IceHogs Need Statement Win

On Tuesday night, the IceHogs hosted the red-hot Manitoba Moose and to sum up the game in a few words: it happened. The Moose came into the game winners of their last six in a row and nine of their last ten and it showed. Manitoba jumped all over the IceHogs early and often, getting an 8-1 win with Rockford’s lone goal coming from Anthony Louis.

Well wishes go out to Jeff Glass, who was in net for all eight Manitoba goals, though the blame for a number of them was not squarely on him. The IceHogs continuously had chances to match the Moose, but didn’t have the finishing ability on the night. Wipe the hands clean and move on.

Friday night sees the Illinois Lottery Cup rivalry write a new chapter as the Wolves come into Rockford for the third matchup between the teams this season. The season-series is split 1-1 after the IceHogs and Wolves traded 4-3 victories in games one and two.

Chicago sits at the bottom of the AHL Central Division with 14 points in the standings and just one win, against Rockford, in their last ten games (1-6-3). Chicago’s special teams don’t tell the story of a team struggling as their power-play ranks 21st in the AHL (15.4%) and their penalty-kill ranks 11th (84.3%). Both ranking higher than the IceHogs, 28th on the powerplay (13.1%) and 26th on the penalty-kill (78.9%). If the IceHogs can get over their slump, the Wolves are the team to do it against, especially at home where the IceHogs are 7-5-1 this season, 3-1-1 in their last five games.

Rockford will have a quick turnaround after Friday night as they welcome the Texas Stars for a Saturday night matchup. The Stars are currently second in the AHL Pacific Division, and will becoming off of their own Friday night game, a road contest against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Saturday’s game will be the first of four games against the Stars, who the IceHogs won’t see again until Feb. 28, 2018. The Stars come into the game on Saturday with the AHL’s 24th ranked powerplay at 14.6% and a penalty-kill rate of 79.2%, also ranking 24th in the league.

Texas has been on a hot streak as of late, winning seven of their last ten games and four in-a-row heading into the Friday night matchup against the Griffins. The IceHogs will need to be mindful of the Travis Morin–Curtis McKenzie connection that the Stars ice, with Morin leading Texas in points with 22 (4G, 18A) and McKenzie leading in goals with 11 on the season.

Jordin Tootoo Assigned To IceHogs

On Thursday, the Chicago Blackhawks assigned Jordin Tootoo to the Rockford IceHogs after Tootoo cleared NHL waivers. Tootoo has yet to see the ice this season, spending time on Long-Term Injured Reserve since Oct. 4 with an upper-body injury. Tootoo is expected to be in the lineup for the IceHogs immediately after playing 50 games for the Blackhawks last season.

In his career, Tootoo has played in 723 NHL games with 161 points and 151 AHL games with 67 points. His last AHL stint was during the 2013-14 season with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Off The Ice

Aside from the action on the ice this weekend, the IceHogs have an eventful off the ice schedule planned for Friday and Saturday at the BMO Harris Bank Center. On Friday night, three-time Stanley Cup Champion Marian Hossa will be in the house for a meet and greet with fans. The first 2,500 fans in attendance on Friday will receive a free Hossa poster. A number of fans will also randomly receive a certificate with their poster, which will grant them an opportunity to meet Hossa and receive an autograph. Hossa tribute videos and a ceremonial puck drop are also in the works for Friday’s game.

Following up on Saturday, the IceHogs have their annual Teddy Toss benefiting Rockford-area hospitals and children’s charities. Fans are invited to bring new or gently-used teddy bears or stuffed animals to the game to toss on the ice after the IceHogs score their first goal of the game. Last season, the IceHogs collected and donated a total of 3,491 teddy bears last season.

Friday’s game is slated for a 7pm CT puck drop and Saturday’s game has a 6pm CT puck drop.

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Joel Quenneville said Jordin Tootoo is “real close” to returning, but it’s unclear whether he’ll stay with #Blackhawks or be sent to Rockford. Status quo for Michal Rozsival.

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 27, 2017

What To Do With Tootoo?

There is no real plan at this time for what the Blackhawks plan to do when Tootoo returns to action, but with the current roster rotation, it becomes difficult to find a spot that makes sense for him. With the Blackhawks already playing Lance Bouma and Tommy Wingels on the fourth line, the role of bottom-six physical presence is already filled. Unless the Blackhawks find him a place in the current roster,Tootoo will most likely end up being sent to the Rockford IceHogs, being that he is waiver exempt.

The question then becomes, do the Blackhawks plan to take ice-time away from a player with the IceHogs? Rockford has been a much younger, faster squad this season compared to last and adding Tootoo could take away from the development of a mostly early-20’s roster of players. The addition of a veteran presence in the young IceHogs locker room could be the selling point for Tootoo as the 34-year old returns to the ice.

