The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John Jaeckel are joined by Rink prospect expert Eric Andrews to wrap up Blackhawks Prospect and Development Camp.

• The Blackhawks trade Marian Hossa’s contract, Vinnie Hinostroza and Jordan Oesterle for some prospects and the corpse of Marcus Kruger.
• What about Tobias Enström?
• Stan Bowman has another virtually useless press conference regarding trades and Corey Crawford full of more fluff, empty words and lisp service
• Lots of prospect talk but did any really stand out?
• RIP, Ray Emery
• We wrap up the episode with some great listener/reader questions.

thanks to @Wm_J_Lepetomane on Twitter for this fine creation

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The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 27 (Prospect Camp) appeared first on The Rink.

Roster Shakeup Ahead?

While no team is immune to the inevitable roster turnover in the AHL, the IceHogs have seen their fair share of talent come and go this season. Whether getting called up, assigned down, or traded, the IceHogs roster at the moment misses a lot of what made them a dangerous team early in the season. No player had a bigger impact in the first two dozen games for the IceHogs this year than Vince Hinostroza. He was nearly a point-per-game player with 22 points in his 23 games with Rockford, but was called up to the Chicago Blackhawks early in December and has not looked like he has any intention of coming back to Rockford this season, or any other season for that matter.

Along with Hinostroza, players like Tomas Jurco, Carl Dahlstrom, Erik Gustafsson, and David Kampf have been key contributors this season for Rockford that have been recalled to the Blackhawks and may not return to the IceHogs this season. Alongside the call-ups are the re-assignments, and those have benefited the IceHogs this season with players like Cody Franson, Gustav Forsling, John Hayden, and Tanner Kero making their marks in the AHL this season.

Tomas Jurco of the Rockford IceHogs (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)

The problem that will give the Rockford roster the biggest issue as they attempt to make a playoff push, is the NHL trade deadline. The deadline ends at 3pm Eastern Time on Monday, Feb. 26. With the Chicago Blackhawks looking to be sellers as the final days approach, the IceHogs roster could very well be the target of a few deals. Already players like Ville Pokka and Laurent Dauphin have been parts of trades out of the Blackhawks organization that had sizable impacts with the IceHogs this year.

The weekend will have its fair share of action as the IceHogs hit the road for games against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Hershey Bears, but with the deadline clock ticking down, it’ll be interesting to see who comes back to Rockford with the team and who is in the lineup for the Wednesday game against the Texas Stars.

Henrik, so hot right now. Henrik.

One player that the IceHogs added to the mix on a Professional Tryout agreement earlier this month is Henrik Samuelsson. Since joining the team on Feb. 11, Samuelsson has three goals in three games played and has seen his fair share of quality ice-time with Rockford.

Henrik Samuelsson of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)

There is a fair chance that Samuelsson has already played his way into the favor Jeremy Colliton, being given powerplay opportunities and top-minutes, but the pace Samuelsson’s on may be an illusion early on. Hopefully for Rockford’s sake, it is not.

Samuelsson’s Media Day: 2-20-18

IceHogs Lead With Balanced Attack, Face Defensive Questions

While the roster has endured its changes, the IceHogs still have the ability to apply pressure offensively from multiple angles. Line combinations like Tyler Sikura, Andreas Martinsen, and John Hayden rolled along with a grouping like Anthony Louis, Matthew Highmore, and Henrik Samuelsson can give opposing teams fits to deal with the size, speed, and skill combinations that Rockford can put together. Since the departures of Hinostroza and Jurco this season, top forward rookies Matthew Highmore and Anthony Louis have been the key players jump starting the offense, along with additions like John Hayden, Tanner Kero, and Adam Clendening in the back half of the season.

Anthony Louis shoots on net against the Milwaukee Admirals. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)

The biggest issue will be defending. While the third-highest scoring team in the AHL Western Conference, the IceHogs are a -3 in goal-differential this season. Losing J.F. Berube to injury for two months and then getting recalled by the Chicago Blackhawks, paired with Jeff Glass being recalled by the Blackhawks for a month and a half put Rockford in a pinch between the pipes. Matt Tomkins and Collin Delia were forced into roles as an AHL goaltending tandem when they were expected to be the Indy Fuel’s one-two punch in the ECHL. While Tomkins and Delia were efficient enough in net to keep the IceHogs in most games, and on more than one occasion steal a game, the IceHogs were missing their original tandem in Glass and Berube. Getting Glass back and having a now AHL-tested Delia in net should give the IceHogs an advantage in net moving forward.

Along with improvements in net, the IceHogs have improvements to make on the blue-line as well. While the addition and return of longtime Rockford Adam Clendening has been a plus, the loss of Ville Pokka and Jeremy Colliton’s use of Robin Norell as a forward has left the Rockford defensive core on the edge. Erik Gustafsson and Carl Dahlstrom have been recalled and with the Blackhawks for some time now, while Cody Franson and Gustav Forsling have been working towards getting back to the Chicago lineup for almost just as long. The problem lines with the next few days as Clendening, Franson, and Gustafsson could all be pieces of trade deadline moves. The IceHogs will need to have players like rookies Darren Raddysh, Luc Snuggerud, and veteran Viktor Svedberg pull their weight as questions around the defensive rosters stability hang in the air over the weekend.

What’s Next?

As mentioned before, the IceHogs travel over the weekend to faces the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night in Pennsylvania. Puck drop is set for 6:05pm Central Time on Friday night. After that, the IceHogs stay in Pennsylvania to take on the Hershey Bears on Saturday night. Saturday night’s puck drop is set for 6pm Central Time. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is currently in Calder Cup Playoff spot in the AHL Eastern Conference sitting in fifth-place at 30-15-5 with 65 points and a .650 points-percentage, while Hershey sits in 12th place in the East with a 22-25-7 record, 51 points and a .472 points-percentage.

Again, a reminder that the NHL trade deadline is Monday, Feb. 26 at 3pm Eastern Time (2pm Central Time).

The post IceHogs: Calder Cup Playoff Spot Within Reach For Rockford appeared first on The Rink.

Highmore, Dahlstrom Step Into AHL Spotlight For IceHogs

In December, the Chicago Blackhawks recalled Hinostroza from the IceHogs after posting 22 points (9G, 13A) in 23 games and has since posted nine points (3G, 6A) in 15 games since his call-up. For Gustafsson, his recall came earlier this month after playing in 25 games and scoring 17 points (3G, 14A) for the IceHogs this season. After the recalls, the IceHogs were left without representation in the AHL Central Division for the All-Star Weekend.

There was little question as to who would be called up for replacements, though, as Highmore leads the team in scoring with 26 points (17G, 9A) through 41 games and leads all AHL Rookies in shots on goal with 102 and Dahlstrom has already notched a career-high 19 points (3G, 16A) through 39 games this season, tied for the team lead for defensemen with Ville Pokka.

"It's a great opportunity to pick some guys' brains…it's an exciting time and we'll make the most of it"

Hear from #IceHogs points leader, @MHighmore15, on his All-Star selection! pic.twitter.com/5PXevVr2rr

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 18, 2018

This marks the first AHL All-Star appearances for both Highmore and Dahlstrom, as well as the first major All-Star nod for either player in their young careers.

