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Blackhawks NCAA Campus Report: Jan 4-6

  
Blackhawks NCAA Campus Report: Jan 4-6
Photo courtesy of The Daily Gazette

As Blackhawks fans endure another tough season, it’s extremely difficult to tell where the direction of the team is pointing.  Are they rebuilding and does Stan Bowman plan to tear the whole team down at the trade deadline to collect future assets?  Or do they truly believe they can rally to sneak into the playoffs?  It’s hard to see a team with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews be sellers at the deadline, but it may be the best thing for the team long term.

The Blackhawks’ prospect pipeline is sprinkled with some serious talent on the blue line and they have the opportunity to draft high again this year.  The problem is if the Hawks have the right GM to successfully rebuild the team.  Hitting on draft picks and development is the only way to sustain winning in today’s NHL and it’s debatable whether Bowman is the right person for the job.  But with interest waning and ticket prices still sky high, the Blackhawks need some sort of splash to keep them relevant.

Last weekend, we saw a couple players stand out and contribute to their teams who aren’t usually on the scoresheet.  We also saw Ian Mitchell return from the World Juniors and not miss a beat.  As we enter the second half of the NCAA season, competition is starting to ramp up.  Let’s get into what happened last weekend.

Parker Foo – Forward – Union

Parker Foo sure picked a great weekend to shine for the Union Dutchmen.  Union took on top-ranked St. Cloud State Friday night and upset the Huskies 7-2 in Pittsburgh in the Three Rivers Classic.  Foo scored his fourth goal of the season after he beat the defenseman to the outside and drove the net.  Foo also added two assists to his total on Saturday in the Dutchmen’s loss to Brown 6-3.  Foo now has four goals and four assists in his sophomore season at Union in 16 games.

Jack Ramsey – Forward – Minnesota

The Gophers had a tough test this weekend when they welcomed the Penn State Nittany Lions to Minneapolis.  Penn State is known for putting up a huge amount of shots per game and can score over five goals with ease.  But the Gophers fought hard and earned a split.  Blackhawks prospect Jack Ramsey scored a couple nice goals earning him his first two points of the season.

Ramsey’s first goal was a beautiful curl-and-drag snipe that will most likely be one of the plays of the week.  And with his second, Ramsey fights hard in front of the net and somehow maneuvers the puck around the goaltender for the score.

Ian Mitchell – Defenseman  – Denver

After a bittersweet exit from the World Juniors Championship, Mitchell didn’t sulk for long.  The Denver Pioneers defenseman caught up with his teammates for their first series of 2019 against Wisconsin and he contributed in a big way.  Mitchell had three assists in the weekend series where the Pioneers swept the Badgers on the road.  I’m not sure when the Blackhawks are going to see Ian Mitchell, but when they do he’s really going to turn heads.  He has the talent to snipe a goal or circle the wagons until he finds a man open for the easy score.  He has the complete game.

Evan Barratt – Forward – Team USA

Meanwhile in the gold medal game of the World Junior Championship, Evan Barratt and Team USA fell to Henri Jokiharju and Finland.  Barratt had a strong start to the tournament, but cooled off eventually.  In a bizarre year where Canada and Sweden were knocked out early, USA had the opportunity to come away with gold, but fell just short.

 

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