Faxes from Uncle Dale

Category: Hockey

  • High On The Hog: Depleted

    High On The Hog: Depleted

    The Rockford IceHogs have hit the skids over the holidays. Call-ups and injuries have left the piglets a shell of the team that played so well back just a few weeks ago.

    From November 2 to December 20, Rockford ran off a 14-5-0-1 stretch that had them in second place in the Central Division. Since then, the IceHogs have dropped six in a row. This is a depleted squad, to say the least.

    As the month of December progressed, several key Hogs were recalled to the Blackhawks. Forwards Dylan Sikura, Matthew Highmore and John Quenneville, along with defensemen Dennis Gilbert and Adam Boqvist were big pieces of Rockford’s success.

    Alexandre Fortin, Phillipp Kurashev and Anton Wedin are out of the lineup with injuries-and may be out for a while. Defenseman Philip Holm, the most solid performer on the blueline this season, is returning to Europe after requesting to be let out of his NHL contract.

    The above circumstances have left the Hogs very thin, quite green…and the losers of six straight.

    Rockford brought up AHL contracts Dylan McLaughlin and Matthew Thompson from the ECHL’s Indy Fuel on January 1. They also signed the Fuel’s leading scorer, Spencer Watson, to a PTO on Sunday after Thomson was injured in Friday’s game in Iowa.

    Hogs coach Derek King used every healthy player at his disposal against the Chicago Wolves Sunday, employing AHL defenseman Ben Youds as a forward to fill out his lineup card. In the second period of that game, Mikael Hakkarainen, who missed most of the first three months of the season after an opening night injury, left the game. When it rains, it pours.

     

    Lankinen Lone All-Star

    Hogs goalie Kevin Lankinen was named as Rockford’s only representative in the AHL’s All-Star Classic, to be held in Ontario, California on January 26 and 27.

    Lankinen got the news in the midst of a rough patch of play. In his last three starts, Lankinen has surrendered 15 goals. His line for the season so far through 15 appearances: a 7-7-1 record, a 3.17 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.

     

    Recaps

    Friday, January 3-Iowa 5, Rockford 1

    The IceHogs dug themselves a three-goal hole in the first period and never recovered, dropping their fifth-straight contest.

    The Wild quickly took command of the game, scoring on a pair of power play opportunities. Gerald Mayhew beat Hogs goalie Kevin Lankinen from the slot 1:29 into the first period. Mayhew stuck in a rebound of a Kyle Rau attempt at the 8:08 mark for a 2-0 Iowa advantage.

    Late in the first, Mayhew sent a long shot toward Lankinen. It was redirected by Nico Sturm, creating a 3-0 deficit heading into the first intermission.

    Sturm got around the defense early in the second period and slipped a shot under Lankinen’s pads, making it 4-0 at the 2:20 mark. Luke Johnson extended the Wild lead to 5-0 on a 5-on-3 power play goal 52 seconds into the third period.

    Rockford got on the scoreboard midway through the final frame. Dylan McLaughlin picked up his first AHL goal, one-timing an offering from Joseph Cramarossa. The power play goal came at the 9:01 mark.

    Forward Matthew Thompson left the game midway through the third period and did not return to action. Iowa was three for six on the power play, while the IceHogs converted just one of their six chances.

    Lines (Starters in italics)

    Mikael Hakkarainen-Reese Johnson-Nick Moutrey

    Joseph Cramarossa-Tyler Sikura (C)-Dylan McLaughlin

    Brandon Hagel-Jacob Nilsson (A)-MacKenzie Entwistle

    Tim Soderlund-Matthew Thompson-Nathan Noel

    Philip Holm-Lucas Carlsson

    Ian McCoshen (A)-Joni Tuulola

    Nicolas Beaudin-Dmitri Osipov

    Kevin Lankinen

    Collin Delia

     

    Sunday, January 5-Chicago 3, Rockford 2

    The Wolves picked up their first win of the season against the Hogs in the Illinois Lottery Cup series.

