Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks

Team Depth Chart of NHL Prospects
Strengths
  • Depth and talent of center prospects
  • Defensive prospects mix size with mobility
  • Overall depth of system is strong
Weaknesses
  • Little depth on wings, particularly right side
  • Lack of an elite goaltending prospect

About Prospect Scores and Probability

Prospect Criteria

Legend of Players' Leagues
Pro
Playing in N.A. Pro (NHL, AHL, ECHL, etc.)
CHL
Playing in CHL (OHL, QMJHL, WHL)
NCAA
Playing in NCAA
Europe
Playing in Europe
Junior
Playing in Junior 'A' (USHL, BCHL, AJHL, etc.)
N/A
Not Categorized Yet

Goaltenders

 League Prosp. talent Prob. of success
1. Antti Raanta Pro 7.0 C
2. Kent Simpson Pro 7.0 D
3. Mac Carruth Pro 6.5 C
4. Matt Tomkins NCAA 6.5 D
5. Ivan Nalimov Europe 6.5 D

Right Wing

 League Prosp. talent Prob. of success
1. Nick Schmaltz Junior 7.5 D
2. Ryan Hartman CHL 7.0 C
3. Maxim Shalunov Pro 7.0 D
4. Chris Calnan NCAA 6.5 C
5. Jack Ramsey Junior 6.0 D

Left Wing

 League Prosp. talent Prob. of success
1. Jeremy Morin Pro 7.0 C
2. Garret Ross Pro 6.5 C
3. Beau Starrett Junior 6.5 D
4. Fredrik Olofsson Junior 6.0 C

Centers

 League Prosp. talent Prob. of success
1. Teuvo Teravainen Europe 8.0 C
2. Drew LeBlanc Pro 7.0 C
3. Kevin Hayes NCAA 7.0 C
4. Mark McNeill Pro 7.0 C
5. Phillip Danault Pro 7.0 C
6. John Hayden NCAA 7.0 D
7. Alex Broadhurst Pro 6.5 C
8. Joakim Nordstrom Pro 6.5 C
9. Vince Hinostroza NCAA 6.5 C
10. Matt Carey Pro 6.5 D
11. Matt Iacopelli Junior 6.5 D
12. Dylan Sikura Junior 6.5 D
13. Luke Johnson NCAA 6.0 C
14. Tyler Motte NCAA 6.0 C
15. Anthony Louis NCAA 6.0 D

Defensemen

 League Prosp. talent Prob. of success
1. David Rundblad Pro 7.5 D
2. Adam Clendening Pro 7.0 C
3. Stephen Johns Pro 7.0 C
4. Michael Paliotta NCAA 6.5 C
5. Klas Dahlbeck Pro 6.5 C
6. Nick Mattson NCAA 6.5 C
7. Justin Holl NCAA 6.5 C
8. Dillon Fournier CHL 6.5 C
9. Carl Dahlstrom Europe 6.5 C
10. Sam Jardine NCAA 6.5 D
11. Trevor van Riemsdyk Pro 6.5 D
12. Luc Snuggerud Junior 6.5 D
13. Mathieu Brisebois Pro 6.0 C
14. Robin Norell Europe 6.0 C
15. Andreas Soderberg Europe 6.0 C
16. Viktor Svedberg Pro 6.0 D
17. Robin Press Europe 6.0 D

Geoff Peters and Jeff Paul released

by Bill Placzek
on

They may have thought it a wise move when they made it.

Take a chance on a German born player?
Marco Sturm?
When San Jose was offering two #2 picks?
The Hawk organization in 1996 knew that they were hurting for prospects and moved out to secure two #2s used to draft Remi Royer and Geoff Peters.
With their own #2 they reached at Jeff Paul, knowing their farm ‘system” was woefully bare at defense.
Geoff Peters along with Remi Royer were the two players drafted with the Marco Sturm first rounder trade.
Sturm plays in San Jose and all three of these players will be looking elsewhere this summer. Royer was all offense and just didn’t play defense well.
Peters though good in most areas just didn’t seem to evolve to a better player.
Paul just didn’t skate well enough for the new NHL.
There is a lesson to be learned here. Trading down works if your scouting staff is competent. Montreal goaler hopefull Garon was there but Hawk’s didn’t seem interested.
The Blackhawks also purged themselves of Michel Larouque and Jeff Maud, their Norfolk goalie duo.
Though Tretiak marveled at Larouque and continued to heap praise on him, he is gone. (Or is this one of the Hall of Famer’s character chararcter flaws: always falling in love with the back-up?)
Maud had injuries and told me while he was in Chicago that he he was in awe of the speed at which the NHL game was played.

