thing this team needs is to lose a defenseman who can technically move the puck and is definitively fast. This would also be the second functional defenseman taken out by a shoulder injury (third if you count Seabrook but that’s another story). The only silver lining was that Alex DeBrincat finally scored a goal on the ensuing power play, but file that under “pyrrhic victory.” The Hawks picked up that random oaf from Minnesota but neither he nor Dennis Gilbert are going to help them get into the playoffs, whereas Boqvist will. Here’s hoping it’s not severe and he doesn’t miss the entire Western Canada trip, because if they don’t make up ground there, it will no longer matter if he’s able to come back before the end of this season.

    –To return to Kirby Dach, he had another strong game yet couldn’t come through at the very end. He did continue his scoring streak, however, with an assist on Top Cat’s goal, where he (Dach) was cool, calm and collected in the crease which generated the rebound that popped out to DeBrincat for the goal. He had 3 shots and generally passed the eye test, despite his line as a whole struggling in the fancy stats (19.2 CF%, -27.8 CF Rel, -38.3 SF%, woof). I do not pretend to make any grand pronouncements about Dach right now, but he again showed what he can do, and what he needs to work on.

    –Did Maatta have a hand pass late in the third? After getting taken down and on a delayed penalty, he definitely moved the puck with his hand, but it appeared in super-slow-motion to have ricocheted off his stick just barely, from where it made its way to Drake Caggiula who scored what would have been the winning goal. Again, a heartbreaker to lose out on something that close, and maybe the puck really didn’t graze Maatta’s stick and it’s a fair call, but that doesn’t really help or make it feel less frustrating.

    So they got two points in two days, and are (I believe) two points out of the second wild card (that’s a lot of twos in that sentence). If they have any hopes of eking into that last spot, now is the time, and they better hope their young defenseman isn’t out for the season. Onward and upward.