    Rockford drew first cord, taking a 1-0 first period lead on a second effort goal by Jacob Nilsson. Nilsson’s initial shot was thwarted by Chicago goalie Oscar Dansk. However, Nilsson recovered the rebound and sent a shot off the back of Dansk and into the Wolves net at the 6:36 mark.

    Chicago dominated the second period, taking a 2-1 advantage on goals by Dylan Coghlan and Valentin Zykov. The Wolves lead stretched to 3-1 at 1:56 of the third when Tye McGinn beat the glove of Hogs goalie Collin Delia.

    The IceHogs kept plugging away, pressuring Dansk on the way to 15 shots in the final frame. Dylan McLaughlin got a slap shot past Dansk 12:18 into the third. Despite several good looks at the Chicago net, Rockford was unable to complete the comeback.

    Mikael Hakkarainen left the game in the second period and did not return to action.

    Lines (Starters in italics)

    Joseph Cramarossa-Tyler Sikura (C)-Dylan McLaughlin

    Brandon Hagel-Jacob Nilsson (A)-MacKenzie Entwistle

    Nick Moutrey-Reese Johnson-Spencer Watson

    Mikael Hakkarainen-Nathan Noel-Ben Youds

    Joni Tuulola-Lucas Carlsson

    Ian McCoshen-Dmitri Osipov

    Nicolas Beaudin-Chad Krys

    Collin Delia

    Matt Tomkins

     

    Next

    Things don’t get easier for the IceHogs, who host Manitoba on Wednesday night before heading to Milwaukee for a pair of games with the division-leading Admirals on Friday and Saturday.

    Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for news, updates and thoughts on the IceHogs all season long.

     

  • Game #43 – Wings 2, Hawks 4 – Better Than The Alternative

    Game #43 – Wings 2, Hawks 4 – Better Than The Alternative

    Box Score

    Natural Stat Trick

    Even in the midst of a shitty Hawks season and an even shittier Red Wings season (not that those are anything new in those parts), it still feels nice to watch the Hawks get a nice win over that trash heap franchise from that trash heap city. I just wish this win hadn’t felt so… itchy. Let’s get into it:

    DETROIT SUCKS

    so do the Hawks, just a little less

    -As good as the win over the Wings felt, it took the Blackhawks way too damn long to realize that they were playing an AHL team, and react accordingly. They were straight up asleep for the first period and a decent bit of the second period as well – despite having 55% of the shot attempts, they still lost the scoring chance battle 9-6 and the high danger chance battle 3-1 in the first. While they started playing in the second period, it wasn’t until they were able to quickly strike back-to-back goals with just shy of five minutes left in that frame that it really felt like the Hawks came to life. Not the most encouraging  play against an opponent like this, but in the end getting the win is still much better than it would’ve looked had they lost to this Detroit group, so I won’t bitch too much.

    – Alex DeBrincat was a gosh darned force tonight, with straight up dominant metrics across the board. He posted a 68.75 CF%, 70 FF%, 71.6 xGF%, and a 55.56 SCF% (scoring chances for). He also made two great plays in the leadup to Strome’s opening goal for the Hawks, first to get the puck of the Hawks’ defensive zone onto the rush, then winning the puck off the boards behind the net and then feed Strome in the slot. The results have unfortunately not always been there for Top Cat this year, but he’s been playing solid so if he keeps up more games like this (easier said than done) he will start to see the production rise.

    – Congratulations to Dylan Sikura on his first NHL goal. It only took him more than half a regular season’s worth of games to get it.

    I kid, I kid. Sikura hasn’t exactly bloomed in the way that I think many of us would have preferred He didn’t get a ton of ice time tonight (just 9:39 at evens) but made the most of it with a nice 56.25 CF% and adding that goal. Just build off of it moving forward and please don’t make us wait another 43 games for the next one.