The other option would be making a deal to give Tootoo another opportunity with another club to get NHL ice-time, but that seems unlikely after the Blackhawks extended his contract last summer. Last season, Tootoo played in 50 games for the Blackhawks, tallying three points and 28 penalty minutes. The last time he played in the AHL was in the 2013-14 season, Tootoo played in 51 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

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With opening night less than a week away, the Blackhawks are down to some tough decisions with their roster. We talked at length about the options on Tuesday night’s Shoutcast, but there are some real questions. I’m going to break down some of the upcoming roster decisions or at least try to lay them out in a logical manner. This doesn’t mean Joel Quenneville decide to use the logical method. Lastly, we look at the offense:

Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Richard Panik

This is your first line, and it has been since the day the Blackhawks traded Artemi Panarin for Brandon Saad back in June. We all know what we are going to get from Saad and Jonathan Toews. Richard Panik is a bit more of a wild card. No one believed me when I predicted that Panik could easily replace the 34 points that were sent to Montreal with Andrew Shaw. No only did Panik replace the points, but he eclipsed it. By a decent margin. He played all 82 games, and contributed 22 goals, 22 assists for 44 points. These are all better than Andrew Shaw has ever reached in his career. I don’t expect that Panik will have 22 goals again, but it’s really not all that unreasonable. With Saad on the other wing, Panik will have more room to work. As long as he is in the right place, he will have every opportunity to equal that 44 points. This line is light years better now than it was in April. Expect Jonathan Toews to have a bounceback typical Jonny Toews year, and for Brandon Saad to have a career year. Saad is coming off three straight 50+ point seasons, and this year will be no different. 60 points is not unfathomable.

Alex Debrincat – Nick Schmaltz – Patrick Kane

I know, the Debrincat hater has him not only making the team, but playing in the top 6. If you look at the alternatives, there really aren’t any. Unless they move Nick Schmaltz back to wing, no one else fits the position, and they certainly haven’t been playing Schmaltz at center all preseason only to dump him back at the wing. I think Debrincat will hit the wall in ten games and they will need to re-adjust but, for the moment, it won’t hurt to try this combo out to open the season. Speaking of Nick Schmaltz, this kid has impressed me. He was a pouty little brat, last season, once he was sent to Rockford and it rubbed me the wrong way. Granted he still has that pouty look on his face all the time, but his play has grow leaps and bounds. He was “good” last season, after he came back from Rockford, but this preseason he has been excellent. I would have never placed him at second line center, but that is where he has been the entire preseason. He has not looked out of place either. This makes you wonder what the future holds for new third line $4.55 million center Artem Anisimov. Patrick Kane is; Patrick Kane. I don’t want to say too much or the PC Police will come after me.

Patrick Sharp – Artem Anisimov – Ryan Hartman

If we didn’t expect to have Debrincat or Schmaltz on the second line, we certainly didn’t expect to see Artem Anisimov on the third line. If Debrincat makes the team, I’m fine with Sharp on the third line, and if Debrincat doesn’t, then someone like Wingels or Hayden can slide up. Ryan Hartman is a perfect third line player and will have a solid year once again there. Anisimov is a perfectly fine third line center, but I have my reservations about paying a player $4.55 million for the next 4 years to play on the third line. At some point they have to investigate getting him to waive that no trade clause and clear that cap room. For the near future, he is perfectly fine in the third line role. Even if he can’t win a faceoff to save his life. Circling back to Debrincat, Quenneville toyed with playing him on this third line with Anisimov and Hartman, and I’m not a fan whatsoever. He is not really responsible defensively, yet, and he is not a player that drives possession by himself. He needs to be set up for his chances, by skill players. Anisimov and Hartman are good, but they are good straight line players. They are not going to set Debrincat up with beautiful passes, or dazzling moves. I cannot see this experiment working, and you are not putting him in a position to succeed based on his skillset.

Tommy Wingels – Tanner Kero – Lance Bouma
Tomas Jurco, Jordin Tootoo, John Hayden,Vinnie Hinostroza

This fourth line is a complete mystery. You might as well just throw all the names in a hat and randomly pick them out. What you see above is not what I would select, rather what I think Quenneville and Bowman will decide. Tanner Kero is a fine, responsible fourth line center and should have that position locked down. Tommy Wingels, Lance Bouma and Jordin Tootoo are basically the same player in “small, medium, sort-of-large” sizes. If Quenneville wants to keep one of those three players as a 13th forward for the “grit”, that’s fine by me. Keeping all three is simply preposterous. My honest opinion is that they should keep Wingels and Hayden, waive Bouma or Tootoo, and launch Tomas Jurco into the sun. This is not the year to waste roster spots on players that you mistakenly signed or traded for. The problem with this entire scenario is that the Blackhawks rarely ever admit their mistakes, which means Wingels, Bouma, Tootoo, and Jurco will all make the roster. This leaves Hayden and Hinostroza heading due west to Rockford, even though John Hayden has done everything to make this opening night roster. We are only talking about 6-8 minutes a night for this line, but it is just not the best way to maximize your talent. There I go applying logic again. Please allow me to beat any logic out of my brain with a 2×4.

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