Mike Leighton will grauate and get ample chances to develop in Norfolk and Craig Andersson will not be far behind him.

To their credit, the Black Read more»

Day Two Nets More Than Defense For Blackhawks on Prospect Ocean.

by Bill Placzek
on

Though the promise was to go defense today, the Hawks did quite well at forward too. And a drop down deal today brought two additional picks.

San Jose was again this year, a willing participant in taking the #106 pick for San Jose’s #119, 186 and 216 picks.

The Hawks opened the fourth round taking RH D Brent MacLellan of Halifax, Nova Scotia with pick #104.

In talking to the 6’3″ 210 pounder, I asked the Rimouski defenseman how he thought he ended up a Blackhawk and he answered, “Good interview.” He was a likable conversationalist, who didn’t dodge my question of how he was known for his hitting and clear out abilities, but that scouts thought he didn’t make improvements this season. He answered that he thought he played the last third of the season strong and aggressively, and his “problem” early on is he started thinking he was a end rusher and scorer and forgot what got him where he was. (He usually makes the smart pass out the defensive zone.) Known to protect teammates,he was the alternate captain on team Orr at the 2001 prospects game.He will be at the Hawk camp in July and he said and knows that he can build stamina.

With pick #115, Mike Smith made his second annual western Russia pick ala Radulov last draft. It was virtual unknown Vladimir Gusev, a LHD who is 6’1″ 189 lber who played at Khabarovsk in Russia.

Pick #119 was LH Forward from the Russian superleague named Aleksey Zotkin, a 6 foot 200 lber from Magnitogorsk where he had 2 goals and 5 points in 40 games along with 34 pims. Neither was at the draft.

The fifth round is where I felt th Read more»

Day One: Hawks Make Zhamnov Happy – Will the Fans Be Next?

by Bill Placzek
on
I made my feelings clear that if things fell in place, Don Blackburn could
have been taken at #9. I really didn’t think he would be there. Or maybe I
felt Ruutu’s knee surgeries would knock him down a notch. Nonetheless,
Blackburn was higher on my board and I would have taken him.

Even if all the Hawk farm goalies develop, you can never have enough
goalies. Ask San Jose, Buffalo, and New Jersey who take one or two early each
year. That was my thinking …. one of the elite eight.

Don’t get me wrong, it is difficult to quibble when your home team takes a
winner, already in the top Finnish league and the hardest working,
orneriest,solid muscle mass forechecker available.
And when Ruutu gets back on his skates in August after the TWO problems with his knee are healed he may be a better pro than Blackburn.

When Dallas takes the goalie you are going to take as an alternative to
Blackburn, Freeze goalie Jason Bacashihua, two picks before you, you don’t
panic!

You either trade out or you go to another position, but you do not REACH!

If you do, to use Mel Kiper’s coined expression, you simply don’t know what
the draft is about.

To take Adam Munro was an insult to each of us, as he was clearly not the
best player available.

Into the 3rd round, Michel Goulet stopped and I asked his interpretation of
this blunder. I said to him, “You KNOW they (Blackhawks) went goalie because
Dallas took the kid they wanted. Honestly, was Munro that high on the
Avalanche board?” He shook his head head Read more»

Who will be there at #9 for the Chicago Blackhawks?

by Bill Placzek
on

Atlanta’s winning of the draft lottery solidified the draft slotting for the 2001 draft in Sunrise, Florida on June 23 and 24th.

