Blackhawks Preseason Notes: Week One

I'll refer to this often, I expect: It's Only The Preseason (IOTP)
As such and as always, it's tough to determine if what you see in one of these games is real or a mirage, what with the uncertainty of the quality of the players assembled on the opposite bench.
Nevertheless, here are a few takeaways after a pair of easy wins over CMB and DET.

1. Brandon Saad is good to go.

2. Patrick Sharp is, as expected, a step slower than I'm used to seeing.  His puck protection on his semi-breakaway tells me that he's aware of this, though, and realizes what he needs to do about it.
3. Alex DeBrincat is awfully small but appears to be equally slippery.

                                      Eddie Munster-lookin' mofo.

4. More PTOs: John Mitchell (told ya), Drew Miller and Mark Fucking Stuart quietly arrived and are attempting to hook onto a team that probably has no space and no use for any of them.  Mitchell is great at the dot but after observing him on Tuesday I've concluded that his faceoff acumen alone won't open the door nearly wide enough.
5. Cody Franson was steady & unspectacular on Tuesday, although he seemed even slower than I recalled him being.  With Stan's latest defense project, Jan Rutta, and Ville Pokka likely having his final shot at making The Hawks, Franson's place on the team is far from assured.  
6. It's still way too early to be talking about line combos, but Sharp + Hartman looked fine. I mention this only because those two do seem destined to start the season together.
7. On that tack, I'm seeing forward pairs emerging but not entire forward lines.  Will this afford The Hawks flexibility or a lack of cohesion?  Given that the missing piece in most cases is the center, I fear that the latter is closer to the truth.
8. I didn't mind Jordan Oesterle at all, but this is a guy who failed to stick with Edmonton and, of course, IOTP.
9. Ugh, Viktor Svedberg again?  Give me a break.
10. Vinnie Hinnie certainly made a case for a longer look with his darty yet focused effort on Tuesday.

11. TOO MANY GUYS. Almost all of the forward roster spots are already nailed down, whether those places are entirely deserved or not.  Quenneville gonna have his Kero and Tootoo in all likelihood, and Stan will probably insist that Jurco be on the roster and, if those three are slam dunks, that's eleven forwards.  That leaves two, possibly three spots remaining for John Hayden, Vinnie Hinostroza, Lance Bouma, Tommy Wingels, Alex DeBrincat and the aforementioned PTOs, Mitchell and Miller. I know which of these fellas I'd prefer to see on opening night, but I fear it'll be Bouma / Wingels / whatever other interchangeable Guy.
And none of these Guys is top-nine center, so Stan's work may not be quite done just yet, as there is still a massive gap at 2C/3C, depending on how ready Nick Schmaltz really is.
IOTP.