Happy last Sunday before the NFL regular season to those who are celebrating. Because a couple days after the Bears’ opener, Blackhawks prospects will be at the Tom Kurvers showcase event in Minnesota and the following week opens training camp in Chicago. It’s September, which means we’re down to counting days instead of weeks until hockey returns.
One of the guys counting days in a good way is Cole Guttman, who impressed both in Rockford and Chicago last season in his first professional campaign. He scored 16 goals with 14 assists in 39 games in Rockford and then added four goals in 14 games in the NHL. Unfortunately, his season was cut short by a shoulder injury that wasn’t new in March, but it was significant enough that the Blackhawks wanted him to be healthy at the start of his second season.
Ben Pope reported on Saturday that Guttman is good to go for the start of training camp after getting his shoulder taken care of in the Spring. Guttman, originally a sixth-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2017, signed with the Blackhawks last August when he became a free agent and he stood out almost immediately. He was good at the dot and got between the circles to make a play regularly.
He isn’t big, but he knows how to play; he was the captain of the NCAA championship team at Denver after all. One thing from Pope’s piece that impressed me about Guttman (again) was his awareness. He knows the Blackhawks have improved center depth this season and he needs to be able to skate, so he’s worked on that during his rehab.
“Having that extra explosive step to go around guys is really important,” he said. “I was going in the right direction last year, and off-ice in the gym this year, there’s workouts I can do to help increase my explosiveness and deception. Once I started skating again, that was a focus: entering the zone with some deception, and then having the ability to show one way and explode out the other way.”
I would love to see Guttman get some run as the fourth-line center this season. The additions of veterans Nick Foligno, Corey Perry and Ryan Donato will make the Blackhawks’ bottom six more competitive offensively this year, which should give Guttman more of an opportunity to produce — if he makes the roster. I think he will and he’ll continue to surprise people that discount his game because of his size.
The Blackhawks reminded us yesterday that they’re coming for the league. The rise of their prospect group has been meteoric since Kyle Davidson became the general manager.
Patrick Kane joined the masses in remembering Jimmy Buffet on Saturday. We always thought there would be another one, too, Patrick. [insert crying emoji]
Yesterday was the kickoff of the college football season, which means current and former college hockey players were watching football like the rest of us… just with a better view…
Finally, I long for the days when Blackhawks fans are fired up over a loss that impacts a playoff race. Cannot get back there soon enough. Last night, the Cubs look an ugly L and there are words regarding decisions that matter.
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