February 19, 2021
The Blackhawks started the season 0-4. They had given up 5 goals
in each game. They were getting no offensive production. I was sure this was
going to be a lost season and I was ready to place the blame on President Stan
Bowman, who is the top decision maker. Lo and behold, the rebuild seems to be
working. The Hawks are now on a roll. They are tied for first place and the
prospects Bowman acquired are young and improving.
The biggest turn around has come on defense. They had 4 returning
defensemen from last year. Connor Murphy, Calvin de Hann, and Duncan Keith who
at age 37 is still pretty good. They brought up Adam Boqvist, who is only 20
years old. They have added Ian Mitchell (age 22), Nicholas Beudin (age 21) and
Nikiita Zadarov (age 25). This group not only plays good defense, they are
capable of skating the puck up the ice and getting involved in the offense.
They also settled on rookie Kevin Lankinen as their goalie. He has been nothing
short of spectacular.
The season ending injury to Kirby Dach and the mysterious ailment
of Jonathon Toews has put a cramp in the Blackhawks’ offense. For
this team to have continued success they have to score more. One positive is
that they have one of the topped ranked power plays. Patrick Kane is still one
of the best players in the NHL. After a down year Alex DeBrincat, has regained
his scoring touch, leading the team in goals. Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik
are also capable of adding some offense. The Hawks do have a group
of young offensive players, who are starting to play really well. They should
get even better as the season moves along. Players you should get to know are
Brandon Hagel (age 22), Philipp Kurashev (age 21) Pius Suter (age 24) and Lucas
Wallmark (age 25).
As you see, I am stressing the youth movement. All these young
players have the potential to be stars or at the least be very good players.
The future looks bright and if all continues to go well, the Blackhawks will
be playing in the playoffs again.
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