Blackhawks will bank on their young talent getting better
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Stan Bowman has been among the more creative and aggressive GMs during his time in Chicago. He always is looking to plug holes in his contending squad, spending a first-round pick last season to get rental Andrew Ladd, or a first-round pick the year before that for Antoine Vermette and a second-rounder for Kimmo Timonen.
But Chicago will host the draft in June, and this time around Bowman is very reluctant to move his top draft picks.
"We're trying to make it a big event, and everyone [here] is excited about hosting it," Bowman told ESPN.com on Friday. "So from that perspective, we're probably going to try to hang on to those picks. Now, anything is possible. But it's unlikely that I would be moving the early picks in the draft.''
The Blackhawks have 10 picks for the 2017 draft, including three in the fifth round and two in the sixth -- plus all of their normal slots.
"We did that on purpose. We do have a lot; we want to make a splash out of it," said Bowman. "Hopefully it will work out well. I don't know if it's a great draft; early returns are mixed on it. But there are always players in the draft.''
All of which means that Bowman doesn't plan on his normal trade-deadline plan of action.
"As far as the deadline goes, we'll still be creative and look at things, but the other side of it is, we just don't have any cap space," said Bowman. "I don't envision us having any [cap space], like I'm not planning on us shedding any players. If there's injuries, I suppose ...''
There's also this: For the first time in a while, the current Blackhawks have a real injection of youth. Perhaps Chicago's late-season boost will come from within that group.
"We have six first-year players on our team," said Bowman. "I'm looking more at those players being better players in the spring than they are now, just through playing 60-70 games in the league. I think we're going to be improving from within more so than we are adding from outside. I like that part of it. I like the excitement of having Nick Schmaltz or Ryan Hartman?or Tyler Motte or [ Vincent] Hinostroza; those guys are doing pretty well right now. We haven't given them big responsibility yet, but I think as we go along we're looking at that sort of as our internal improvement, so to speak.''
First-year defensemen? Michal Kempny and Gustav Forsling have also helped shore up Chicago's blue line. I would argue that this is Chicago's deepest defensive corps in years.
But question marks remain up front, where the Blackhawks hope some of the kids will make their mark before the end of the season to help complement their talented, veteran core. It's not that they are struggling to score; the Blackhawks are fifth in goals per game. Still, if the kids can step their game up another level in the second half, that will be a boost.
I asked a veteran front office executive from a rival Western Conference team to give a scouting report on the Blackhawks' four rookie forwards:
Schmaltz, 20: "Really talented kid, will need time to adjust, like most kids. But the beauty is the protection of? Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews?and those great veterans. Schmaltz has always been a top player, a real offensive guy. He has the potential to be a 25-goal scorer in the NHL. He's in the ideal situation to develop there, with the veterans around him.''
Motte, 21: "He is a legit bottom-six guy, has speed, works hard, smart. He's a good fit for them there.''
Hinostroza, 22: "A talented kid, good stick, good head. He's not big, though. In my view, he's behind Schmaltz in terms of talent and growth potential, but he's intriguing.''
Hartman, 22: "He's always been a gritty kid, and this is a great opportunity for him. This kid will fill that gritty, energy role and he's got a decent nose for the net too. Probably a bottom-six guy, but I think he's a pretty good one.''
The regular season is an audition for those four rookies to grab a role.
"It's a matter up front of seeing if some of those guys emerge as bigger pieces," said Bowman. "Right now, they're not really carrying the load, it's our main guys doing that. But as we go along, I expect them to improve. I look forward to seeing those guys grow their games. We haven't had a lot of players who were going to get better during the year. That's probably why, in the past, we went external to find ways to improve our team. But that's not really my game plan this year. Things can change, but I'm looking for some growth from these guys. Hopefully one or two or three of them are going to emerge as being able to take on a bigger load as we go.''
A major injury or a prolonged slump certainly could change everything, and the Blackhawks do have their 2018 first-rounder to dangle if need be. But the plan in Chicago sure looks different on the trade front than most years. And that's OK.
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