CHICAGO – You know that after the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup a year ago that it was going to be a tough road to get back there as the salary cap was looming ahead for the 2010-11 season. They signed their core players to long term contracts but couldn’t keep the whole team intact. What got the team to their Stanley Cup was the ability of head coach Joel Quenneville to use anyone on the bench at any time, any place. It was the depth that got them there. Last season it didn’t work out so well with so many new players on the team that didn’t gel to get things going. They lost some grit with players like Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, and Ben Eager who all went to Atlanta. You also knew that something else was going on with the goaltending situation as the team signed Marty Turco to be their number one netminder for the season at a bargain basement price. It got interesting as Antti Niemi, the Stanley Cup Champion goaltender last season, couldn’t wait any longer and signed with the San Jose Sharks. He just barely returned to the Stanley Cup Finals. That left Corey Crawford as the backup. But with Turco’s troubles in net, Crawford elevated himself as the team’s go-to guy. The Hawks at least made it to the playoffs this season but it was a battle to stay consistent all season. It seemed that if Jonathan Toews had a bad game the whole team had a bad game. This upcoming season, the team is pretty deep in most positions but some are strong. After the top two lines the talent falls off dramatically unlike the Cup winning season where the players played hard and were interchangeable up and down the lines to mix things up and confuse their opponents. At goaltending, Crawford is in the fold signing a three-year deal. It also looks like Turco’s year with the Hawks would be his last since Alexander Salak signed a two-year deal after helping Farjestad BK win the 2011 Swedish Elitserian championship. He ranked second in the league with a 1.97 goals against average and a .926 save percentage in 33 games. Salak does have some North American experience playing 50 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. On the blueline, the team is pretty set with three solid lines. The premier line of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook has signed multi-year contracts while still raking up the minutes each game. The Blackhawks matched Niklas Hjalmarrsson’s offer sheet and stayed with the team while veteran Brian Campbell will try to stay healthy all season long as the team’s play improves when he is in the lineup. Chris Campoli was acquired by the team at the trade deadline and has matched well with rookie Nick Leddy. The team has centers galore with Toews and Dave Bolland on the top two lines and getting the most minutes. Ryan Johnson and Jake Dowell are your grinders but the team has plenty of centers waiting in the wings in Rockford that also had some experience with the big club this season such as Marcus Kruger and Evan Brophy. At right wing you have two of the team’s core players in Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. Michael Frolik was acquired in a last season trade and is a clutch player. Then you have Troy Brouwer and Fernando Pisani who have contributed immensely to the team. But we come to left wing where the team was a little weak. Patrick Sharp had a career season and Viktor Stalberg is young and is getting better with every game. Tomas Kopecky was looked on to help the left position but injuries kept him off the bench. John Scott was brought in to give that physical presence to the team but was barely on the stat sheet. So with being said, the Blackhawks have a lot to work with in this year’s draft where they had ten picks to make a great dent in their farm system. Half of those picks come in the first three rounds so they will definitely need to make those count. A player that fits the mold of the Blackhawks picks the last few seasons would be a player such as left winger Matt Puempel. No matter what the circumstance is, he will give it all he can. The Essex, Ontario native was named the top rookie in the OHL for the 2009-10 season scoring 33 goals and amassing 64 points for the Peterborough Petes. He was pretty consistent this year on an underachieving team with 34 goals for 69 points in 55 games before an injury cut his season short. Puempel has a great release with power and accuracy in his shot. He is one of those players who can make something happen with a feed from one of his fellow forwards, but one of the things that the scouts were impressed with was his new found ability to create his own opportunities.
Given his average size at 6’ 0” and 198lbs, teams can see his potential if he grew into his game some more and be a more dominant player up front. Can you imagine the scoring threat of Puempel-Toews-Kane where each one would feed off one another? Only time will tell. “With the 18th pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks are proud to select, from the Peterborough Petes, left winger Matt Puempel.”
To learn more about Matt Puempel click here.
Contact the writer at Matt.Chin@prohockeynews.com
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