The AHL All-Star Weekend takes place on January 28 and 29 in Utica, New York. The AHL Skills Competiton will take place on Sunday the 28th before the AHL All-Star game on Monday the 29th. Both competitions will be broadcast on the NHL Network in the United States and on Sportsnet and Sportsnet NOW in Canada.

The post IceHogs: Highmore, Dahlstrom Named AHL All-Star Replacements appeared first on The Rink.

IceHogs Working to Get Through “Dog-Days” of January

The month started out with a hard grind with a three games in three days stretch for Rockford, in which the IceHogs were able to get three points with a 1-1-1 stretch over those three games. Including a loss to the Cleveland Monsters to begin the season, the IceHogs have started off 1-2-1 to begin the new year and have a 4-5-1 record over their last ten games as of January 9. Not ideal considering that the Manitoba Moose are 17-1-3 since November 15 and the Chicago Wolves are 12-0-2 over their last 14 games as of January 9. Needless to say, if the IceHogs want to climb the standings, they too will need to string wins together.

Easier said than done, of course. Coming off of their three games in three days stretch, Rockford will head out on a six game road trip that will take them to the Pacific time zone for three games against the Ontario Reign, San Jose Barracuda, and Bakersfield Condors before heading back to the Midwest for three games against the Cleveland Monsters (twice) and the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Still playing with two goalies that started the season with the Indy Fuel in Collin Delia and Matt Tomkins, and with a plethora of players heading into and out of Rockford this week, the IceHogs have a tall task in January to keep up in the Central Division.

Roster Shakeups Galore

The IceHogs have had one heck of a second week of January as far as transactions go. It was a long stretch to begin the season before the IceHogs and Blackhawks had any major movement.

Throughout the month of December, the IceHogs and Blackhawks moved the likes of Ville Pokka, Tanner Kero, Vince Hinostroza, David Kampf, and Jeff Glass with the latter three still playing in Chicago as of January 9. But in just the last few days there have been a number of players moving up and down within the organization as Tomas Jurco and Erik Gustafsson head from Rockford to Chicago and John Hayden and Cody Franson from Chicago down to Rockford. Additionally, the IceHogs sent Robin Press to the Indy Fuel and recalled Alex Wideman.

For Hinostroza, Kampf, Jurco, and Gustafsson the opportunity to make an impact for the organization at the NHL level is surely welcomed. Hinostroza led the IceHogs in scoring when he was recalled and has tallied eight points in 11 games with Chicago. For Kampf in his North American debut season, being one of the top-players that Head Coach Jeremy Colliton trusted in Rockford was a large stamp of approval and led to his recall in December. Since joining the Blackhawks, Kampf has two assists in six games and has played major minutes on the penalty-kill.

Tomas Jurco of the Rockford IceHogs (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)

Jurco and Gustafsson are the most recent call-ups from the IceHogs and have opportunities to make, potentially, one last impression for the Blackhawks as the NHL trade deadline approaches. Jurco, a trade deadline acquisition last season for Chicago, left a lot of people wanting a lot more out of him in his short stint with the Blackhawks. Starting the season with the IceHogs, Jurco seems to have found more confidence in his game as he ranked second on the team in scoring with 25 points in 36 games played before being recalled.

Gustafsson is in a similar boat as he has not made an impact for the Blackhawks since playing in 41 games during the 2015-16 season. He spent all of last season with the club in Rockford and aside from an injury that sidelined him for just about a month’s time, Gustafsson has been the most reliable defenseman for the IceHogs this season. While it’s possible both of their time with the NHL club will be short, it goes without saying that with both players becoming restricted free-agents at season’s end, the time to “show me” may be now.

Finally, with all these moves, the two top names that are heading down to the AHL are veteran Cody Franson and kinda-rookie John Hayden. As of late, both players have left a little to be desired from the Blackhawks, but their paths out of Rockford may be very different.

For Hayden, playing in a fourth-line grinder role fits his style of play as a big-body power forward. But, to stick in the NHL as a fourth-line grinder is not what the Blackhawks should have in mind for the 22-year old out of Yale. Hayden developed his game at the NCAA level and netted 21 goals in 33 games as a Senior Captain for the Bulldogs. Watching Hayden in the Summer at Prospect Camp and seeing his game at Yale, the scoring touch is very much there for him. He has not had the opportunity to showcase that very much this season, so the plan for him needs to be playing quality minutes and be more skill-oriented in his role. The hope is that time with the IceHogs will give Hayden more confidence and make him more effective when the time comes to bring him back to the Blackhawks, much like the organization did with Nick Schmaltz last season.

Franson’s case has become a bit murky. He joined the team out of training camp on a fairly team-friendly one-year, $1M deal for an NHL vet of over 500 games and 200 points as a defenseman. Franson started the season off well and his contribution were a welcome surprise to fans and the organization. But as of late, his lack of foot-speed and production on the score-sheet have not been the best for the Blackhawks. After clearing waivers and being sent to the IceHogs, Franson becomes a player buried in the AHL that could still make a nice addition to an NHL organization out there. He has always been an analytics-favored defenseman, but for some reason, teams felt that passing on him through waivers was all fine and good. His last stint in the AHL was just six games with the Milwaukee Admirals in the 2009-10 season and with the NHL trade deadline approaching, Franson’s stint with the IceHogs could be short-lived as a deal could be made with the Blackhawks defensive core emerging beyond him.

New All-Stars?

With both Vince Hinostroza and Erik Gustafsson being recalled by the Blackhawks, the IceHogs have effectively lost both of their AHL All-Star’s just two and a half weeks away from the All-Star break. It’s possible that Gustafsson’s stay with the Blackhakws could be short enough to have him return to Rockford before the AHL All-Star weekend on January 28-29, but Hinostroza will most likely not be returning to the IceHogs that quickly, or at all for that matter. With his play providing a jolt to the Blackhawks lineup, Hinostroza could have potentially played his last games of the season with the IceHogs already.

Matthew Highmore of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)

In their absence, the IceHogs have at least one player that has a very compelling argument to be a replacement in the AHL All-Star weekend. Rookie Matthew Highmore has been quite the addition to the IceHogs and the Blackhawks organization as a whole.

An undrafted free agent signing in the spring of last season, Highmore’s rookie season with Rockford has led the way for the IceHogs’ rookie class. With 26 points in 37 games played, Highmore leads the team in scoring and leads all AHL rookies in goal-scoring with 17 goals so far. His 26 points also rank him in the top-ten of rookie scoring overall. IceHogs Head Coach Jeremy Colliton has found yet another rookie on his roster that he can play in every situation as Highmore has played top-line center along with major minutes on both the penalty-kill and powerplay units.

If Hinostroza and/or Gustafsson don’t make their ways back to the AHL in time, Highmore should be an easy addition to the AHL Central Division All-Star roster.

What’s Next?

As mentioned before, the IceHogs are staring at a tough test as the next six games will all be away from the BMO Harris Bank Center. The good news for Rockford is that every team they play on this upcoming six game road trip are below them in the AHL Western Conference standings. Granted no game is easy in the AHL, but for the IceHogs, the games right in front of them all fall into the “winnable” category. It all begins on Wednesday, January 10 when the IceHogs roll into Ontario, California to take on the Ontario Reign.

