Yeah, from what I see from Motte, he is definitely in; then again, he could get "Q'ed" back to Rockford.

My only objection to seeing Motte in a Hawk sweater is that he has taken my previously unique non-assigned number

_________________
Not a mult.

You know who's going to Rockford? possibly as soon as Monday? Ryan Hartman. Woof. I guess Andrew Shaw wasn't so easy to replace after all.

Tootoo has been nothing but shit, as expected. I really, really, really don't want him on the roster when the games count.

_________________

Hawks tryouts and prospects, including a Russian goalie prospect I've never heard of, against something approaching an everyday Wings roster has gone about as expected. This Fortin kid from the Q had a good goal, apparently. That's about it.

It was nice of the Hawks to let Jake Dowell come to camp on a tryout and be among the NHLers again for a week or two. I think he's signed to an AHL contract with Rockford, where he's the captain. Guy had one hell of a health scare where he had to be screened for Huntington's disease.

_________________

Nalimov performed rather well for his age in the KHL last year. He was a later-round pick of the Hawks.

Viktor Svedberg on waivers, FUCKING FINALLY. Man alive was that dude terrible. I can't believe how long he was able to coast on "can't teach size." He was so bad at everything.

Bunch of other cuts/assignments today but Tyler Motte and Alex Fortin are still hanging in there. I think the powers that be really want Hinostroza to make the team but in their hearts know he shouldn't.

_________________

The difference between Motte and Hinostroza from what I've seen is that Motte seems to be able to win battles, even if he is undersized, whereas Hinostroza seems to put in the effort, but can't win those little battles. Motte may be the de facto replacement for Shaw without the dipshitedness.

_________________
Not a mult.

Hinostroza is fast but doesn't appear to have much else in his favor. He's in the Jack Skille/Viktor Stalberg bin.

Mark McNeill doesn't appear to have anything in his favor. He's a guy. I'd say he's bound for Rockford but he used up his waiver exemption and might get scooped up by I dunno, Phoenix or something.

_________________

Hino has plenty of developmental time remaining to refine his skills around his speed. I think he has made enough plays around his skill to stick around right now. There aren't many better options, anyway. I think he's playing a little too quickly right now, actually. He could stand to slow it down just a little bit and not force quite as much.

6-1 blowout against a Wings squad that appeared to keep its better players home as the Hawks did in Detroit. One goal each for Schmaltz, Hinostroza, and Hartman, Motte had an assist, Fortin had one and one. The first nine games of the year will be interesting. Fortin, of all the rookie forwards, should probably be the one to make the team.

_________________

The Hawks might have to break camp with eight defensemen with the way Forsling is playing, but a third pairing of two guys brand-new to North American rinks has me a little edgy. I'm not sure how rigidly these things are enforced, but what the Hawks may have to do with Rozsival eventually is assign him to Rockford without necessarily expecting him to report immediately or regularly and just treat it as a casual long-term rehab assignment where he drops in on IceHogs games here and there to stay fresh until we get to the home stretch and need him as a safety net. Of course, all this would be foiled if someone were to claim him off waivers, and if you want to do that, fucking fine, have him. But I think the endgame here is gonna be a three-man rotation of Kempny, Forsling, and van Riemsdyk.

_________________

I had high hopes for TVR. I'm not so sure now.

You did? He was an undrafted college free agent; I don't think the ceiling was ever higher than "pretty good third-pairing guy." At this point I'd say he's a 6/7 because of all the leg injuries slowing him down (and he wasn't a speedster to begin with) while still having a high hockey IQ. He's a guy you want on your team but you can't ask for him to give you anything more than "don't fuck up," which itself can really be a fairly big ask of third-pairing defensemen.

I know what you mean, though. I had high hopes for Eric Gustafsson (second- or third-round pick of the Oilers, we know Sweden churns out good d-men) but the rise of Forsling and arrival of Kempny has pretty much obviated him. Singlehandedly losing the Blues series didn't help, either.

_________________

I don't know all the stuff you know. I don't have the time right now. Sometimes I watch and hope. Sometimes I like somebody and sometimes I don't. High hopes might = solid player for him. The injuries have been sad. I like him.

Do me a favor? Let's watch a couple or lots of games before the sky starts falling. We have a core. Some aging with miles, some have lost focus, some btdt. They are or were talented and let me really like or watch the end of the last 8 years. It will pass. I don't have the history you do. Let me enjoy or not enjoy the season without everything being horrible from 10/12/16 on.