    – Adam Boqvist fucks. He is so offensively skilled and creative, he just needs to tap more into those abilities both as a PP QB and at 5v5 play. He has all of the tools to be a true force and produce at a 1D level in the NHL. His goal tonight was a thing of pure beauty and I look forward to many more like it coming.

    – It cannot be overstated – God Bless Corey Crawford. While the team was figuring their shit out tonight, Crow was solid and kept them much more in it than they should’ve been for a while, including an awesome series of saves after a really rough play in front of the net by Duncan Keith. May Crow live on in our hearts forever.

    – Blackhawks go next on Tuesday against the Flames.

  • Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks Preview: Love Letters In The Sand

    Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks Preview: Love Letters In The Sand

    vs.

    RECORDS: Red Wings 10-29-3   Hawks 18-18-6

    PUCK DROP: 6:30pm

    TV: NBCSN

    GOTTA LOSE YOUR MIND: Winging It In Motown

    As we comment every time these two meet, it used to mean so much. This was one of the NHL’s deadliest rivalries, at least among the fanbases. On the ice…well, it wasn’t a rivalry for much of the last 30 years. The Wings rose above where the Hawks could ever dream of getting in the early 90s, and only at the very end of their reign did the Hawks stare them in the eye. And that was almost 20 years later. And quickly the Wings faded away, and ran off to the Eastern Conference so Mike Ilitch wouldn’t have to stay up so late and risk shitting himself. Much of the heat has gone, and what’s left is basically from memory. The younger section of the fanbase will never know the vitriol and bile this used to have. And maybe that’s a good thing.

    If it was still there, this would resemble their tangles in the 80s, when both teams were either terrible or just good enough to be chum for the Oilers. It all goes in cycles, I suppose.

    If it does, the Wings are certainly at the bottom of theirs. In truth, Detroit probably needed to do this a few years ago, but kept trying to desperately crawl and cling to the very bottom rung of the playoffs, with signings like Trevor Daley or Frans Nielsen or some others in the past. But it didn’t work, and now this is the full tear-down. They’re still committed to Justin Abdelkader and Frans Nielsen, love letters from Ken Holland, but every other vet is on his way out no later than this summer. Steve Yzerman will hope to flog a couple of them at least for any pick or prospect he can get.

    Of course, that means what’s on the ice is truly awful. The Wings trail everyone by at least 13 points in the NHL. They have yet to crack double-digits in regulation wins. They’re last in goals for, and last in goals against. That’s how you bottom out, folks! And they can’t even argue they’re somewhat unlucky to be this bad. They’re second last in Corsi, and second-last in expected goals. They’re last in shooting-percentage, and third-last in save-percentage. What the Wings do well you can put in your pipe and smoke it and not have nearly enough to pass around. This is a truly wretched outfit. And it should be.

    Did I mention they’ve lost seven of eight? Or 17 of 20, all in regulation? Try to contain your sorrow, I’m sure you’re just dying inside. Also, though +/- is a bullshit stat, it’s hard not to gawk at Andreas Anathasiou’s -35 in half a season and wonder just how the gods could allow such a calamity.

    All of this means the Hawks can’t fuck this one up. The Wings have no defense and they have an attack that even the Hawks should be able to repel. Even if the Hawks aren’t all there mentally, even they could get a win in second gear here. This is the free spot on the Bingo card. If you don’t let Dylan Larkin go off the leash, this team can’t score. The corpses of Valtteri Filppula and Nielsen are still around. Luke Glendening is like 49 years old now. They’re even beat up, as Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou are both hurt and are two of the few who don’t come with mittens pinned to their jackets.

    For the Hawks, Robin Lehner and Zack Smith missed practice yesterday, as that nasty fall Lehner took against Vancouver came home to roost. So Corey Crawford finds his way back into the lineup. Everything else wikk remain as it was.

    The Hawks have a nice row of home games here, though they’ve been mediocre at home all season. The Wings blow more than anyone has blown in a long while, they just outplayed the Flames, the Predators are seriously trying to get Peter Laviolette to the unemployment office, and the Ducks aren’t any good either. It’s all set up, but first you have to hit the hanging curveball. Don’t foul it off your foot.

  • Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks Spotlight: Savior Y?

    Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks Spotlight: Savior Y?

    It was almost a decade now that Steve Yzerman left the Wings front office. While it seemed a bit off, and there was a section of Red Wings fans that thought it was on the level of a crime that Yzerman wasn’t allowed to replace Ken Holland then, it didn’t rise to the level of controversy as the Wings were still on top and Holland not yet discovered to be one of the luckier morons around. Since Yzerman left of course, the Wings haven’t seen anything past the second round in 10 seasons, haven’t won a playoff round in six, and will have missed the playoffs the last four when this one’s over. It may be far too late to have saved that era of Detroit hockey, but according to Wings fans everyone is where they should be now.

    The first thing Yzerman will have to do is identify or find pieces that the team will be built upon. Is that Dylan Larkin? Jury is still very much out on that, though he is very good. Is he a franchise turner? When Yzerman landed in Tampa, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman were already there. You can’t get much better than that. Dylan Larkin is now Steven Stamkos. There isn’t anyone here to be a homeless man’s Hedman yet.

    However, to discredit what Yzerman built down there would be completely unfair. Yzerman’s second draft saw him nab Vladimir Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, and Ondrej Palat. The latter two would form two-thirds of the Triplets that were major parts of the Lightning’s continued runs to the conference final and beyond. His third draft netted Andrei Vasilevskiy and Cedric Pacquette. Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, and Mathieu Joseph would follow in the next few years, who are the backbone of this Lightning team.

    Yzerman also went outside the draft in signing Tyler Johnson and stealing Ben Bishop for Cory Conacher. Anton Stralman ended up being the analytic darling of free agent signings. The Zobrist of hockey, if you will (you won’t). It’s an impressive list of team-building.

    There were missteps, of course. The Bolts blue line was always a bit plodding beyond Hedman. Ryan Callahan sucked up a ton of cap space for what became a pretty shitty Brandon Dubinsky impression. Dan Girardi did the same. Ryan McDonagh aged a ton upon arrival. No one bats 1.000.

    But Yzerman did earn a rep for moving on pretty quickly when he could. His first team went to the conference final under Guy Boucher and his overrated, boring-ass ways that were just riding Dwayne Roloson‘s second nuclear streak. Boucher was fired just over a season later and that entire team moved out for what would come next and what you saw here in 2015. Jonathan Drouin at #3 overall in the draft never earned a spot and never stopped bitching about it. He was chucked for Mikhail Sergachev, who has contributed heavily to the Lightning of late. Stevie Y rarely falls in love with something that isn’t worth it.

    Maybe it’s better to arrive at the Wings now. In 2010-2011, he would have had the same problems that Holland refused to see, the aging stars that were no longer up for carrying a team deep into the spring. The cap problems. And the desperation to keep bolstering that up.

    That doesn’t mean it’s a total blank slate in Motor City. Yzerman will lose the contracts of Mike Green, Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Ericsson, and Trevor Daley after the season. That’s some $16M in space. Only Andreas Anathasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi will require big raises. And splashing cash in the free agent market in the summer shouldn’t be a priority, as this team is a long way from anything.

    Still, the major part is finding the foundation. Larkin has done the best he can, but he’s never had an 80-point season. Then again, he hasn’t had much talent around him either. Is Filip Hronek the new anchor on the blue line? Filip Zadina (Larry Horse say too Filip-y) hasn’t flashed yet to signal why he was taken 6th overall.

    What Yzerman buys everyone is a ton of time. Wings fans aren’t going to get seriously impatient with him for seasons, which is good because he’s going to need it. His time in Tampa buys a lot of additional trust. A possible #1 pick overall will as well, though there’s no generational player in this draft as there have been in previous.

