With another big round of cuts (Raanta, Danault, the other Broadhurst, et al), the 23-man roster is just about set. We're set at defense: the same seven from last year + Stanton as the #8. Set at goal. At forward, we can safely say that Toews, Kane, Sharp, Saad, Hossa, Bickell, Shaw, Kruger, Handzus, and (ugh, sigh) Bollig all made the team.
So that's 20 out of 23, with 18 of those being the guys expected to dress on a regular basis. That leaves two everyday forwards and a 13th (or three and Bollig as the 13th, in a just world), to be culled from Hayes, Pirri, Morin, Smith, and this Swedish gentleman named Joakim Nordstrom.
I would say that Ben Smith should probably make the cut. Low-ceiling guy, but he has a high hockey IQ and can do what's asked of him. Sounds tailor-made for a fourth-line wing. Morin has the highest upside of the five, and has always looked good in his callups, nose for the net and all that jazz. Hayes has had a good camp, and a big-body wing (we've abandoned that center delusion, I hope) is always a good thing to have, but he still strikes me as something of a project, and we all know he has a penchant for falling on his ass.
Pirri is another guy with a high upside, but Quenneville just doesn't seem to like the kid, and he had a bad camp, what with being injured and all. The problem with Pirri, as best I can tell, is that he has the scoring and playmaking for the top six, but lacks the all-around hockey sense needed for a team whose system is built on getting takeaways and subsequently controlling time of possession (hey, sounds like Lovie Smith's Bears). That takes you to the old catch-22 of NHL fourth-line minutes vs. AHL first-line minutes, and so far, the organization has elected for the latter with him, which has allowed him to flourish as a scorer at the expense of proving that he's ready for an assignment as big as centering Sharp and Hossa, which the organization doesn't seem to see as a learn-on-the-job position. There's also the fact that Teravainen is waiting in the wings and will almost certainly be here next year and for years to come, and that he has the #fasttrack to top-six minutes. Doesn't sound like there's much of a future for a 22-year-old going into his fourth year in the organization. I would guess that Pirri stays in the AHL to be showcased further and ultimately traded. It's probably for the best for him.
As for this Nordstrom fellow, I dunno, but he appears to be a natural center and the fact that he's even here this late in September has to be significant. Apparently, he was a third-round pick in the 2010 draft, and for him to make it to the show would be a nice feather in Stan's cap, as his 2010 draft is looking kinda...not good. In fairness, though, I checked
hockey-reference's page, and it seems like almost everyone's 2010 draft was kinda not good. Florida had a big one (Gudbranson, Bjugstad, Howden), Minnesota got Granlund and Zucker (and traded for Coyle from the Sharks), Anaheim came away with Fowler, Etem, and Smith-Pelly, St. Louis got Schwartz and Tarasenko, but other than the Hall/Seguin sure-fires, that's really about it. Carolina got Jeff Skinner, who is really good, but they've done fuck-all with him there, so who cares?
An interesting dynamic here is that the Hawks could theoretically ice an all-rookie fourth line of Morin, Nordstrom, and Smith (if he's still considered a rookie), and while this sounds dicey, and probably is, it may also make more sense than going Handzus/Shaw/Kruger down the middle, with your #2 being old, your #3 being out of position, and your #4 being lower than a guy who's old and a guy who's out of position.
(EDIT: Nordstrom is 6'1''/160.
160! On a fourth line? Uh oh.)
_________________
Molly Lambert wrote:
The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.
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