Part I of The Hawks' Forwards review, this time the players who are by no means guaranteed a job in The 312. Some, you will see, are more likely to cast a shadow on United Center ice than others. Again, maybe I'll spew some bile toward / shower with praise a player or two who may have left for other locales or that are just arriving in Chicago.
Lance Bouma
I wasn't buying Foley & Olczyk's enthusiasm for this guy. Sure, he laid a big hit here and there and dislodged a few pucks, but that was small compensation for a fella that a) has no apparent hand skills, b) took far too many undisciplined penalties and c) was worthless as a penalty killer. That last fact would have been of no consequence except that Coach Q insisted on trotting Boomer out on the PK on a regular basis, waving his stick around, not minding his gaps and accomplishing nothing. And just like that, he's sent down to Rockford. Regular shift and PK unit one day....AHL the next. C and off to Géneve and not our problem.
Anthony Duclair
Tragically less than the sum of his parts, as Duc posesses great speed, good hands and a pretty decent shot, but not often within the same 30 seconds or so. He likes to carry the puck which is a shame, because his closing move is awfully weak and rarely fooled opposing d-men. The guy could be a real contributor for someone, I think, if he musters some discipline and a willingness to involve his linemates occasionally. A generous B-.
Victor Edjsell
He's got all the size and reach you could want, even he seems a bit lightweight for 6'5"/214 lbs and perhaps a bit lead-footed. Apparently had some excellent games with The IceHogs during their cup run....along with some stinkeroos. Too soon to tell but I expect he'll be on The Hawks roster to start the season. Incomplete but I'm cautiously optimistic.
TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: assigned to Rockford today and that's entirely fair. He hasn't been bad but every forward still in camp has outplayed him.
John Hayden
Hayden is a puzzler: some nights he's absolutely everywhere, rubbing guys out, camping out in the opposition's slot and making safe but effective plays. Other nights, though, he just kinda plods up and down the wing with no plan, no purpose in mind. He's big, he's quick enough, is okay on the PK and has shown a little offensive flash now & again. There's probably something there, and I wonder if his demotion to Rockford was more about getting him icetime during an otherwise lost season than an indictment of his play. With more consistent application & concentration Hayden could stick and be a useful bottom-six+ guy. Averages out to a B.
Matthew Highmore
"Charlie Bucket" or maybe "lunchbucket" is more apt, 'cos this fella is a hard working, prototypical blue-collar Guy. All the work ethic in the world cannot make up for lacking any one really dynamic quality, though, and I'm not sure that Highmore posesses one. He's ostensibly a center but played wing almost exclusively while with The Hawks, which is where he'd end up, anyway, with Kruger returning. At present he's a serviceable mucker and okay PK guy but not much more than that, although he's an undrafted player who worked his way to the NHL pretty quickly, so who knows what other surprises he might spring? At any rate, his work is cut out for him as he'll be duking it out with Hayden, Schroeder and Kahun for a roster spot. Not bad, not great, call this a B-.
TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: returned to Rockford despite playing pretty well vs. DET. As above, Highmore is a fine plugger but The Hawks don't need that guy right now.
Vinnie Hinostroza
I'm very sorry to see Vinnie Hinnie leave, but I can kinda see why The Hawks got talked into parting with him (dumping Hossa's salary aside). When Vinnie is switched on he's a ton of fun, creative and effective. The problem is, a lot of the time he's not fully engaged or, as I pondered last winter, maybe the things that worked for him simply stopped working. We saw him struggle when the going got physical, found himself overmatched and couldn't always skate out of trouble. Anyway, I like his style and hope he'll figure out how to get it right more often than he has done. A solid B.
Luke Johnson
The Hawks are clearly giving him a long look. Despite modest offensive numbers in Rockford earned a leadership role there and is likely a greater-than-the-sum-of-his-parts guy who uses his noggin and is positionally sound. Typically plays center but had some good shifts on the wing last weekend. I see him sticking around, having a slight edge over Sikura if it comes down to that.