    The only complaint is that Yzerman’s Lightning only won one Prince Of Wales trophy. Of course, if Duncan Keith hadn’t gone supernova in ’15 and the Penguins not around in ’16, that might be different. Three of four years they lost to the eventual champions in the third round or later, and all of them to the definitive teams of the era.

    Wings fans won’t accept that when it’s all said and done. But it’s a long road to even there for them.

  • Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks: Hedley Lamarr’s Mugs, Pugs, And Thugs

    Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks: Hedley Lamarr’s Mugs, Pugs, And Thugs

    All The Wings We Thought Were Dead – Seriously, there are far too many players here that shouldn’t be. And we’re saying that as Hawks fans. Has Justin Abdelkader done anything since 2013? Jonathan Ericsson is somehow 35 and we don’t remember him making one play. He only got into the NHL because he was Swedish, played defense, and was in the Wings system. Frans Nielsen? The Hawks wanted him via trade like 10 years ago. Did you know Darren Helm was fast once? He sure was, and that’s all he was! Danny DeKeyser is actually dead, seeing his back turn into confetti. Good god did Ken Holland leave some trash around here. Even Trevor Daley, perhaps singularly the dumbest player in the NHL the past 20 years.

    Tyler Bertuzzi – He’s only the nephew of the jackal that tried to ruin the sport, but look at this punk’s face. That dude owns roofies.

    Mike Illitch – Yeah, he’s actually dead. Like real dead. But his screwing over of Detroit will live on for decades for his shiny new arena. And Detroiters will never accept that he fucked them over. It’s almost adorable in a way.

  • Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

    Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

  • Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks: Lineups & How They Were Built

    Game #43 – Red Wings vs. Hawks: Lineups & How They Were Built

    Red Wings

    Notes: The Wings have a fair amount of injuries, so we don’t know who will be the 12th forward. It was Givani Smith last out against Dallas and that’s the best bet…Alex Biega could slot in for Lashoff as well…Larkin has two goals since Dec. 10th…Bernier had a .927 in December…

    Notes: Smith will play tonight after missing practice yesterday…You figure that Sikura probably has only one more game or two to make a bigger impact before the front office insists on Alex Nylander again…Might see Kane up with Kubalik and Toews more tonight, though that renders the third line a nothing…

  • Your Real Halftime Awards

    Your Real Halftime Awards

    Not every team has crossed the 41-game threshold yet, but it’s close enough for disco. For any newbies, I like to go through the major NHL awards and decide by my own parameters who should win but probably won’t because hockey is stupid and weird and values the wrong things. Anyway, let’s to it:

    Hart Trophy – Nathan MacKinnon

    You can give this to Connor McDavid, and much like the Mike Trout Corollary you’d never be wrong to do so, but MacK should be zeroing in on his first MVP (he finished second to Taylor Hall two years ago). The Avs have lost everyone else who matters for some length of time–LaxativeLog, Rantanen, Makar, and either of the goalies–and have still found themselves comfortably in 2nd in the Central and waiting for the Blues to cool off to chase them down. He’s only two points behind McDavid for the scoring title, and he hasn’t had his running buddies all year like McJesus has with Draisaitl.

    Calder Trophy – Cale Makar

    While Victor Olofsson has passed him in the rookie scoring race (whoever that is), that’s only because Makar was out injured. The Avs are simply a different team with him around, evidenced by their demolition of the Blues last night with him and deservedly losing to the Hawks at home without him. Quinn Hughes might make this interesting for a minute or two as well, but Makar is still well ahead of the field.

    Vezina – Connor Hellebuyck

    He won’t get it, because he’s down the list of top save-percentages or GAA among goalies. But considering he’s got no defense in front of him and he’s by far the biggest reason the Jets are still in an automatic playoff spot, he’s the pick here. Varlamov and Bishop play behind stout defenses, and Lehner is going to fall apart here soon enough. Kuemper is out longer-term so that ruins his chances. Hellebuyck has to perform small miracles every night after Josh Morrissey or Tucker Poolman cover themselves in their own vomit. Hellebuyck has the best difference between his SV% and his xSV%, and that’s enough for mer.