After Rockford returns from the six game road trip, they will have back-to-back homes games before finishing the month of January on the road for a game against the Grand Rapids Griffins before taking some time off for the AHL All-Star Weekend.

The post IceHogs: January To Be Critical Month For Rockford appeared first on The Rink.

Hinostroza, Gustafsson selected to represent IceHogs

The IceHogs will more than likely have just one representative at the AHL All-Star weekend, despite having two players selected. Hinostroza began the year with Rockford, tallying 22 points (9G, 13A) in 23 games before earning a call-up to the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 8. Since joining the Blackhawks, Hinostroza has played in nine games and has four points (2G, 2A) in his time. It’s more than likely that his play as of late will cause him to miss the AHL All-Star Weekend at the end of January, but he’d probably be alright with that.

For Gustafsson, his injury-plagued stretch of the season did not stop his productivity and his play since returning to the lineup shows his worth to the IceHogs. In 22 games played this season, Gustafsson has tallied 14 points (3G, 11A) despite missing nearly a month of action in November and December. Gustafsson was the IceHogs’ Defenseman of the year after leading the team in scoring for defensemen, and is already on pace to break last year’s point total (30).

What’s Next?

The IceHogs have a busy weekend ahead of them as they will play three games in three days, starting on Friday night. On Friday, Rockford travels to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins in Michigan. Puck drop for Friday’s game is set for 7pm ET.

After their contest with the Griffins, the IceHogs return home for two games to close the weekend. On Saturday, Rockford hosts the Cleveland Monsters for a 6pm CT puck drop. Finishing the weekend of action, the IceHogs host the Milwaukee Admirals on Sunday afternoon for a 4pm CT puck drop.

Heading into the final three games in three days stretch of their season, Rockford sits in a tie for second-place in the AHL Central Division with the Iowa Wild. Both teams have 38 points and a .559 points percentage, trailing the Manitoba Moose at the top of the Division with 51 points and a .773 points percentage.

The post IceHogs: Hinostroza, Gustafsson Named AHL All-Stars appeared first on The Rink.

IceHogs Hurting Without Hinostroza

While it was called for from fans for weeks prior to the recall happening, Hinostroza’s play with the IceHogs was consistently at a high level and showed that he deserved a shot to crack the Blackhawks lineup and make an impact at the NHL level. In his five games with the Blackhawks so far this season, Hinostroza has just one point, a goal against the Winnipeg Jets, with 13 shots on goal and an average of 11:36 minutes of ice-time per game.

Playing in a third-line center position, Hinostroza has provided a burst of speed down the middle of the ice that the Blackhawks needed. While his point-production is just the one goal so far, his impact at 5-on-5 in a bottom-six role has been pretty much as advertised at the NHL level so far and has made a small-sample case to stick around in Chicago for the foreseeable future.

Highmore Has Opportunity To Be IceHogs Go-To Player

If the case does end up that Hinostroza will stay with the Blackhawks for a while, there becomes an offensive hole to fill for the IceHogs. Players like Tomas Jurco and Carl Dahlstrom have stepped up this season, but it’s the emergence of Highmore that has been a big find for the IceHogs and Blackhawks organization.

Highmore was an undrafted signing by the Blackhawks in the offseason after playing with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL for four seasons. In 289 games with the Sea Dogs, Highmore tallied 247 points (90G, 157A) as well as 45 points (15G, 30A) in 44 playoff games. During his final season with Saint John, Highmore tallied 89 points in the regular season and another 24 in the playoffs as the Sea Dogs won the QMJHL Championship.

The pedigree for success is there for Highmore. Head Coach Jeremy Colliton has put him in the lineup in high-profile spots, playing Highmore on the top forward line consistently, playing on the penalty-killing units and the powerplay to help spark the IceHogs young team. Highmore has taken advantage of his opportunities thus far, leading the team in goals (11) and second in points (18).

Without the offensive production of Hinostroza, the IceHogs need Highmore to break out of his current slump. Since recording his first career professional hat-trick on Nov. 22, Highmore has three points over the last 10 games. Prior to this current stretch, he totaled 15 points in 18 games to begin the year. For the IceHogs to keep pace in the Central Division, they will need Highmore to lead the rookie class in Rockford.

The post IceHogs: Without Hinostroza, Matthew Highmore Has Chance To Shine appeared first on The Rink.

The IceHogs headed into the weekend’s action without their top-scorer Vince Hinostroza after he was recalled to the Chicago Blackhawks and Tanner Kero was assigned to Rockford in his place. Hinostroza had been pacing the IceHogs offense all season, notching 22 points (9G, 13A) in 23 games played. Kero did not play in Friday night’s game but was in the lineup on Saturday for the IceHogs. In his AHL career, Kero has 64 points (32G, 32A) in 94 games played, all with Rockford, prior to Saturday’s game.

Friday: Rockford IceHogs def. Grand Rapids Griffins, 4-1

On Friday, the IceHogs came out pacing the Griffins early on, but it was a Matt Puempel powerplay goal mid-way through the first period that opened the scoring between the two sides. But, the Griffins’ lead would last less than three minutes as Rockford pulled even late in the period with a goal from Tomas Jurco. Jurco’s eighth goal of the season and the teams headed to the locker room tied at 1-1.

In the second period, the Griffins had the better scoring chances but the IceHogs and starter Jeff Glass were up to the task. With under three minutes to go in the period, Andreas Martinsen put the IceHogs ahead 2-1 with his third goal of the season and they would hold the lead for good form then on.

The third period saw the IceHogs dictate more of the action and get rewarded for it at the end of the period as Robin Norell made it a 3-1 game with under two minutes to play with his first goal of the season and Luke Johnson put his sixth goal of the season home on an empty net and Rockford came away winners, 4-1 over the Griffins. Glass made 33 saves on 34 shots faced and earned his eighth win of the season, third win in a row and improved to 8-2-1 on the season.

Saturday: Rockford IceHogs def. Grand Rapids Griffins, 7-2

Turn right around and do it all again on Saturday night in Rockford, this time the result was far more in favor of the IceHogs.

It was J.F. Berube to start the game after being reassigned to the club from the Chicago Blackhawks the day before. He would make 18 saves on all 18 shots he faced before exiting the game mid-way through the second period with an apparent left-leg injury after collision with Carl Dahlstrom. Berube left the game and did not return, Jeff Glass stepped in and made 18 saves on 20 shots faced in the remaining period and a half.

It was Martinsen in the first period to get the IceHogs on the board first with his fourth goal of the season and second of the weekend, to give Rockford the 1-0 lead after one period of play. The second period would see more offensive power from the IceHogs as Tomas Jurco and Darren Raddysh combined to put Rockford ahead 3-0 with their ninth and third goals of the season, respectively.

The IceHogs would jump out to a 6-0 lead after scoring three goals in just over the first three minutes of the third period. Goals coming from Matthew Highmore, his team-leading 11th of the season, Carl Dahlstrom on the powerplay, and Matheson Iacopelli to put Rockford ahead by a touchdown. The Griffins would add two goals in the period before David Kampf made it a 7-2 game with just under two minutes left in the game. Although leaving the game with an injury, Berube was credited with the win, his seventh of the season.

