Hawks look to State of Hockey for d-line help

CHICAGO – Some sentences just don’t sound right even if they are true.   The Chicago Blackhawks are at a crossroads only two seasons removed from winning the Stanley Cup.   See what I mean?
 
Many thought after winning the 2010 Stanley Cup the Hawks would be back on mountain top quickly.   Those who watched that team closely knew it would be dismantled fast.   The Hawks’ previous General Manager, Dale Tallon who is now the current GM of the Florida Panthers, had some bad contracts that needed to be moved in order to stay under the salary cap.   In comes Stan Bowman and in the past two seasons Hawks fans have seen first round playoff exits.
 
Heading into the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Chicago has immediate needs but most likely will not find an NHL star-ready player at the 18^th spot, at least for the next few seasons.   Who will the team turn to who will help them two to three years from now?   Do the Blackhawks need help at forward or defense?
 
The Blackhawks’ prospects are deep at forward but very thin on NHL ready talent or near ready defensemen.   So what’s the answer heading into the draft? Grab a defenseman.
 
Chicago will need someone who can be NHL-ready in two seasons who can be plugged in as a top four guy.   The Hawks were smallish this season, easily pushed around, and missing some size.   Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook can’t be the only defenseman willing to pay the price each night, especially since they are often being paired together.
 
The Hawks resigned Johnny Oduya who is a puck mover and will anchor the power play for the next three seasons.   Rookie Dylan Olsen had flashes of using his 6’2” 214-pound frame, but flashes do not add up to an 82-game demand when Joel Quenneville is your bench boss.
People will argue that the Hawks may need to add scoring up front.   I can’t agree more, but I also think it is a lot easier to find scoring and depth up front through free agency.   Stud defenseman aren’t on the market year after year.   This offseason will be an anomaly if Nashville has issues signing their big boys, Ryan Sutter and Shea Weber.
 
During the run to the Stanley Cup, the 2009-10 Hawks were dominant on the penalty kill (85.3%).   Since hoisting the cup Chicago has been atrocious when down a man.   They were 25^th in the league a(79% last season) and were only at 78% this past season, fourth worst in the NHL.
 
Short of reincarnating Dominik Hasek, the best way to help your penalty kill and defense is to develop a young blue liner and even better when you can draft a defenseman who can spend the next two seasons honing his skills at a top notch college program in the “State of Hockey” (See Minnesota for details).
It also doesn’t hurt that the player already targeted by the Hawks has shown leadership skills by winning a gold medal at the Under-18 World Championships with a team best +10 plus/minus rating. With that said, expect the Blackhawks to make the following announcement come draft day.
 
“With the 18^th pick of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks select, Brady Skjei from the USA U-18 development team.”
 
To learn more about Brady Skjei click here .
 
Contact the author at Adam.Minnick@prohockeynews.com
 
Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com