One of the other things that has gotten on my nerves with Fels/McClure is their obsession with blaming everything possible on Trevor van Riemsdyk. The kid's been doing the best he can after his leg blew up last year. Guy has a head and a heart most players in his roster spot don't have and doesn't need to be a punching bag for a couple of bitchmade Julie DiCaro disciples.

_________________

Maybe that's why I like him. Why don't they? What happened to them? I think they hate Seabrook too. And everybody else.

They seem to hate pretty much anyone who's not a toolsy European (Europeans are their Disrespected Other the way blacks are Senor's). I wonder how they're gonna handle Ville Pokka being slower than hard shit.

_________________

Your Senior columnist was a favorite of mine.

So why Europeans?

European hockey has always been more skill-oriented than North American hockey, which was built almost entirely around the dump-and-chase until the Red Army came over, showed us that hockey could have beauty and finesse, and fucked us in the ass till we bled. They hate all the GRIT HEART FAAAAAAAAAAARRT, as they call it, stuff embodied primarily by Canadian and American players, mostly because it's the kind of thing Dan Bernstein would hate and their whole blog, at its core, is really just a hockey-themed export of Boers & Bernstein.

Fundamentally, it's right to value skills and stats over grit and heart, but relying entirely on one is just as perilous as relying entirely on the other. For every Bruins team that gave away talent for not "playing the game the Bruins Way," you have teams like the Oilers and Hurricanes that never dug deeper than "those numbers look good, take him" and built teams with no chemistry and no character and did even worse than the dumbfuck Bruins ever did.

_________________

I like skill and finesse but there is an inherent randomness to hockey. If you can't get on board with it then you don't like the game. It's part of why I find it so exciting.

Enjoy TVR while you can. He will be either moved this year or lost in the expansion draft. Unless he turns into the 2nd coming on Duncan Keith.

I don't see how they don't bring Motte along as well. VinnyHinny is a tweener; may be this year's designated Rockford Express guy?

Again, I'm not sure about the overall negativity toward TvR. He is IMO a solid third-pair guy. Hey - they put the "A" on him in the 2nd or 3rd preseason game; then again, they also had one on Jake Dowell shortly thereafter...

_________________
Not a mult.

TVR is a good, serviceable bottom-pairing guy. He gives you everything he has and as CH said, has a ton of heart. He might not make it beyond that 5-6 spot, but considering the development he's made of his career already, that's a win for him. He could make a career as a bottom-paring guy for the Hawks if he wants to stick around and play for bottom-pairing money in a stable organization and defensive system. I had really high hopes for Gus and actually still do. I think he wore down over the course of a longer season for him last year, but he flashed nicely in his first 30-40 games or so. I think he's the first guy up if they need somebody (which with the sudden glut of D-men, maybe not). Campbell won't be here forever, though, so it'd be nice if some of these guys stuck around (plus the development of Dahlstrom and Norell this year).

Fortin would be a huge scouting coup for the Hawks if he pans out to be a steady contributor. He may need to go back to the Q after a few games, but I've been impressed so far. You're going to need at least Motte and Hino to contribute a little bit. Maybe Schmaltz, too. I had doubts that all three would stick up to start the year, but they don't have any other compelling options. Might as well give them a shot, but they need to make sure they have actual skill players to roll with. You can't put Schmaltz out there with Desi and expect magic.

Andrew Desjardins, would anyone mind if he went away? What did he do last year? Anything? If any one of these rookies were over six feet or 190 pounds, I'd drop him in a second.

_________________

I mostly agree. I think it's worth having a veteran around on that grind line. But he's completely interchangeable.

Apparently the Hawks and Oilers are revisiting the Yakupov rumors today. Per Barstool and Zawaski (I know), Edmonton would retain salary and no current NHL Hawks would go back. I guess Edmonton really wants to unload the former #1 overall pick. He has not been good in Edmonton, but plays for a (until this point) crappy team and could perhaps need a change of scenery. Pairing him up with Panarin and Anisimov, then sliding Kane with Toews and Panik sounds good to me if Yakupov can earn that spot.

I also saw this today on a national source.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

No thanks

Acquiring Yakupov would be so weird. From refusing to have anything to with Russians in their first run to now actively seeking out Russians in Anisimov, Panarin and possibly Yakupov.

The national sources (i.e. McKenzie) seem more tepid on this rumor, but the local "sources" make it sound like it's only a matter of making the dollars work.

Well, you certainly couldn't buy much lower on Yakupov. I'd roll the dice. I'd rather have a project player (perhaps the ultimate project player?) than a low-ceiling fuckup like Jordin Tootoo. In fact, make that exact trade.

_________________