The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” are joined once again by The-Rink NHL draft guru Bill “Wiz” Placzek to wrap up the draft.

• We discuss the trade for Olli Maatta
• We discuss the trade for John Quenneville
• The crew reconvenes to go through the Blackhawks draft picks, some #WordsOfWizdom, and the trade for Calvin de Haan.
• Some opinions on what might happen with the goalies this next season
• Some vintage #GateRage
• We answer some listener and reader questions along the way
• We say thank you and best of luck to a Rink writer, and a potential HUGE podcast guest coming.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 54 – Draft/Trade wrap with Bill “Wiz” Placzek appeared first on The Rink.

(Wiz note 1: this would force a core player sell off quicker rather than later, because Dahlin’s second deal will not be a RFA bridge but a long term big dollar one, marking the start of the “hard rebuild”).

2) Connected to the first prayer, they are now praying they find a taker on one of their top two defensemen to re-establish CAP flexibility.

3) Pray they win a top two or three pick and pray those two scoring forwards prospects already showing high pace IQ and skill are worth passing for Brady Tkachuk, who along with his representation, would have to give assurances he is by-passing anymore college.

(Wiz note 2: these top forwards, Andrei Svechnikov and Filip Zadina are clearly smart quick super-skilled and not going to need much growth in terms of offensive game and look to help the teams that draft them quickly at even strength and the power play. Let’s give taking Brady Tkachuk early a name: How about the Louis DeBrusk factor?)

4) Connected to the third prayer: If the Hawks were to select Svechnikov or Zadina in the second or third slot after a lottery win, neither is going to prove much by staying in junior, subsequently the Blackhawks are now praying they find a taker on the Anisimov, Saad, or another costly forward deal (he who shall not be named) to secure more scoring for the present with more Cap money. No matter how we all try to justify Artemi planarian’s departure, because we know there wasn’t going to be an excess nine or ten million to resign him, no one can demean the fact he is a GREAT NHL scorer we no longer have. Could a hard rebuild and purge of the established core and the cap room lure him back in free agency? I think not.

5)  If the Blackhawks do not win either of the last two lottery slots, they pray that any and all the teams above them DO win all three top slots,

And not any team under them in the pre draft rankings so the Blackhawks don’t move backward 1-4 possible slots;although hopes of Brady fade, a top ten pick this year is still an awfully good place to add a prospect.

6) Pray Montreal wins the lottery, one over all, so the Habs don’t have Brady Tkachuk in consideration at all.

Just as Montreal chose Ryan Poehling, the Hawks’ TRUE #1 target last season (which triggered the hawk trade up and Henri Jokihaju pick), the Habs will scoop Brady before the hawks choose, because as much as the Habs have need at defenseman, they also need the big forward physical presence a Tkachuk brings.

(Wiz note 3: I keep reading about how Brady is “lesser-light when it comes around to comparisons with the polished forwards ranked above him. I can’t overstate how he is a take no prisoner aggressive power player who causes problems where ever he is and plays to win. And there is plenty of upside too. I doubt he sees the minors and starts on the job apprenticing next season because there is little to prove in the college ranks, and NHL play is the only place further adjustment can take place. In my opinion, he is a terrific ingredient that he balances the undersized parts of the Hawk forward line-up.)

7) Look for the Blackhawks to be praying for one of the teams drafting one through six to in a quest for offensive generating defenseman causes a small run on defenders starting at slot # 5, thereby causing slippage of a safe forward, or a guy considered by the hawks scouting staff as perfect drop into their laps.

(Wiz note 4: Some are saying it is a strong second their after Dahlin made up FOUR players, making pick six the start of a drop off to the third tier. That is NOT how I see it, as the smaller “push” defensemen in this draft have been scouted and have seen more video scrutiny than most past year’s prospects, because NHL teams must feel certain these super-fast undersized players CAN hold up in some form in the defensive parts of the game. Their prayers might be answered if an early selecting team loves one of the many smaller dynamic skating attacking offense man. The game has changed, more that we all want to believe. The physical presence part of the defensive position has radically taken a back seat to the need for every team to have more than one skilled and quick footed defender with upside…teams maybe in fact be reaching for a few of these attacking offensemen, leaving an opportunity for quality forward prospects to fall down a few slots.)