Who Are The IceHogs After 25 Games?

With the IceHogs taking four points out of four against the Griffins, they improve to 15-9-1 on the year, good for 31 points in the standings and a .620 points percentage. The IceHogs have won four games in a row to start the month of December, backed by the offensive production of Carl Dahlstrom, who has eight points (1G, 7A) during the four-game win streak, and sit in second place in the AHL Central Division behind the Manitoba Moose (18-5-3, 39pts, .750 pt%) who have not lost in regulation since Nov. 12.

While the special teams for Rockford leave a lot to be desired (28th ranked powerplay/ 27th ranked penalty-kill), their offensive production at even strength and two-goalie system has allowed them to be successful so far this season.

Outside of the play of Hinostroza, the IceHogs have relied heavily on a core of rookies to drive the ship. Rookies like Matthew Highmore and David Kampf have generated a lot of chances and offensive upside for Rockford. Along with the rookie production from the forwards group, the defensive rookie duo of Darren Raddysh and Luc Snuggerud have been bright spots on the blue-line and give the Blackhawks organization depth at the position that already has players like Ville Pokka and Erik Gustafsson ready for call-ups.

With a core group of regular players being first full-year AHL rookies (10 rookies have played 18+ games this season), the IceHogs have benefited from having “veteran” players around the young guys all season. Top contributors like Tomas Jurco, Luke Johnson, and Laurent Dauphin, although all still under 25-years old, have been able to lead this group to a much more promising season and future than has been seen in Rockford in the last few years.

The big question moving forward now becomes what will the IceHogs do in net without J.F. Berube for the foreseeable future? Jeff Glass has been solid all season for Rockford, but the success has come hand-in-hand with Berube. In his place, Collin Delia becomes the next man up in net after Berube’s injury. Delia has seen just one game with the IceHogs this season, a road loss to the Iowa Wild on Nov. 9 where Delia made 12 saves on 16 shots faced. He has 10 games played with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL, with a 1-7-2 record. Glass will be the workhorse in Berube’s absence for Rockford and he will need to continue his hot start to the 2017-18 season if the IceHogs are going to stay at the top-end of the Division and Conference.

What’s Next?

The IceHogs prepare for a Tuesday night home game against the rival Chicago Wolves before heading to San Antonio for a short weekend series with the San Antonio Rampage. Rockford is 2-1-0 against the Wolves in the Illinois Lottery Cup rivalry this season with both a shootout and overtime win over Chicago. The weekend action marks games number two and three against the Rampage this season. The IceHogs lost the first matchup against San Antonio on Nov. 10, a 6-0 loss.

Puck drop on Tuesday night is scheduled for 7pm CT at the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford. Friday night in San Antonio is scheduled for a 7:30pm CT puck drop and Sunday will be a 3pm CT afternoon puck drop against the Rampage.

The post Recap: IceHogs Sweep Weekend Series Over Griffins appeared first on The Rink.

The IceHogs have been out of action since last weekend which saw them take both games over the Chicago Wolves and Texas Stars and move into second place in the AHL Central Division. Over their last ten games, the IceHogs are 6-3-1 and trail only the Manitoba Moose in the Central Division. The Griffins come into the weekend in fifth place in the Central Division and 4-4-2 over their last ten games.

Roster Shakeup In Rockford

Rockford has seen a bit of a shakeup to their roster in the hours leading up to the weekend as the Chicago Blackhawks assigned centerman Tanner Kero to the IceHogs and recalled winger Vince Hinostroza from the AHL. Hinostroza has led the IceHogs all season offensively, racking up 22 points (9G, 13A) in 23 games. With the departure of Hinostroza, rookie Matthew Highmore assumes the role of active points leader in Rockford with 17 points (10G, 7A) in 23 games played.

Kero joins the team after playing in only eight games with the Blackhawks this season, tallying three points and being a healthy-scratch from the lineup for the last ten games for Chicago. After opening the season as the Blackhawks’ fourth-line center option, Kero lost his spot to Tommy Wingels and had failed to return to the lineup consistently. In his AHL career, Kero has 94 games played and 64 points (32G, 32A) all with the IceHogs.

Also on Friday afternoon, the Blackhawks activated Corey Crawford back off the injured reserve list and re-assigned goaltender J.F. Berube to Rockford. Berube did not start a game in his short stint with the Blackhawks, but did see most of the game against the Washington Capitals after Anton Forsberg was pulled. In just over 44 minutes of action, Berube made 12 saves on 14 shots as the Blackhawks lost to the Capitals. With the IceHogs this season, Berube is 6-6-0 in 12 games with a 2.54 Goals Against Average and a .913 Save Percentage.

IceHogs Look To Close Gap In Division

In three previous matchups with the Griffins, the IceHogs are 3-0-0 with two wins coming via the shootout. The Griffins come into the weekend with the seventh-ranked power play in the AHL with a 19.6% success rate opposite the IceHogs’ 28th ranked penalty-kill at 78.4%. Transversely, Rockford ices the 28th-ranked powerplay unit at just a 13% success rate against the Griffins’ 13th-ranked penalty-kill with an 83.3% kill-rate.

The IceHogs have been finding success offensively this season outside of their special teams units thanks to the surge of rookie scoring behind Matthew Highmore, Anthony Louis, and David Kampf, all of whom have double-digits in the points department at this point in the season.

Rockford will have to continue to lean on their crop of rookie talent with the departure of Hinostroza for the time being, with a bit of AHL veteran touch as well from Tomas Jurco and the addition of Kero to the lineup.

Puck drop for Friday night in Grand Rapids is scheduled for 7pm ET and Saturday night’s puck drop at the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford is set for 6pm CT.

The post Preview: IceHogs Prepare For Home-And-Home With Griffins appeared first on The Rink.

Hinostroza will also play tonight. Quenneville wouldn’t say who was out.

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) December 8, 2017

In 23 games with the IceHogs this season, Hinostroza has 22 points (9G, 13A) and ranks 14th in the AHL in scoring. In his NHL career, Hinostroza has played in 56 games with 14 points (6G, 8A) all with the Blackhawks.

Blackhawks Give Hinostroza A Chance

The calls from Blackhawks fans have been boisterous to get Hinostroza into the Chicago lineup after the team got off to a bumpy start to this season and while the move is a positive one for both Hinostroza and Kero, the expectations for Hinostroza should be very tempered.

The thought that the move is all that the Blackhawks needed to do to change their fortunes this season is way overblown. Hinostroza is a very skilled player with a high offensive upside, but he more than likely will play in the bottom-six of the forwards group and not play the role of “savior” to the season.

As per Quenneville, there is no clear decision on who will sit in place of Hinostroza, but if a bottom-six forward were to be the odd-man out, Patrick Sharp could be a candidate after the less-than expected start for him this season. While he was touted as being one of the best conditioned players in training camp, it has not translated to the ice and his production is not on par with what was to be expected of him, even with being over the prime of his career.

Hopefully Hinostroza can provide a spark to the Blackhawks lineup and provide a bit of offense to a team that has had issues consistently finding the back of the net and providing goal-support for Corey Crawford and Anton Forsberg this season. If the Hinostroza call-up doesn’t provide immediate returns, his waiver-exempt status allows him to return to the IceHogs without risk of losing him.

