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Replying to MH’s 1:27 post.
I’m still expecting KK to be one of the two remaining to make the team.Could be. I wouldn’t be surprised if they run him up and down the RFD shuttle this year.
As Mr Ricochet mentioned, it’s weird how young KK still is.Nik Hjalmarsson (yes I’m aware a totally different type of D-man) did not stay up for good until he was 22 years, 4 months.
KK would not be 22 years, 4 months until the start of the ’26/27 season.
At that time (early October 2026) he would only be one month older than Duncan Keith, when Duncan Keith played his first ever NHL game.
And as great as he became, Keith still had some warts early in his NHL career.KK’s development arc is already disappointing based on his draft position (Adam Boqvist 2.0 anybody?)
Hopefully he gets it, sooner rather than later.Hello everyone, hope y’all had a wonderful summer.
Great to hear from you LA. Hope you’re doing well.
We’re fortunate to have such a knowledgeable writer as Frenchy. We got a good thing going here between his blogs and this thread.
Looking forward to the season. They’ll be some growing pains early as you mentioned, but I think they will eventually gel and show some progress.
Hello everyone, hope y’all had a wonderful summer.
Thanks Boilermaker for directing to this site. Really enjoying CoachFrenchy’s blogs. Clear, concise with ton’s of info, and in-depth analysis.
As far as the team, the old adage wait until after the first 20 games to see what you have really pertains to this team. New systems (again), new players young team will take awhile for Blashill to sort out the players roles.
Welcome back LA. I figure Blashill learned something under Cooper.
Chunk
Well that kind of depends, doesn’t it? After a turnover in your own zone, what are his responsibilities? If I had to guess, he’s not allowed to just chase the puck all over the zone until he gets it back. It was bad, but it’s also preseason playing with a bunch of guys he hasn’t much in practice and who likely won’t be with the club to start the year.Point it out, learn, and move on…
I want to see how he does with Burakovsky and Donato. I’ll also hold any judgement on Nazar until I see him back with TT and Bertuzzi. They both looked very disjointed and unsure to me yesterday.
……….
Chunk, I had a bad feed yesterday. Help me out…… At the sidewall bedard took a pass and it looked like he coughed not got stripped. Which was it….. Then he was so flat footed and unaware he didn’t even move his feet he pathetically reached as the Wing drove thru the circle. Wrong?
And I didn’t see Bedard below his endline much, if at all. Kid was above or at the top of the circles when the puck was below the dots in his zone. Looked to me he had winger responsibilities. Wrong? Anyone have a thought?………. So no Chunk, we don’t know what his resposibilities were on the cough/strip but regardless the attempt and awareness at recovery of the puck was feckless. As he’s been 80% of his time as a Hawk..[/quote]
Hey Rico. No getting around it. It was a crap play by Bedard. I was following the puck after the turnover so didn’t see exactly what Bedard did. I’m not going to fret much that he’s not a Selke candidate. His game is offense. If he can be reasonable defensively (a la Kane) and put up 100 pts, I’ll be a happy camper. If you are expecting him to turn into some greatly improved defensive player, you are likely going to be gravely disappointed.
If I’m handicapping it right now, I think Frondell ultimately ends up the 1C and Bedard will ultimately end up a wing. I just think it will free him up to be the point producer he’s destined to be. Frondell is really impressive on his skates and just finds the right places to be. He’s incredibly solid. I watched his last game on the Flosports app. He’s a lot of fun to watch.
@LAHAWK Welcome to the HHS family! Really appreciate your kind words about my articles. We’re lucky to have a great group of people here who love hockey, share their opinions, and keep the conversations going.
I’m always up for debates and different perspectives — as long as it’s done with respect, that’s how we all get better. Any feedback on my articles or ideas to improve the site are always welcome, don’t hesitate.
If there’s a topic you’d like me to cover, just drop it in the forum. I try to check in at least once a day and enjoy adding my voice to the discussions. Looking forward to your takes!
—Frenchy
@boilermaker thanks, my friend. I truly believe HHS’s success with the Blackhawks coverage depends on all of you. Without this community, none of it happens. We’ve already built a great group here, and your comments and analysis make the forum better every day. I love reading what everyone brings — keep it coming, invite others, and let’s keep growing this thing together. Much appreciated.
Tab over at BleacherNation just posted this regarding how the Hawks are splitting up the practice groups.
No real surprises there in my eyes other than Korchinski who I thought played a good game. I’d love to see Lardis get in a game and see what he can do against some better competition. One thing I do like is that Blashill doesn’t seem to be waiting too long to get the “main” guys going and concentrating on getting that group to iron out the details.
I have no idea why, but I’m really interested to see how Foligno does this year.
It’s good to see the band is almost all back together
It seems like Arty is being given the longer leash but if he continues ending up on the wrong side of the puck and no look passes to the opponent in his own zone, he will go to the Rock.