    Norris Trophy – Dougie Hamilton

    This is where things get interesting. Because everyone has their own theory on how to define the best “defenseman.” Some think it should be to whoever is playing the best defense. Others just find who scored the most points from the blue line and give it to him. Which makes the answer probably to split it, and give it to who’s been the best player who happens to be a d-man. And that’s Hamilton. He’s within, barely, enough points of John Carlson to not make that automatic, and his metrics are simply the best in the league (best CF% and second-best xGF%). Hamilton’s relative numbers blow Carlson’s out of the water as well.

    If you’re looking for simply the Rod Langway award, which would go to the blue-liner playing the best defense, you can honestly make a serious case for Connor Murphy. No, I’m not kidding. His relative numbers in keeping attempts and chances down relative to how terrible his team is are second and third best in the league. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

    Selke Trophy – Zach Aston-Reese

    This one always goes to whatever center people can remember wins a lot of faceoffs and scores a lot, so basically Patrice Bergeron. But we can do better. Aston-Reese has the lowest Corsi-against per 60, the lowest expected goals-against per 60, and he does that while only starting 30% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Seems pretty simple to me.

     

  • Unequipped For Anything, And Other Notes

    Unequipped For Anything, And Other Notes

    -We’ve commented in the past year that when the Hawks have played in games against teams that are fighting directly for the playoff spots the Hawks claim to be after, they’ve fallen flat on their face. This can be a big fudge-y to determine, as some teams are in for automatic spots, some teams should be but aren’t, and others definitely are in the wildcard chase.

    But this harkens back to last year. And going over the actual records, it’s kind of funny that we thought the Hawks were so in it, and they were, as they were under .500 at the time when this started. That’s more on the Western Conference than the Hawks, but the standings said they had a chance. And here’s what they came up with:

    2/22/19 – Colorado: lost 5-3

    2/24/19 – Dallas: lost 4-3

    3/9/19 – @Dallas: won 2-1

    3/11/19 – @Arizona: won 7-1

    3/23 – @Colorado: lost 4-2 (this pretty much ended things)

    3/24/19 – Colorado: Won 2-1 in OT

    3/26/19 – @Arizona: lost 1-0, definitely ended things

    So my claims that they’ve never taken a point is an exaggeration, but 3-4-0 with one of those wins in OT isn’t exactly impressive either. And the win in Arizona was before the Coyotes had made their last charge toward the playoffs, and the OT win over Colorado was basically after the horse was out of the barn. Still, you get it.

    It could be argued that the win over Calgary on Tuesday was over a fellow playoff competitor, as the Flames are in the wildcard mess at the moment. We can go back and forth on that. My wager would be on the Flames eventually joining Vegas and some other random third team in the automatic spots, and rather easily as well. Time will tell on that one.

    It’s hard to know what games that came before have the same meaning, but now that we’re in the second half we’ll definitely get sharper context for some. They’ll have games with the Flames, Predators, and Jets in the next couple weeks (all at home) so that will be a good start. Next month is rife with them as well.

    -One thing we know the Hawks simply aren’t equipped to do is protect a lead, and a big one. They might hang on desperately and let their goalies bail them out, but they can’t shut down a game. We saw it last night, we saw it in Calgary, we saw it in St. Louis earlier in the year.

    Looking back over the schedule, a lot of wins were the Hawks coming from behind or catching a team cold. The Islanders were clearly out to lunch. Their one authoritative effort of late was against the Jets, and even then they had to survive an utter onslaught in the second period when leading. The win against the Wild saw them take the lead with six minutes left. The Bruins were able to storm back to get to OT. You have to go all the way back to their win at home against the Stars, which was Dallas’s third game in four nights for another “easy” win.

    This isn’t much of a surprise, given the state of the Hawks defense. They can basically only toss out Keith and Murphy to keep things “calm,” and even then Keith was a culprit for the winner last night. Keep them separate, and you’re still asking Adam Boqvist and Erik Gustafsson to see things out in later minutes. There’s just no way.