8) Pray there are teams ahead of them with divergent scouting lists and a prospect the hawks have ranked higher slips to them at both the early and later first round pick. This draft is filled with prospects and that many scouts felt had higher upside but still hadn’t gotten the parts together to warrant mention in the very first selections, who are very good players, so the Blackhawks pray one drops to them in slots ten, nine, eight, and maybe even in that later Nashville pinch, acquired in the Hartman – Ejdsell trade.

(Wiz note 5:  What would be causing slippage and selection of defenseman over these forwards? There would be questions about their over all ability to progress to elite status players…many of these prospects are guys who will be close to guaranteed NHL roster fillers, even if there is less star quality upside. They don’t have foot speed issues or lack 200 foot commitments. This happens with regularity; ask the Kings how happy they were when the guy third on their board, Gabe Vilardi, was still there at #11 when they selected.)

9) The Blackhawks final prayer is that some Stanley Cup contender knocks off the Nashville Predators BEFORE they get to the final four, so the second 1st rounder is one in the 27 or under slots.

(6th and final Wiz note: I was of the opinion that as soon as they knew the chances of a playoff spot were close to diminished, the Hawks’ main goal was to secure replacement picks in each of the early rounds where they had traded theirs. I think the hawks were looking for a 2nd rounder and the chance of a late first rounder plus a chance to see if Victor Ejdsell could help sooner made it seem to Stan Bowman that he had no choice but to make the deal instead of giving Hartman a handsome re-up at a price he would have trouble justifying. And please, don’t tell me how slow Ejdsell is, all I see is the sweeping wrist shot usually reserved to a much smaller player that gets off really quickly.)

Now all of you, START PRAYING TOO.

Because this team is going to have to transform via some upgrade and not just rely on improvement from each and every youngster. There has to be more at the top end working if we don’t want to be praying on lottery balls a year from now.

The post Chicago Blackhawks Pre-Draft Lottery Novena appeared first on The Rink.

Introducing Bill “Wiz” Placzek, the newest writer at The-Rink.com, and our prospect/draft expert. Bill will be providing more and more coverage leading up to the draft. But for now, here’s his take on the Blackhawks’ personnel moves of the last several months—and looking forward. 

My personal disappointment prior to last year’s NHL draft in Chicago was the news the day before of the departure of Nik Hjalmarsson, and Artemi Panarin.

My shock wasn’t that the team again felt forced into a cap corner, and made these moves, as much as what they decided to take in return.

As a Blackhawk fan, it was a stark reset.

I wanted to be angry—and when arriving at the United Center door and starting conversations with the fans around, I felt even worse, because almost all were of the opinion that Brandon Saad was a better player than Panarin; that Saad’s history with his former team and his style was just as important as Panarin’s contributions.

Sure, I understood these were moves in reaction to a tight cap, but was surprised that most saw the Columbus deal as a winner for Chicago, especially because the Hawks got an up and coming goaltender in Forsberg—besides Saad.

And I honestly thought that one deal was made based on their familiarity with Saad, and that Arizona’s GM John Chaka was the only GM willing to send a young defenseman that was signed long term back in the Hammer deal. No Cap space to pay Panarin and the comfort of a still developing young defenseman limited to a reasonable acap number led to the start of the soft rebuild.

I have read fan comments the entire year about the sudden decline of the Hawks core, especially two players who are still the team’s best two defenders, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and how the youth of the league was rapidly skating rings around the Blackhawk forward contingent.

The 2017-18 season officially closed the playoff window, they said, and even making an appearance couldn’t lead to success, as the roster depth had declined to a point where Coach Quenneville had no choice but to play new players.

Window closed and the management quietly started a reboot.

In my humble opinion, Panarin was the only reason the window stayed open up to the 2015-2017 seasons.

It was the add of the Breadman that provided an impact player who was able to mesh with Kane and maintain the ability to score and change outcomes the entire two seasons he was a Blackhawk.