But as Blashill said he knew his guys would be tired because of the practice earlier in the day and slow defensively because they would be thinking more than playing his system.
In the preseason game the one thing i did not like was the forwards not engaging the puck carrier, instead stopping short and guessing where the pass was going, i sure hope that’s not part of Blashill’s approach.
In the preseason game the one thing i did not like was the forwards not engaging the puck carrier, instead stopping short and guessing where the pass was going, i sure hope that’s not part of Blashill’s approach.
Agreed, they were reacting slowly instead of naturally and likely due to the new systems. The sooner they sort out who’s going where, the sooner they can hammer in the details of the new systems with extra reps to just the ones staying up rather than all the camp bodies. Also, to your point from a previous post about Arty, I also agree he’d be better off going to Rockford along with KK. Not sure who of the two would get paired with Allan but the other will end up with Harding or Mast. If I had to pick one or the other staying up, I’d keep Arty up and hope the vets can whip him into shape.
In the preseason game the one thing i did not like was the forwards not engaging the puck carrier, instead stopping short and guessing where the pass was going, i sure hope that’s not part of Blashill’s approach.
Agreed, they were reacting slowly instead of naturally and likely due to the new systems. The sooner they sort out who’s going where, the sooner they can hammer in the details of the new systems with extra reps to just the ones staying up rather than all the camp bodies. Also, to your point from a previous post about Arty, I also agree he’d be better off going to Rockford along with KK. Not sure who of the two would get paired with Allan but the other will end up with Harding or Mast. If I had to pick one or the other staying up, I’d keep Arty up and hope the vets can whip him into shape.
It’s not really a question of Arty vs KK. I really don’t think they will be asking either of those two to switch sides. The Hawks have Rinzel, Murphy, and Crevier on the right side (and I maintain that the Hawks don’t really want Crevier to play every day). KK is up against EDM and Allan for the last LD spot. Vlasic and Kaiser are the locks. Gryz is there to pick up the slack if they don’t think either of KK or Arty really belong. I think they’ll give Arty a ton of rope though.
Hello everyone, hope y’all had a wonderful summer.
Thanks Boilermaker for directing to this site. Really enjoying CoachFrenchy’s blogs. Clear, concise with ton’s of info, and in-depth analysis.
As far as the team, the old adage wait until after the first 20 games to see what you have really pertains to this team. New systems (again), new players young team will take awhile for Blashill to sort out the players roles.
………..
Alright, LA. Really good to see you and even better to know your well. ….. Same with me when I first got here, after just 2-3 of his articles this Frenchy guy is the goods I thought. We drew a fine hand here as a bunch of homeless Hawk fans.
And, your first post brings wisdom and context. Coaching changes are never easy but especially so with such a young roster. For sure, we just can’t get a decent enough handle on the Hawks until maybe 20 games in, at least, as you mention…….. But, even an objective fan is hoping for a jump forward to some degree this season and what we saw in Game 1 from the youngsters was not reassuring. No doubt though any vet forward of consequence didn’t dress v DET.
Can’t be positive about anything in sport but one thing I feel comfortable saying is a switch goes on outa nowhere many times for kids who will be useful NHLers. Once that starts to happen to a few of them you’ll see a much more dangerous team. …..
Should we be worried that they lost the first preseason game? No. There are a lot of guys in camp learning a new system. When most of those guys leave, they will go to teams playing another system. It’s the guys staying who need to worry about the new system. Give them time. The vets usually adapt. The young guys should catch on quickly. Let’s see where they are at 20 games. As for the defensemen, whoever is here is here. I think there will be a trade, but with KFC, who knows?
Replying to MH’s 1:27 post.
I’m still expecting KK to be one of the two remaining to make the team.KK’s development arc is already disappointing based on his draft position (Adam Boqvist 2.0 anybody?)
Hopefully he gets it, sooner rather than later.……………
MH, decent enough chance KK doesn’t live up to his draft status but the kid has the traits to be a useful NHL player. Boqvuist really never did. He was an average at best skater, small, really weak in his zone, physically weak and he certainly wasn’t a nose over the puck hungry player. …….. I’m not disappointed in KK but thought/hoped he’d be farther along. Kid turned 21 in June and that first yr in the NHL he was up way too soon and lost his Pops in season. There are excuses/reasons for where he’s at in his development but IMO the biggest one is cuz he is so young at 21 trying to play the toughest position to play in the NHL, defense. …. I can easily envision a 25 yr old man KK, much thicker, head up skating the thing out and being dangerous.
Remember when Sorensen took over? He must have straight out told KK go, go, go. Jump in, be a 4th forward when it seems proper. Let er rip. Cuz for a good 10 games KK was in the opponents crease a couple times a game, and more sometimes. …. Look forward to seeing a 25 yr old man KK playing that way. It’s in there, the traits are there, we saw it.
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