    It’s been a constant complaint around here, but the Hawks blue line is the prime example of how there’s just no plan. If they had any idea that Seabrook wouldn’t be part of the every day lineup, and they should have, then the minutes going to Dennis Gilbert right now would be going to Henri Jokiharju (who’s no genius but he’s a hell of a lot better than Gilbert and wouldn’t you look but the Sabres just moved along an overpaid vet to keep him in the lineup. What’s that like?). Instead they have a winger who is deservedly sitting behind Matthew Highmore. After being given literally every chance and boost to succeed.

    At this point, there is no downside to letting Phillip Holm or even Nicolas Beaudin take those minutes. They can’t be anymore helpless than Gilbert, who is Brandon Manning bad, and perhaps they would respond better to the NHL game than the AHL one which has happened before. Gilbert is definitely meant for the AHL game. Fuck, you’ve scratched and clawed to keep Fetch on the NHL roster, perhaps it’s time to give him one last stretch of games to see if anything can be salvaged here. The Hawks were so convinced of it earlier.

    Or maybe you can just keep throwing things at the wall. It’s going great so far.

    -Also it’s time for MY GUY Philipp Kurashev to get a look over John Quenneville, who doesn’t really do anything. The Hawks are still far too infatuated with plugs who “work hard” instead of those with actual skill. Quenneville is never going to be more than a fourth-liner. Again, you have nothing to lose.

    -I feel like two or three times a game I marvel that Zack Smith always seems to be in a good spot but then completely undoes that by having no feet or hands.

    -John mentioned it last night, but there’s no excuse for coming out of a TV timeout and having Gus, Strome, and Top Cat out for a defensive draw, no matter how much you trust Carpenter to take it. This is base-level NHL coaching, and Colliton gets it wrong far too much.

    I have spoken.

     

  • High On The Hog: No Defense, Part Two: Mining For Gems

    High On The Hog: No Defense, Part Two: Mining For Gems

    Last week, I laid out the lack of success of the Blackhawks organization in developing defensive talent. Stan Bowman’s draft record is incredibly poor in this regard. However, there are other ways to replenish a blueline.

    This week, we’ll recap Bowman’s track record in obtaining defensive prospects via trade or free agency. My criteria is going to be players that Chicago brought in to develop into solid pieces on defense, as opposed to veterans acquisitions.

    The player at the top of this list would have to be Nick Leddy, who was obtained with Kim Johnsson for Cam Barker in February of 2010. It’s a stretch to say that Leddy developed in Rockford, but he did play 22 games for the Hogs in 2010-11 and was with the team during the NHL strike in 2012-13 before helping the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup.

    Leddy is currently in his tenth season. He’s a two-time All-Star and has avoided injuries in his NHL career. Chicago was able to hold on to Leddy for all of four seasons before having to move him to the New York Islanders. However, Stan Bowman was able to wrest the next defensive gem from the Isles. Or so it was thought.

    Bowman sent Leddy and Kent Simpson to New York in exchange for goalie prospect Anders Nilsson, AHL juggernaut T.J. Brennan…and defensive prospect Ville Pokka.

    Nilsson was traded the following summer; Brennan spent five months piling up offense in Rockford before he was traded to Toronto. Pokka was the piece that the Blackhawks hoped to polish into a top-four defender.

    They didn’t.

    Pokka put up solid numbers with the IceHogs for three and a half seasons but never played a game for Chicago. Bowman’s return for Pokka in February of 2018: three months of Chris DiDomenico for the IceHogs run to the Western Conference Final. Pokka is now skating in the KHL.

    Another young defenseman Bowman traded for was Gustav Forsling, who the Hawks picked up from Vancouver. Having given up on Adam Clendening as a long-term solution on defense, Bowman had high hopes for Forsling, who skated for parts of three seasons in Rockford.

