NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Blackhawks get back on the ice tonight against the Florida Panthers, looking to get back in the win column after dropping a lackluster 4-2 game on Saturday night. Working in the Blackhawks’ favor is the fact that they are 10-1-2 against the same opponent in game two of a two-game mini-series this season.
• What is not working in the Blackhawks’ favor is the realignment of the NHL Divisions this season. Yes, they were able to face the Red Wings eight times this season, but it comes at the cost of facing the Panthers, Hurricanes, and Lightning eight times each, as well.
Top three points percentage records for entire league all from the Central Division right now:
1 – Tampa, .769
2 – Carolina, .759
3 – Florida, .741— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 15, 2021
• Tampa Bay and Carolina were expected to be top teams in the NHL this season, with Florida having all the makings of a good team. But as it stands heading into Monday night’s contest against the Panthers, the top-three teams in the Central Division are the same three teams at the top of the entire NHL when it comes to points percentage.
• The Central Division is the most top-heavy Division in the league, clearly, with the gap between those three teams and the Blackhawks widening by the game. Chicago still holds onto fourth-place in the Division over the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets, and at this point the Blackhawks need to focus on keeping that fourth-place spot, rather than thinking they can improve their positioning. It would take a mini miracle for them to do any better than fourth this season (Michael: Although, perhaps that makes the relative success they have had all the more impressive).
• Having the Blackhawks in fourth-place in the Central Division is still quite the feat for head coach Jeremy Colliton and company. In a season where the expectations were that Chicago would be battling for a top-three draft pick, to be in the middle of the playoff hunt at the mid-point of the season is a still hard to wrap my head around. Deservedly so, Colliton is getting a lot of attention for the Jack Adams Award for the NHL’s Best Head Coach.
Joel Quenneville has the @FlaPanthers a point out of first place, but should he win the Jack Adams Award?
Read more on @NHLdotcom ➡️ https://t.co/sYswv2xhlv pic.twitter.com/ZN8RKBiOhK
— NHL (@NHL) March 15, 2021
• Although he likely won’t win the Award, barring the aforementioned mini miracle, Colliton has done a fine job with the development of the young Blackhawks this season and has Chicago far exceeding expectations.
• Speaking about development, Scott Powers of The Athletic published a fantastic piece on the Chicago Blackhawks-Rockford IceHogs relationship and what it has meant to the development of minor-leaguers and prospects in recent history. I highly recommend checking it out.
• The IceHogs have a tremendously young team this season with six players who could all still be playing Junior hockey. The average age on the IceHogs is 22.3-years-0ld this season. While their 4-8-1 record is nothing to ride home about, the focus is on the development of the players, rather than wins and losses. While they still matter and winning is always fun and important, the main focus is on how players are progressing.
• Speaking of the youths, a name to be on the lookout for in the next few years: Connor Bedard. The 15-year-old forward for the Regina Pats of the WHL is the first “exceptional” player in WHL history and just the seventh CHL player ever to earn the status.
CONNOR BEDARD FIRST @TheWHL GOAL! #WatchLocal | #AccessNowSports pic.twitter.com/VOmoeGx41e
— AccessNow Sports (@AccessNowSports) March 13, 2021
• Exceptional status is granted to a player whose qualities not only on the ice, but as a person, deem the player deserving of playing in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) at an early age. The standard age players are able to join the CHL, which is made of the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), is 16-years-old. Only seven players have ever been granted exceptional status in CHL history: John Tavares (2005), Aaron Ekblad (2011), Connor McDavid (2012), Sean Day (2013), Joe Veleno (2015), Shane Wright (2019), and Connor Bedard (2021). Of the five NHL-draft eligible players on this list, only Sean Day was not a first-round NHL draft pick. Tavares, Ekblad, and McDavid were all first-overall selections in their draft classes.
CONNOR BEDARD AGAIN 40 SECONDS LATER!!! 2nd Career @TheWHL goal!#WatchLocal | #AccessNowSports pic.twitter.com/SYRxcux53o
— AccessNow Sports (@AccessNowSports) March 13, 2021
• Bedard made an instant impact in his first WHL game for the Pats, scoring two goals less than a minute apart. He followed that up with a goal and an assist in his second game last night, making it four points in two games for the 15-year-old. Bedard is eligible for the 2023 NHL Draft, but the Blackhawks will probably be picking 32nd overall so they won’t have a chance at him, amirite? *wink*
• Have yourselves a Monday, and we will see you tonight for Blackhawks-Panthers!