For Kero, the assignment to Rockford allows him to get back on the ice after being a healthy-scratch for 10 consecutive games and give him the opportunity to find him game again.

The Blackhawks take on the Buffalo Sabres Friday night in Chicago and the Rockford IceHogs take on the Grand Rapids Griffins in Grand Rapids.

The post Tanner Kero Clears Waivers, Vince Hinostroza Recalled By Blackhawks appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawks Sending Kero Down, Hinostroza Heading Up?

Kero was the Blackhawks’ fourth-line center option to start the season, but eventually lost his spot to Tommy Wingels. Kero has played in 8 games this season with the Blackhawks, tallying three points (1G, 2A), including his only goal of the season in his last game played back on Nov. 12 against the New Jersey Devils. A College free agent signing in the Spring of 2015 out of Michigan Tech, Kero was a 2015 Hobey Baker Award nominee and WCHA Player of the Year. In his Blackhawks career, Kero has 72 games played with 22 points (8G, 14A). At the AHL level with the IceHogs, Kero has 94 games played with 64 points (32G, 32A).

McKegg (PIT) clears. On waivers today are Graovac (WASH) & Kero (CHI)

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 7, 2017

The move should be a double-positive as it will give Kero much-needed ice-time to keep him in shape and keep him valuable to the organization while also making a roster spot open at the NHL level that presumably will go to Vince Hinostroza. So far this season, Hinostroza has shown that he is playing above the AHL level with 22 points (9G, 13A) in 23 games this season for the IceHogs.

While the Blackhawks’ problems this season are far above being fixed by just one AHL call-up, it can’t hurt the organization to try to mix things up and see what they have in reserve that could maybe make a difference for Chicago. Hinostroza has 56 games played in the NHL with the Blackhawks and has racked up 14 points (6G, 8A) since his debut in October of 2015.

Hinostroza is waiver-exempt for the rest of the season, so if his call-up does not work out the way the Blackhawks would want it to, there is no danger of losing him through the waiver process. The Blackhawks face the Buffalo Sabres on Friday in Buffalo and the IceHogs next face the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday in Grand Rapids.

The post Blackhawks Place Kero On Waivers, Could Clear Path For Hinostroza appeared first on The Rink.

A 4-3 overtime win over rival Chicago and a 6-2 route of the Stars was the perfect response the IceHogs needed to show after falling to the Moose earlier in the week.

Friday: Rockford IceHogs def. Chicago Wolves, 4-3 (ot)

In the third game of the Illinois Lottery Cup rivalry this season, the Wolves came into Rockford having taken down the IceHogs one week prior in a 4-3 win in Chicago. On Friday, it would be the same final, but the IceHogs would come out on top, taking the 2-1 series lead over the Wolves in this season’s installment of the rivalry.

Prior to Friday night’s action, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that goaltender Corey Crawford would be placed on injured-reserve with an undisclosed injury. The Blackhawks recalled IceHogs goalie J.F. Berube and also assigned Collin Delia to Rockford.

On top of the last-minute transactions, the IceHogs welcomed Marian Hossa to the BMO Harris Bank Center for Friday’s game to honor the NHL legend. It was shaping up to be quite the Friday, even before the puck dropped.

The IceHogs got out to the first period lead just past the mid-way point when Tomas Jurco netted his sixth goal of the season, giving the IceHogs the 1-0 lead. Just five minutes later, Ville Pokka put the IceHogs up 2-0 with his third goal of the season. Both Pokka and Jurco assisted on each others goals and Rockford took the 2-0 lead into the second period.

Early in the middle-frame, the IceHogs extended their lead to 3-0 after Andreas Martinsen scored his second goal of the season. But the shutout for Jeff Glass wouldn’t last much longer as former IceHog Brandon Pirri opened up the scoring for the Wolves just three minutes later. With just over a minute remaining in the period, Brett Sterling would score his fourth goal of the season to make it a 3-2 game heading into the third period.

In the third, the IceHogs would be able to hold off the Wolves attack for most of the final frame. But, with just under five minutes left in the game, Teemu Pulkkinen would tie the game with his eighth goal of the season and the game would head to overtime.

ICYMI: Vinnie Hinostroza was back at it for the @goicehogs with an overtime game-winner last night. pic.twitter.com/UdYOfKd49q

— AHL (@TheAHL) December 2, 2017

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In the overtime period, the IceHogs would need just 37 seconds and one shot for Vince Hinostroza to end the game. With his ninth goal of the year, Hinostroza gave the IceHogs the 4-3 win over the Wolves and sent the fans home happy.

Saturday: Rockford IceHogs def. Texas Stars, 6-2

Saturday night’s game against the Texas Stars marked the IceHogs’ Annual Teddy Toss night benefiting Rockford-area hospitals and children’s charities. Although it was the Stars that got out to the lead late in the first period. It would be Anthony Louis‘ fourth goal of the season eight minutes into the second period that not only tied the game 1-1, but also sent the Teddy Bears flying.

RELEASE. THE TEDDY BEARS! ? pic.twitter.com/N8LnaUs8Qa

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) December 3, 2017

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That wouldn’t be all for the IceHogs in the second period either. Later in the period, Matthew Highmore would score his team-leading 10th goal of the season to give the IceHogs the 2-1 lead. With just under two minutes left in the period, William Pelletier would extend the Rockford lead to 3-1 with his second goal of the year.

In the third period, the IceHogs would notch two more goals to extend the lead to 5-1 with tallies coming from Luc Snuggerud and Darren Raddysh, their third and second goals of the year respectively. A former IceHog would break the scoring run for Rockford as Texas’ Mark McNeill would score his third goal of the year to make it a 5-2 game with six minutes remaining. Tomas Jurco would add an empty-net goal and the IceHogs completed the route of the Stars, 6-2.

Four Rockford rookies scoring for the IceHogs and Vince Hinostorza tallying three assists in the game made the Saturday tilt a great momentum builder for the team heading into an extended break. Hinostroza leads the team in scoring with 22 points (9G, 13A) in 23 games and ranks 9th overall in the AHL in scoring after a four-point weekend. Jeff Glass would notch wins number six and seven on the season with both victories over the weekend, improving his record to 7-2-1 this year.

What’s Next?

The IceHogs will be on the ice next on Friday, Dec. 8th when they begin a home-and-home series with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Friday nights game takes place in Grand Rapids and is slated for a 7pm ET puck drop. The IceHogs return home on Saturday and play hosts to the Griffins back at the BMO Harris Bank Center for a 6pm CT puck drop in Rockford. Saturday night will also be Girl Scout Night for the IceHogs. In three games this season, the IceHogs are 3-0-0 against the Griffins with a pair of shootout victories.

The post Recap: IceHogs Sweep Action-Filled Home Weekend appeared first on The Rink.

The first option was to fire up the Joel Quenneville line-blender and boy did they ever. After the first dozen games of the season, the forward lines and defensive pairings seemed to be different in some way, shape, or form every night. While it took a handful of games, Quenneville and the Blackhawks may have found a stop-gap in the sub-par production for now. There’s still a need, though, for one aspect missing from the Blackhawks arsenal: Speed.