Sure, they knew already that Patrick Sharp’s deal had to be discarded, and that as much as Andrew Shaw was their heart and will, they probably got the best years of his battle torn body.

And I, for one, really want to know why Trevor Daley was unable to play for Quenneville, but moreover why the decision was made so quickly to not end up being on the hook for they rest of his contract.

But losing Saad and Shaw and the oft-injured Sharp still cut deep into the roster and roles they provided.

So, last summer’s moves, including the “retirement” of Marian Hossa, with a remaining albatross cap hit (that the league slapped on them), should not have taken us all off guard.

The soft rebuild was on the way from game one.

It didn’t quite work out, because although there was some encouraging on the job training by the farm system’s defenders and the free agent signing of Jordan Oesterle, these players were still not savvy enough to do what the veteran-laden defensive corps in the past had done: quickly move pucks out in transition so that defensive zone time would stay comparable to the past team’s.

To me, that was the gist of it; the season began as one where management was willing to allow the young forwards the time and experience necessary to become better all around NHLers, and even philosophically bite the bullet on deficits, as long as the additions could play fast on the attack.

(Granted, Q expects his forwards to be strong on the puck even more so the bigger a forward is, and also expects constant backside pressure from all forwards or you sit—just as Anthony Duclair did the other night.)

But the long possessions in their own defensive zone caused more losses of confidence than the entire team could handle. And that’s ignoring the loss of any semblance of NHL goaltending.

I am going to take a stab at what the organization and coaching staff was thinking from the beginning of the season.

Now let’s have a go at projecting what the long and short range plan to right the SS Blackhawk, when and if they have an NHL goaltender to anchor on.

1) Should he stay or should he goal?

“Anton Forsberg is young and his best years are still ahead of him…. that he would learn quickly to be a strong backup.” Unfortunately, in my opinion, it hasn’t happened. Even in the early OT games where we heard of his tenacity, he simply gave up goals he shouldn’t have. This continued through his tenure as starter and it is only recently that I feel there is starting to be better feel to his game.

I believe they will continue to view him as their second tier goalie, due to his age, and upside, until they finally lose patience and feel they have to secure someone who has a better chance of handling duties. Just like it is rare to trade for a first pair defender, it is rare to see a quality goaltender prospect bartered—I believe Tukka Rask was the last one when the Maple Leafs sent him to the Bruins. (Toronto management had deemed Justin Pogge their potential goaltender of the future, thereby rendering Rask expendable. GULP!)

So, that in itself explains my reasoning on why he stays on the roster.

2) Should they stay or should they go?

Don’t expect big fat contracts to any of these youngsters except for Nick Schmaltz and Alex DeBrincat, and they will be pressured to take what is offered, no matter what they think they can become. My reasoning is the organization wants them to feel wanted, so won’t simply try and force “just business” RFA deals on them, but the Hawks GM cannot commit to high percentage of cap deals and will try and get these two players and their representation to agree to long manageable money, unless Schmaltz has a break-out year next year, or if in the next two years, DeBrincat not only scores 20 goals but shows that his on-ice impact exceeds third line status, no matter which line he plays on.

The salary decision on Ryan Hartman is aided by this season’s reduced goal and point totals, so his agent is not going to be able to get him an overpay.

And quite frankly, the Hawks are in a good position to control the dollar figures on all these players and Vince Hinostroza, and Tomas Jurco (cough), and for that matter, defenders Erik Gustafsson this summer, and Carl Dahlström, next summer. (It is clear Dahlström is viewed as sixth defender and cap safety)

Oesterle is a different matter, as he may seek to leave if he succeeds in the Blackhawk framework.

So much of the re-signing process is dependent upon whether the players feel gratitude that they were given opportunities, and want to stay and build something.

I think there will be little room for reward deals, because being a non-playoff team is also a strong bargaining chip for management to use against forwards seeking deals of high dollar and term.

3) Trades: Who should stay and who should go?

As the possibility of making the playoffs slipped by, I remarked that the first thing Chicago will do is try to recoup the 2nd and 4th round draft picks that were traded, because from all indications this is a stronger draft class than usual.