I would like to be the first to attempt to project the players to teams presently in the spots #1-8 leading up to the possible Hawk pick at #9. There is always the possibility that GM Mike Smith trades out of the #9 slot (though a questionable move in a draft with third tier up to pick #12) or out of the #29 pick which the Hawks obtained from the Detroit Red Wings in the Chris Chelios deal.
The Hawks will be picking around or lower than the slots listed below depending upon any additional draft picks added as supplementals to teams for loss of their free agents signed by other clubs:
1 – Hawks – 9th
1 – from Detroit – 29th
2 – from Stars – 61st
3 – Hawks – 75th
3 – from Flyers – 90th
4 – Hawks – 105th
4 – from Leafs – 113th
5 – Hawks – 141st
6 – Hawks – 176th
7 – Hawks – 206th
9 – Hawks – 270th
But who will be the player chosen from the 2001 crop to lead the 2004 Hawks out of the depths into playoff contention?
We can make a pretty good prediction based on that if we try and predict the players who will go first.
Atlanta, by way of their lottery win, move up two slots and have to decide between three top players in LW Ilya Kovalchuk,C Jason Spezza,and C/W Stanislav Tchistov. All have their strengths, but Kovalchuk destined to be the first Russian chosen #1 overall.
Read more»

Where the Help Will Come? Pre-Mike Smith Prospects

by Bill Placzek
on

Pre-Mike Smith picks who may help.

Mark Bell is the flat out best prospect picked by anyone besides Mike Smith. The Hawks were able to trade up with Toronto since the leafs felt that no one suspected they would reach with Nicky Antropov, so the Leafs felt comfortable dropping down two slots.

Mark was pressured early to contribute two bad Hawk clubs and the speed of the NHL game and expectations viewing him a regular were factors Mark had trouble overcoming.
Assignment to Norfolk has enabled him to develop and return to playing without thinking, something he said he was guilty of doing in his Blackhawk tryout. It would be no surprise to this writer if Bell eventually ends up as one of the Hawk four centres. The Blackhawk commitment to Zhamnov, Nylander, and the emergence of Chris Herperger, leaves Bell in a position where he must show he is better than other proven vets already established.

Although Kent Huskin’s Clarkson team did not survive the first round of the ECAC Tournament, he is another Ottawa born player who has the size and abilities that make the parent club take notice. He is not yet 21 and will probably be again selected to the ECAC All-Star team.
Another college player making noise in heard by the Hawk brass is Centre Tyler Arnason of St. Cloud. He has improved in his goal scoring with 14, 19, and 24 goals in the WCHA. His father scored 109 goals in the NHL from 1972-79, so his bloodlines are good. He is a good face-off man with scoring touch. His passing ability is why he has been asked to play the point on the power play i Read more»

Top Prospects

  1. Teuvo Teravainen
  2. Adam Clendening
  3. Phillip Danault
  4. Mark McNeill
  5. Stephen Johns
  6. Jeremy Morin
  7. Ryan Hartman
  8. Antti Raanta
  9. Joakim Nordstrom
  1. Klas Dahlbeck
  2. Kevin Hayes
  3. Drew LeBlanc
  4. Garret Ross
  5. Alex Broadhurst
  6. Michael Paliotta
  7. Dillon Fournier
  8. Carl Dahlstrom
  9. John Hayden
  10. Vince Hinostroza

Notable Prospects

  1. Mathieu Brisebois
  2. Chris Calnan
  3. Matt Carey
  4. Mac Carruth
  5. Justin Holl
  6. Matt Iacopelli
  7. Sam Jardine
  8. Luke Johnson
  9. Anthony Louis
  10. Nick Mattson
  11. Tyler Motte
  12. Ivan Nalimov
  13. Robin Norell
  14. Fredrik Olofsson
  1. Robin Press
  2. Jack Ramsey
  3. Dennis Rasmussen
  4. David Rundblad
  5. Nick Schmaltz
  6. Maxim Shalunov
  7. Dylan Sikura
  8. Kent Simpson
  9. Luc Snuggerud
  10. Andreas Soderberg
  11. Beau Starrett
  12. Viktor Svedberg
  13. Matt Tomkins
  14. Trevor van Riemsdyk
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