Chicago has the players to be successful, that’s without question. But there seems to be one thing that consistently seems to be missing on a nightly basis from the team, speed with the puck. While Patrick Kane and Nick Schmaltz provide good movement around the ice, outside of them there isn’t another option to wheel and get the offense moving. Duncan Keith from the back-end doesn’t have the same speed as maybe two seasons ago, and although small and shifty, rookie Alex DeBrincat isn’t a straight-line speed player.

Enter Vince Hinostroza.

Hinostroza was the final player on the cut-line when the Blackhawks broke training camp in the beginning of October. When it came down to it, the Blackhawks organization felt it a better fit to give DeBrincat a shot early in the season to see what he had to offer over Hinostroza. Since then, Hinostroza has skated in 17 games for the Rockford IceHogs this season and has tallied 17 points (8G, 9A) over that time. Hinostroza leads the team in points, goals, and powerplay points and has been the catalyst in which the IceHogs’ offense runs. Night after night, Hinostroza looks to be the fastest skater on the ice in any given game and is far and away the best skater on the IceHogs roster this season.

With his production level where it is and passing the good ol’ eye test on a nightly basis, it becomes a no-brainer that the Blackhawks need a player at the caliber of Hinostroza on their roster.

Where Does Hinostroza Fit?

The problem then becomes, where does he fit into the roster?

Here are the current Blackhawks forward lines heading into their Wednesday night game against the Tampa Bay Lightning (a team that knows speed):

Blackhawks lines
Saad-Toews-Panik
Schmaltz-Anisimov-Kane
Sharp-Hartman-DeBrincat
Bouma-Wingels-Hayden

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) November 20, 2017

Looking at the construction of these lines, it becomes more of a challenge to slot Hinostroza into a regular spot.

While he has played center in the past, he’s best fit to play on the wing. With that in mind who could he bump?

Brandon Saad, no.
Richard Panik, no.
Nick Schmaltz, no.
Patrick Kane, uh nope.

Already through the top two lines and no surprise, there’s no room for him. Who else then?

Alex DeBrincat
Patrick Sharp
John Hayden
Lance Bouma

This is the grouping where Hinostroza could make his way into the lineup.

Prior to this last week, the easiest answer to the Blackhawks need for an offensive spark and to get Hinostroza into the lineup was to send down the waiver-exempt DeBrincat. Since then, DeBrincat has started a four-game points streak, including a three-point night against the Hurricanes. It still could be an option, but now it is more of a long shot to see DeBrincat and Hinostroza swap spots.

The only other waiver-exempt option out of this group of four is John Hayden. While Hayden hasn’t put up huge numbers, that is not his game at this point in his career. Still young, Hayden is a physical player with a bit of raw scoring touch and is a perfect fit for a third/fourth line checking role, something the Blackhawks and Joel Quenneville need in their lineup. Same goes for Lance Bouma, just without the scoring touch. Bouma plays a heavy game and at times has been one of the lone bright spots for the Blackhawks this season. It’s been that kind of year.

So come to believe it, Patrick Sharp ends up on the chopping block and the best candidate, right now, to watch some games from the press box and allow Hinostroza a shot in the NHL lineup. No he is not going to be sent to Rockford, but Sharp has not lived up to his billing since returning to the Blackhawks from the Dallas Stars. In 20 games this season, Sharp has tallied just four points (2G, 2A) and hasn’t looked as rejuvenated or in the best shape on the team as he was propped up to best coming into the season.

At times, the 35-year old Sharp has looked slow and hardly a shell of his former 30-goal scoring self. It may go against every fiber of his being, and Quenneville loves to give “his guys” the benefit of the doubt, but Q should give a very hard and unbiased look at just what Sharp is bringing to the table and compare it to what Hinostroza can offer in that third-line role. His job might depend on it.

How To Get Hinostroza To Chicago

Finally, without having a viable waiver-exempt option, how would the Blackhawks get Hinostroza to Chicago without losing someone through waivers?

Tanner Kero has been a healthy-scratch more often than not this season, and with the emergence of Tommy Wingels as the fourth-line center option and Ryan Hartman being shifted back into the middle of the third-line, Kero’s ice time may be hard to come by. But, he still has the skill set and NHL track record that some team could benefit from, so a waiver-wire move with Kero could be reasonably risky.

The other option on the table, when it comes to players on the outside looking in for the Blackhawks, is the eight defensemen that Chicago continues to carry and more specifically, Jordan Oesterle.

Oesterle has played in four games this season, three of which came in October, and has just one assist and is averaging under 14 minutes of ice time per game. Recently, the Blackhawks have been trusting new arrivals Jan Rutta and Cody Franson more and more, leaving Oesterle and Michal Kempny more often than not, in the press box. With the rotation of Kempny, Franson, and sometimes Connor Murphy being consistent, Oesterle just becomes a roster placeholder.

The Blackhawks were high on Oesterle coming into the season, but have not utilized him nearly at all this season. Four games is not a lot of tape for other teams to see what Oesterle brings to the table and with the Blackhawks having a less than stellar defensive group and still Oesterle cannot crack the lineup, makes it seem to the rest of the league that there is something missing from his game and wouldn’t be worth the squeeze on the waiver wire. Plus, Oesterle can only benefit from getting on the ice in Rockford and getting his game-legs back underneath him.

Ok, this is just getting ridiculous.
Hinostroza in the shootout, again! ? pic.twitter.com/QSth2kLinJ

— AHL (@TheAHL) November 20, 2017

Unless the Blackhawks have something in the works involving Hinostroza, there really should be no reason he has not made his way into the NHL lineup by now. Until then, Hinostroza will have to just continue putting up highlight-reel worthy plays until the Blackhawks’ hand is forced to make a move.

The post Vince Hinostroza Cannot Be Ignored Much Longer appeared first on The Rink.

Saturday: Rockford IceHogs def. Grand Rapids Griffins, 3-2 (SO)

The IceHogs were coming off of a disappointing result against the Iowa Wild on Wednesday and needed a fast start against the Griffins to get out of their recent funk. Late in the first period, Andreas Martinsen got Rockford on the board first, potting home a rebound from a Robin Norell shot. Martinsen netted his first of the year and the IceHogs held a 1-0 lead into the second period.

The Griffins responded quickly in the second period with two goals in the first five minutes of the middle frame, making it a 2-1 Griffins lead. Mid-way through the period, Matthew Highmore was able to knot the game back up at 2-2 with a turnaround shot that found it’s way through Tom McCollum. The teams wouldn’t be able to break the tie through the rest of regulation or the overtime period so a shootout would be needed.

In the shootout, IceHogs goalie Jeff Glass was able to stop all three Griffins attempts as Vince Hinostroza put Rockford on the board and was enough for the shootout victory. Glass notched his fourth win of the season with a 32 save performance.

Check out the highlights from Saturday:

Sunday: Rockford IceHogs def. Chicago Wolves, 4-3 (SO)

On the second day of a back-to-back weekend series, the IceHogs welcomed their Central Division rivals the Chicago Wolves in the first Illinois Lottery Cup matchup of the season. Looking to get off to a fast start again, Hinostroza netted the first goal of the game with a Goal of the Year candidate effort. Hinostroza’s eighth goal of the season gives him 17 points (8G, 9A) in 17 games this season and gave the IceHogs the early 1-0 lead.