    Unfortunately, that time was mostly spent following unimpressive stints in Chicago.

    Forsling was sent to the Hogs mid-season in both 2016-17 and 2017-18. He was rather pedestrian in his time in Rockford, was moved this past summer in a trade with Carolina and has spent this season in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers.

    Bowman has also attempted to bring in defense via signing free agents and developing them in Rockford. This has produced a couple of players who have spent time in the NHL, Erik Gustafsson being perhaps the most prominent.

    Gustafsson skated 120 games with the IceHogs, including all of the 2016-17 campaign. Like his tenure with the Hawks, Gustafsson was a one-way player who struggled mightily in his own end. However, he does have nearly 200 games of NHL experience at this point.

    Chicago has had limited success with undrafted free agents. Ryan Stanton appeared in a game for the Hawks in 2013 and played two full NHL seasons with Vancouver. Viktor Svedberg, who spent five seasons in Rockford, played in 27 games for Chicago in 2015-16. You would have to credit Svedberg and Stanton’s time with the IceHogs for the two at least reaching the NHL.

    Otherwise, the cupboard has been bare. Gustafsson is the only one of these players currently contributing to the Blackhawks defense. Bowman has not been able to replace veteran pieces on his roster effectively. It certainly is a big reason the organization is scuffling right now.

     

    Anyway, Back To The IceHogs…

    …who are mired in a four-game losing steak as they ready for this weekend’s action. Rockford (17-14-0-1) is in fourth place in the AHL’s Central Division. They have upcoming games with the two teams directly above them in the standings.

    Friday night, the piglets are in Iowa. The Wild have won two of the three previous meetings in the season series, including a 6-2 pasting of Rockford last Friday. Iowa comes in the winners of four of its last five games.

    Sunday, Rockford is back at the BMO Harris Bank Center for another tilt with the Chicago Wolves. The Hogs have won all five games against their closest rival in the vaunted Illinois Lottery Cup. It’s been over a month since Rockford saw the Wolves; the IceHogs defeated Chicago 4-2 back on November 29.

    Roster Moves

    Matt Tomkins returned to the IceHogs on Wednesday following his stint with Team Canada, who won the Spengler Cup. Tomkins won in his only appearance in the tournament, a 5-1 victory over HC Davos.

    Rockford also recalled forwards Matthew Thompson and Dylan McLaughlin from the ECHL’s Indy Fuel Wednesday.

     

    Recap

    Tuesday, December 31-Manitoba 4, Rockford 3

    The Hogs dropped a fourth-straight contest, buried by four Moose tallies in the opening 7:14 of the second period.

    After neither team drew cord in the first twenty minutes, Manitoba quickly converted on two power plays in the middle frame. C.J. Suess and Kristian Vesalainen scored fifty seconds apart, at 2:58 and 3:48, respectively.

    Emilie Poirier and Cole Maier struck in quick succession in the seventh and eighth minutes, leading to a goalie change for the IceHogs. Kevin Lankinen gave way to Collin Delia, who faced 20 shots the rest of the way but held firm, allowing Rockford to slowly get back into shouting distance.

    Brandon Hagel got the Hogs on the board with a strong move into the Manitoba zone following a pass from Chad Krys. Hagel powered around the net and completed the wraparound successfully to make it 4-1 Moose 12:58 into the second.

    Nicolas Beaudin’s ttempt from the high slot late in the period caromed high in the air, glancing off of Moose goalie Mikail Berdin and into the cage at the 18:05 mark.

    Down 4-2 to begin the third period, the IceHogs displayed the tenacity that has been their trademark this season. Anton Wedin redirected a long pass from Joseph Cramarossa, who had swiped the puck back in the defensive zone seconds earlier. Wedin’s seventh of the season closed the gap to 4-3 at 9:02 of the third. That was as close as Rockford could get, however.

    I will hopefully be sending out live tweets @JonFromi during the Wolves game tonight. Follow me for game updates along with my thoughts on the IceHogs throughout the season.