Tomas Jurco
Despite a strong finish to the season I expected Jurcs would not be invited back. He's quick, shifty and hard-working, but he's neither quick nor shifty enough to offset his utter inability to fight through any checking, being possibly the weakest 6'1"/185 I've witnessed at this level. I expect it unlikely that he'll ever bulk up sufficiently at this stage of his life, so he'll top out in The AHL or Europe I'm afraid. A reluctant C for Jurcs.
Dominik Kahun
Kahun is now the fourth potential diamond in the rough unearthed by The Hawks' European scout, Peter Sundstrom. Kahun is a small forward who has produced well in The German Elite League, for whatever that's worth. He's had some experience on North American ice, having played two seasons for Sudbury in The OHL, where he was a 2nd/3rd liner. Kahun is a proven winner, finishing atop the DEL with Munich in 2016 and was a member of the German team that kinda fell ass-backward into a Silver Medal in last winter's Olympics. Even with that track record, though, he has to overcome Q's resistance to accept these obscure finds that are parachuted into his realm. An entirely unknown quantity that could be something or nothing at all.
TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: quite good, as it turns out, displaying good chemistry with different linemates in each preseason game he's played. He'll be around in October.
David Kampf
Last year's Euro-find, David Kampf joined The Hawks in December just in time to participate in The Hawks' spectacular free-fall. That wasn't on him, by the way. "Baby Huey"'s game is remarkably similar to that of John Hayden's, albeit somewhat more subtle, with a lot less bombast but far greater attention to the specific tasks he's been given. Kampf won't knock any fillings loose with big hits but he's no pushover, either, playing a quiet, large-player kind of game. Defensively responsible and surprisingly good at the dot, Baby Huey was a fixture on the PK during the last half of the season. Brief flashes of offensive creativity suggest that there may be more to Kampf than we've seen, and that he's been held back by weak linemates and strict adherence to the instructions given to him. I dunno, is B too much?
TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: Kampf has been excellent in preseason and I can easily picture him alongside Kruger in a role much like Ben Smith's, in which Krugs would take draws on one side and Kampf on the other. The bonus is that Kampf is good at the dot and better all-round than Smith.
Photo credit: alamy
Andreas Martinsen
Likely the only player to threaten John Hayden's place on the roster, Martinsen is a big, big piece of furniture, with just enough speed and agility to really lay some hurt with his hits. His offensive skills are inferior to Hayden's, which ain't great news. The Hawks clearly want the guy around, whether there's a firm plan for him or merely as a solid spare part, having granted him a contract extension. That said, the only way I see Martinsen usurping Hayden is he can show the coaches that he'll not be a defensive liability while he's tearing around making opposing d-men nervous. B-, because of his limited game.
TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: will one great game be enough to secure a roster spot? Maybe, 'cos Q always wants a large, violent man around. Destined for the RW with Kruger & Kampf?
Jordan Schroeder
Obtained prior to The Hawks trading for Marcus Kruger, this Ryan Gosling lookalike is probably surplus to the team's needs at this point. Yet another small forward, Schroeder puts up above-average stats....in The AHL. Mediocre at the dot and never a go-to guy for the PK, only a ton of determination and putting his high-energy style out there will get him on the roster next month. We've seen this episode before and it was "The One With Andrew Ebbett", which was over in 22 minutes. No rating, will be surprised to see any sign of him, barring injuies down the middle.
TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: jettisoned to Rockford rather quickly.
Dylan Sikura
Now this, I like. Sikura is the 208th and last small forward on this list which kinda makes me roll my eyes, but this kid is so quick, so darty, I think he might get away with being 160 lbs. Sikura The Younger (older brother Tyler is also getting a long look after a breakthrough season in Rockford) had a five game stint last spring which was easily the best straight-from-college to The NHL audition that we've seen in this Hawks era. Smooth-skating and slippery enough to not get killed, he's also great with the puck as his 3 assists in five games seem to bear out. His destiny, I think, is in The Hawks' top six. Incomplete but woweewowwow.
TRAINING CAMP UPDATE: he's been okay in a couple of preseason matches but not outstanding. Might stick partly due to The Hawks having high hope for him, as long as we carry two spare forwards to begin the season.
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