The Wolves would tie it up late in the first period, but with just seconds remaining in the opening frame, Rockford’s Luke Johnson was able to tip-in Alexandre Fortin‘s shot for the 2-1 goal, his fourth of the season.

No scoring in the second period would make for an eventful third period. The IceHogs would take a 3-1 lead as Fortin setup Johnson again for a tap-in goal early in the third period. Johnson with his first multi-point game since Oct. 21, gave him his fifth goal of the year. The IceHogs wouldn’t be able to close the door on the Wolves, though, as Chicago would pull even with two goals in the final seven minutes of the game.

Once again, Rockford would need extra hockey to try and get the victory. No goals in the overtime period, Hinostroza and David Kampf would score in the shootout as Glass would stop both Wolves shooters and the IceHogs closed the weekend with a second shootout win in as many days, Glass records his fifth win of the season with a 34 save performance.

Check out the highlights from Sunday afternoon’s action:

By The Numbers

While the victories, no matter how they come, are good for the IceHogs, a troubling trend continued over the weekend. Rockford was 0-5 on the powerplay against the Griffins and 0-4 against the Wolves. Over the last eight games, the IceHogs powerplay is only 1-32 and has fallen to 21st in the AHL at a 14.8% success rate.

On the flip-side, the IceHogs have killed off their last 10 powerplays faced dating back to Nov. 11, and rank 26th in the AHL with at 77.6% kill rate. A much better performance since their Nov. 10 game against the San Antonio Rampage, giving up four powerplay goals against.

Six IceHogs skaters have notched double-digit point totals so far this season, led by Hinostroza’s 17 points, and besides defenseman Robin Norell, every skater has notched one goal this season.

What’s Next?

The IceHogs are off until Wednesday night when they play host to the Iowa Wild for the first of two games against Iowa this week. Wednesday night’s puck drop is slated for 7pm CT. Wednesday’s game will be a hairy situation as the IceHogs and fans attempt to break a Guinness World Record for most beards and mustaches in one place. The world-record attempt caps off the IceHogs’ month-long initiative to support Brovember Inc., a local non-profit which raises awareness about prostate cancer and men’s health. More information can be found here.

Then, they do it all over again on Friday night in Rockford for the second of two matchups in a row between the Wild and IceHogs with another 7pm CT puck drop. Rockford closes the weekend with a Saturday night game on the road as they travel east to take on the Chicago Wolves in another Illinois Lottery Cup rivalry game. Saturday night’s puck drop in Chicago is at 7pm CT.

The post Recap: Rockford IceHogs Sweep Weekend Action appeared first on The Rink.

After the weekend’s action on Sunday night, Rockford sits third in the Central Division with an 8-6-0 record, good for 16 points in the standings and a .571 points percentage, behind the Manitoba Moose and Milwaukee Admirals.

Thursday: Iowa Wild def. Rockford IceHogs, 5-3

It was the second three-in-three of the season for the IceHogs and started with a 10:30am CT start against the Iowa Wild on Thursday for the Wild’s ‘School Days’ promotion. Iowa got on the board early with a goal from Cal O’Reilly and then went up 2-0 in the first period with a goal from Zack Mitchell, both goals coming on the Wild powerplay. It was the first start of the season for Rockford goaltender Collin Delia, but wasn’t the kind of start he or the IceHogs were looking for. Luc Snuggerud would cut the Wild lead in half with his first goal of the season mid-way through the period and it would finish the first 20 minutes, 2-1 Wild.

Laurent Dauphin would tie the game up at 2-2 in the second period with his fourth goal of the season, coming on the powerplay, but the Wild would take the lead back for good with a goal from Mario Lucia.

Early in the third period, Ryan Murphy put the Wild up 4-2 with his first goal of the year, coming on the Powerplay. Vince Hinostroza would make it 4-3 just passed the mid-way point of the third but the IceHogs wouldn’t have enough, even though out-shooting the Wild 36-17, as Iowa would add an empty net goal to take the win 5-3.

Friday: San Antonio Rampage def. Rockford IceHogs, 6-0

This was one to forget for the IceHogs. One of those games you burn the tape and move on. Quick stats on the game include six different goal-scorers for the Rampage, including four powerplay goals on nine powerplay opportunities for San Antonio. The IceHogs out-shot the Rampage 39-33, but it was 20-9 in shots on goal and 3-0 on the scoreboard for the Rampage after the first period.

Spencer Martin earned his first shutout of the season for the Rampage, stopping all 39 shots faced and improved to the AHL’s fourth-best GAA (1.93) and third-best Save percentage (.934) with his fifth win of the year.

Saturday: Rockford IceHogs def. Milwaukee Admirals, 5-2

The IceHogs were able to bounce back after the ugliness of Friday night’s 6-0 loss to the Rampage with a much needed win against the Admirals in Milwaukee. Snapping a four-game losing streak and getting points against a division opponent were much needed points of emphasis for the IceHogs.

Even after playing back-to-back games, the IceHogs jumped out in the first period and were the faster team, getting on the board first thanks to David Kampf. But the early start and first period lead would end quickly in the second period when former IceHog P.C. Labrie would finish a breakaway chance to tie the game at 1-1. Late into the second period, the Admirals took the lead on a powerplay goal from Pontus Aberg, only to have the IceHogs tie it up at 2-2 just 16 seconds later when Tyler Sikura put a rebound home to send it to the third period tied at 2-2.

The third period was almost all IceHogs, jumping on the Admirals with a 17-8 shots on goal difference in the period, 44-25 difference in the game, and just 24 seconds into the period, Hinostroza put one home to give the IceHogs the 3-2 lead and what would be the game-winning goal. In his 100th AHL game, Vince Hinostroza would get on the board a second time, finishing a breakaway chance mid-way through the third period to put the IceHogs up 4-2. Hinostroza now has 15 points (7G, 8A) in 14 games this season, good enough for a tie for fifth in the AHL in scoring. Luke Johnson would add the IceHogs’ fifth goal of the game and put the exclamation point on the 5-2 win over division rival Milwaukee.

Highlights from the IceHogs’ victory over the Admirals:

After the win on Saturday night, Rockford head coach Jeremy Colliton spoke with The-Rink.com:

What’s Next?

The IceHogs will play their next five games at home, starting on Wednesday morning for their version of the ‘School Days’ promotion. A 10:30am CT puck drop at the BMO Harris Bank Center as they return the early morning start favor against the Iowa Wild.

Following that, the IceHogs host the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday and then close the week with a 4pm CT Sunday puck drop against the Chicago Wolves.

The post Recap: Ice Hogs Drop 2 of 3, Keep Pace In Division appeared first on The Rink.

The IceHogs will have two familiar foes sandwiching an out of division match-up at home starting  on Thursday. Road games against the Iowa Wild and Milwaukee Admirals will be broken up by a home game against the San Antonio Rampage as the IceHogs look to get back into the win column and keep their place at the top of the AHL Central Division.

