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Friday, September 30, 2011

K'Hammer back to the AHL's Hog's

Rob Klinkhammer, as I projected was sent back to the AHL Rockford Ice Hogs.
My guess, is that he'll get a call up or two during the year. The Hawks were impressed with his
play at Rockford last year, and he did well in camp both last year and this year.
He'll be seeing some NHL Ice time.

This leaves the Hawks at 30.

Injured during the last Redwings game were Viktor Stalberg and Ben Smith. Ben Smith has recovered, however V.Stalberg will be out with a lower extremity injury for 3 weeks. That's almost 2 weeks of missed games for V-berg.

Brendan Shanahan, the new V.P. of Player Safety will be visiting the video tape of the Smith on Smith hit. Expect a BIG suspension for that head hunting incident that Brendan Smith laid on Hawk's Ben Smith. It was blatant and unnecessary.


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

31 and counting. Brett McLean cut

(Good sources) Have Brett McLean a former Hawk,  walking. He was officially given his walking papers. He was waived by the Hawks. This has been reported and not made official yet by the Hawks or NHL.

Options for 2011-12 as season starts

There are a few options as some NEW Hawks and PROSPECT Hawks have looked pretty good.
*         Brandon Pirri
*         Brandon Saad
*         Ben Smith
*         Marcus Kruger
________________________

Then some have looked less than stellar.
Bryan Bickell, in particular. Brian Bickell is set to make $541,000 for the next 2 years.  He's not that much of a liability to cut. There is only John Scott (also unimpressive) who makes less than he does.

They Hawks can:
A) Start the season with Bickell and use him as trade bate. Group it with Kyle Beach for he is in the last year of a contract also. Bickell has use in the league. Putting Rob Klinkhammer in that position is an option. He's still one of the remaining 32. Klinkhammer may start in Rockford, but I think he'll be up sometime in the year.

B) Cut Bickell. Hope that someone picks him up. For that money he makes I'm sure that wouldn't be too hard. Teams are getting more and more fickle with their money, so making 541k works in his favor of playing somewhere.

C) Keep Bryan Bickell. This is probably what they will do. When he DOES decide to use his big body, he is useful, but the problem with that is he uses it so sparingly,...or whenever he feels "up to it". The Hawks then can measure their mistake and figure out what to do with him as the season progresses.

JOHN SCOTT> WTF do the Hawks see in this guy OTHER THAN him being a brute. He can't skate, he can't play defense, he can't pass, he can't shoot straight. He's a complete mess on the ice. He's a hindrance to the team. Seriously....GET RID OF HIM. He's completely useless.

OD-- Sean O'Donnell. 39 years old. Slow, too many give aways in his own zone. But, experience, experience, experience. He'll make the squad.

Veterans shining: Viktor Stalberg (finally!), Michael Frolik, Toews, Kane, Keith, Montador, Leddy.

Rostislav Olesz: doing well in camp. Could this be a steal for the Hawks?

Sami Lepisto: Started off slow, but has really started to play well.

Daniel Carcillo: Showing restraint. But, his skill hasn't shown yet. Not yet...


Down To 32...The First Brandon Gets Sent Down

The first Brandon gets sent down....Brandon Segal was assigned to the AHL Rockford IceHogs.
That leaves the line up at 32. NINE more cuts to go.

The Hawks will probably cut 6/7 forwards 1/2 defensemen 1 goalie
29BRYAN BICKELL 6' 4"233MAR 9, 198625BOWMANVILLE, ON, CAN
36DAVE BOLLAND 6' 0"184JUN 5, 198625MIMICO, ON, CAN
15ANDREW BRUNETTE 6' 1"215AUG 24, 197338SUDBURY, ON, CAN
13DANIEL CARCILLO 6' 0"203JAN 28, 198526KING CITY, ON, CAN
67MICHAEL FROLIK 6' 1"198FEB 17, 198823KLADNO, CZE
81MARIAN HOSSA 6' 1"210JAN 12, 197932STARÁ LUBOVNA, SVK
88PATRICK KANE 5' 11"181NOV 19, 198822BUFFALO, NY, USA
59ROB KLINKHAMMER 6' 3"214AUG 12, 198625LETHBRIDGE, AB, CAN
16MARCUS KRUGER 6' 0"181MAY 27, 199021STOCKHOLM, SWE
22JAMAL MAYERS 6' 1"222OCT 24, 197436TORONTO, ON, CAN
23BRETT MCLEAN 5' 11"184AUG 14, 197833COMOX, BC, CAN
27JEREMY MORIN 6' 1"192APR 16, 199120AUBURN, NY, USA
85ROSTISLAV OLESZ 6' 2"213OCT 10, 198525BILOVEC, CZE
54PHILIPPE PARADIS 6' 2"205JAN 2, 199120DOLBEAU, QC, CAN
37BRANDON PIRRI 6' 0"183APR 10, 199120TORONTO, ON, CAN
43BRANDON SAAD 6' 1"202OCT 27, 199218PITTSBURGH, PA, USA
10PATRICK SHARP "A" 6' 1"199DEC 27, 198129WINNIPEG, MB, CAN
28BEN SMITH 5' 11"207JUL 11, 198823WINSTON-SALEM, NC, USA
25VIKTOR STALBERG 6' 3"209JAN 17, 198625GOTHENBURG, SWE
19JONATHAN TOEWS "C" 6' 2"208APR 29, 198823WINNIPEG, MB, CAN
Defensemen
#NAMEHEIGHTWEIGHTDATE OF BIRTHAGEBIRTH PLACE
4NIKLAS HJALMARSSON 6' 3"207JUN 6, 198724EKSJO, SWE
2DUNCAN KEITH "A" 6' 1"200JUL 16, 198328WINNIPEG, MB, CAN
8NICK LEDDY 6' 0"191MAR 20, 199120EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, USA
20SAMI LEPISTO 6' 1"193OCT 17, 198426ESPOO, FIN
5STEVE MONTADOR 6' 0"210DEC 21, 197931VANCOUVER, BC, CAN
6SEAN O'DONNELL 6' 2"238OCT 13, 197139OTTAWA, ON, CAN
34DYLAN OLSEN 6' 2"214JAN 3, 199120SALT LAKE CITY, UT, USA
32JOHN SCOTT 6' 8"270SEP 26, 198229EDMONTON, AB, CAN
7BRENT SEABROOK 6' 3"221APR 20, 198526RICHMOND, BC, CAN
Goalies
#NAMEHEIGHTWEIGHTDATE OF BIRTHAGEBIRTH PLACE
50COREY CRAWFORD 6' 2"208DEC 31, 198426MONTREAL, QC, CAN
53ALEXANDER SALAK 6' 2"191JAN 5, 198724STRAKONICE, CZE
Free Agent Invitees
#NAMEHEIGHTWEIGHTDATE OF BIRTHAGEBIRTH PLACE
30 RAY EMERY6' 2"196SEP 28, 198228HAMILTON, ON, CAN