You have to wonder if the Michal Kempny trade to the Capitals for a low 3rd rounder was more necessitated by his frustration with the logjam on defense and resulting lack of chances or that the Hawks don’t see him as a long term solution.

Maybe a trickier decision is whether they need to launch Jan Rutta, who can go anywhere, if he doesn’t like the numbers and opportunities the Hawks can bring. You have to think that the Hawks would love a hometown discount, based on the positive play we saw from him for a long stretch this season. Does Stan Bowman know where all parties stand? If he does, maybe he goes shopping for a pick by that route.

I have been barraged by calls from friends, convinced that the soft rebuild will definitely include trading Artem Anisimov, who has a ten team list clause that kicks in 7/1, which I am certain he would waive and/or amend if he doesn’t feel wanted, and include more than ten teams if teams want him for the next three upcoming seasons.

Personally, I don’t think you subtract him, because while you are attempting to develop a young forward unit, you need that big center to play against the big centers that line the Central and West Divisions. Is he a luxury at 4.55 Million? I think not. I guess a lot would depend upon what the offer is. As reported here on the-Rink.com, Columbus inquired but was told by the Hawks they were not interested, but maybe that was because the offer wasn’t appealing enough?

As stated, Keith and Seabrook are still their best backliners, and today I heard that the Blackhawks might not be done trading and may be working on a deal that shakes the defensive core.

Does that mean Keith agrees to go to Toronto and be the left side glue they are rumored to be sniffing around for?

The friendship between Winnipeg’s Kevin Cheveldayoff and the Blackhawks organization might make things easily candid, and Chevy really isn’t going to have roster room for the next four years of first round picks, because he won’t have the cap space to pay them, and he is going to start having sleepless nights if he doesn’t bolster his roster with a bona fide Cup experienced forward, and maybe even defender. Word has it that as well as Jack Roslovic and Kyle Conner have played, the Jets feel that now is the time to make moves that bring their locker rooms strong leadership and more than depth to the current group. Certainly three players in forwards Adam Lowry, Brandon Tanev and defenseman Jacob Trouba may get healthy enough to dance in the post season, but they are going to have more players than they can sign to big deals, so they are in a position to make a mutually beneficial deal for both teams.

And just how much salary will the Hawks eat on any deals?

I am thinking they will try to subtract, while bolstering their future, and whether it comes in the form of a young Jet, or Toronto picks, the Blackhawks are not going to be shy about talking about just about every guy on this roster.

The post Analysis: Anatomy of a Soft Rebuild appeared first on The Rink.

I spent the last two nights watching the two games in North Dakota between Notre Dame and Denver U.

The Denver club might be more than the champ in their league: they could take the College Final Four.

DU played tight on the check of the ND defense, leaving no time; they are ranked #1 defensively in college hockey.

They are led by soon to be US Olympian RhC Troy Terry, who I wanted the Hawks to pick and the Ducks plucked in the 5th rd in 2015.

But the reason I watched was because of the two Blackhawk prospect defenders, who are the top pairing for Denver, LD Blake Hillman and RD Ian Mitchell.

I hadn’t seen either very much, so I wanted to get an impression. It was clearly made. Denver won game one in overtime and it was rough game, so when they came back to play last night, it wasn’t a surprise that there was some bad feeling from the game the night before.

Hillman is a load who plays physical, is active and makes his way down low and also to mid attack zone because he wasn’t afraid to shoot the puck. He also saw some time as LhRD when needed.

Mitchell, a 5’11” 173 pound freshman, is still not dramatically strong against the men he is playing against, but he is solid in his end and checks all the boxes of the new pro game attacker with quick feet, stick mobility and strong offensive instincts.

In the second game he was the guy who took the puck in his end and got down so his team could gain possession, and Kohen Olischefski  could get the shot to score the first goal.

Blake Hillman was very aggressive like he wanted to make his presence known and further frustrate the ND attackers. Both played as the Denver one d-man on the PP.

Mitchell scored the game winning goal in 2^nd overtime in the second game.

The post Wiz scouts Blackhawks Prospects Ian Mitchell and Blake Hillman appeared first on The Rink.