Ahead of this weekend’s action, Rockford head coach Jeremy Colliton spoke to the media after Tuesday’s practice:

Thursday at Iowa Wild

On Thursday, the IceHogs will travel west to Iowa to take on the Wild in a rare 10:30am CT puck drop for the Wild’s School Day Game promotion. It will mark the third match-up against the Wild in the first dozen games for the IceHogs. The IceHogs have won each of their first two games against Iowa this season and are outscoring the Wild 9-5.

Iowa sits at the bottom of the Central Division at 3-6-2, 8 points (.364 pt %) and are coming off a home-and-home split against the San Antonio Rampage last week. Iowa has the third-worst powerplay in the AHL this season, converting at just a 10.7% rate, but has the AHL’s best penalty-kill rate at 89.8%. Colton Beck and Pat Cannone lead the Wild in scoring, while Niklas Svedberg has started every game so far this season in net for Iowa, posting a .904 save percentage and a 2.84 Goals Against Average.

Getting over the odd start time will be a challenge for both squads, but having home-ice for the Wild may make the change easier to deal with. If the IceHogs can get off to a fast start with the late-morning puck drop and force the Wild to play at their pace early on, Rockford should be able to avoid the first three-game skid of the season.

Friday vs. San Antonio Rampage

Coming home on Friday for the IceHogs will be a good change of pace after the early start on Thursday, getting some extra rest before getting back to a normal schedule for the 7pm CT puck drop against the San Antonio Rampage. Friday night’s game will be the first of six between the IceHogs and the Pacific Division Rampage.

Sitting third in the Pacific Division, the Rampage are coming off of a loss at the hands of the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday afternoon, and are 7-3-1, 15 points (.682 pt %). The Rampage are led in scoring by Andrew Agozzino and rookie Klim Kostin. But, the IceHogs will be facing a familiar foe on the Rampage as former Milwaukee Admirals forward Vladislav Kamenev joined San Antonio as a part of the Matt Duchene trade between the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, and Ottawa Senators. The Rampage have the AHL’s sixth-worst powerplay at just 12.5% success rate and a penalty-kill that ranks 11th in the league at an 84.5% kill rate.

Having the extra rest between the Wild game and Friday night’s contest will be beneficial to the IceHogs against a Rampage team that would have a full day off between games. The addition of Kamenev to the Rampage makes them an even more potent offense and the IceHogs will be tested defensively.

Saturday at Milwaukee Admirals

To close out the hectic weekend on Saturday, the IceHogs face the Milwaukee Admirals for what seems like the 88th time this season. Really it is just the fifth time, but for being the IceHogs’ 14th game of the year, that is a bit high.

The previous four match-ups between the two teams has given the Admirals three wins and a 15-12 scoring advantage with Rockford’s lone win coming on Oct. 21. As mentioned before, the Admirals will be without Vladislav Kamenev, but are still led offensively by Emil Pettersson, Harry Zolnierczyk, and rookie Tyler Kelleher.

The Admirals are coming off of a win over the Chicago Wolves on Wednesday and sit atop the Central Division, 7-4-0 14 points (.636 pt %), tied with Rockford as of Wednesday. Milwaukee boasts the AHL’s 13th best powerplay with a 17.5% success rate and the league’s fourth best penalty-kill with a 87.0% kill rate.

The familiarity with the Admirals should make for a highly intense game, but coming off back-to-back games, the IceHogs will need to muster up enough energy from the start to get Milwaukee off their game.

Hinostroza earning a shot with Blackhawks

Aside from looking ahead at this weekend’s action, the IceHogs have been lead so far by the offensive skill of Vince Hinostroza. Through the first 11 games of the season, Hinostroza is playing at a point per game pace with 11 points (4G,7A) and is second on the team in shots on goal with 31. In his career, Hinostroza has 71 points (25G, 46A) in 97 games with the IceHogs and 14 points (6G, 8A) in 56 games in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Bartlett, Illinois native and former sixth round pick by the Blackhawks was looked at as the very last player on the cut line at the end of training camp in the fall and has since established himself as the top player on the IceHogs roster this season. While the Blackhawks lineup has been free of major injury so far this season, it is far from perfect or from needing a fresh face to inject some pace or just a new look. Aside from the opening night 10-1 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Blackhawks offense has been towards the bottom of the league in goal production.

The prospect of the Blackhawks re-calling Hinostroza up could give Chicago a boost of speed and finishing ability in a bottom-six role. The problem then lies in who would be out of the Blackhawks lineup? Tanner Kero has been a healthy-scratch for the majority of the season and could be an option. More likely, though, the odd man out could be rookie Alex DeBrincat. Since the start of the offseason, DeBrincat has been touted as the next best thing in the Blackhawks organization and at times this summer he did look the part. At other times, far from it.

From the start to the season he has had at the NHL level, DeBrincat has been ‘fine.’ He has not looked out of place in the NHL, but being just ‘fine’ is not what the Blackhawks need from him at this point. Much like the organization did with Nick Schmaltz last season when he didn’t get off to the start the Blackhawks had hoped for, the IceHogs could be a landing spot for DeBrincat to find confidence playing at the pro level and finding his game and pace. If the move would be made by Chicago, Hinostroza should be the beneficiary and could slot into a third-line role as a wing. With the Joel Quenneville line-blender already getting a workout, the Blackhawks could be in line for a call-up candidate soon and Hinostroza has made a strong case to be the first of the 2017-18 season.

UPDATE:
The IceHogs announced on Wednesday afternoon that Robin Norell and Nathan Noel had been re-assigned to the ECHL’s Indy Fuel. Norell has skated in two games with the IceHogs this season while Noel is yet to play in a game in 2017-18 after dealing with a leg injury over the summer.

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The matchup pits the top two teams in the AHL Central Division as the leading IceHogs (7-3-0, 14pts) are coming off of a 3-2 loss on Tuesday Night against the Cleveland Monsters. The Admirals (5-3-0, 10pts) sit in second-place and are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday Night.

In the previous three contests between the Admirals and IceHogs, Milwaukee has notched two victories, both coming on the road. In the three matchups, the IceHog have been out-scored 12-11 by the Admirals and have been out-shot in the last two of three games.

The IceHogs will look to have Vince Hinostroza continue his hot start to the season, having tallied 11 points in 10 games this season, including four points in the three games against the Admirals. While Hinostroza has been the leading scorer through 10 games this season, he has slowed as of late with just one assist over the last three games. Along with Hinostroza, IceHogs forward Tomas Jurco has been a bright spot offensively for Rockford, tallying nine points through 10 games. Jurco has come on strong over the last five games, playing at a point per game pace, including a game-winning goal against the Iowa Wild on October 25.

For the Admirals, they are led offensively by rookie Tyler Kelleher and Emil Pettersson. Pettersson has 11 points through the first eight games for Milwaukee, including a four game point streak from October 15-27, where he scored two points each game. Rookie winger Kelleher is the second leading scorer for the Admirals with seven points through eight games including a five game point streak from October 8-27. Kelleher has been held off the scoresheet in the last two Admirals games.

Puck drops at 7pm CT between the IceHogs and Admirals at the UW-Panther Arena in Milwaukee. The game can be heard on Sportsradio 105.7 FM in Milwaukee or on Sportsradio 1330 AM in Rockford. The game can also be seen on AHL Live or on channel 23.3 in Rockford.

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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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