2023-2024 Season - Welcome to the Bedard era

Otis Day · Tue Oct 10, 2023 10:58 am

Kind of excited about this season. Not expecting great things, but possible playoff appearance would be nice. I like the vets they brought in to protect Bedard and think they can do some things. Always hated Corey Perry, but now that he is a Hawk, love the man.

karhu · Tue Oct 10, 2023 10:12 pm

Love those two assists, too, eh?

Perry, Foligno, Vlasic, and that kid from BC, all on the board in a 4-2 season-opening win. It's really happening.

Otis Day · Wed Oct 11, 2023 9:58 am

I loved Bedard's aggressiveness. 7 shots in the first period. The dude has a wicked wrister. I told a co-worker they would win. she watched too much pre-season and was down on them.

I think they have a chance to be decent this year. Playoffs as a low seed.

Perry looked pretty damn good as well. Mrazek had a helluva game.

Otis Day · Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:03 am

Bedard with his first goal on a follow up play coming around the net. He kept his composure when the Rat, Marchand was trying to throw him off his game. This kid is going to be good.

Tough to win back to backs on the road. Bruins are the better team.

Hawks goalies have looked good in these 2 games. Like Dickinson protecting his teammate. He got a few good shots in.

Otis Day · Mon Nov 13, 2023 1:45 pm

Bedard is red hot at the moment. He is just getting more confident through every game. It is going to be fun to watch him mature, get stronger and take over the league.

The youngest player in Blackhawks history to record a multi-goal game

The 3rd-youngest player in
@NHL
history to record a 4-point game

The fourth Blackhawks rookie over the past 40 years to score multiple goals in consecutive games

Otis Day · Fri Dec 01, 2023 3:34 pm

Well, so far this team can't put it together. They have yet to win back to back games. Bedard has been good and inconsistent. Should be expected of a rookie on a bad team.

This Corey Perry shit is interesting. I was hoping for a big impact from him. I got it, just in the wrong way.

Grizzled · Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:33 pm

Bedard's amazing goal last night, a shot which hasn't been made many times. Nicknamed The Michigan:

karhu · Sun Dec 24, 2023 8:13 pm

Grizzled wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:33 pm Bedard's amazing goal last night, a shot which hasn't been made many times. Nicknamed The Michigan:

Fucking amazing. Every other Michigan I've seen has been off the stick of someone curling around the goal or heading straight down the side of the crease. Bedard was moving quickly away from the goal when he scored his. It was almost a no-look shot.

Grizzled · Sun Dec 24, 2023 8:17 pm

karhu wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 8:13 pm
Grizzled wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:33 pm Bedard's amazing goal last night, a shot which hasn't been made many times. Nicknamed The Michigan:

Fucking amazing. Every other Michigan I've seen has been off the stick of someone curling around the goal or heading straight down the side of the crease. Bedard was moving quickly away from the goal when he scored his. It was almost a no-look shot.

So, is he becoming the MJ of the Hawks?

karhu · Mon Dec 25, 2023 12:48 am

Grizzled wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 8:17 pm
karhu wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 8:13 pm

Fucking amazing. Every other Michigan I've seen has been off the stick of someone curling around the goal or heading straight down the side of the crease. Bedard was moving quickly away from the goal when he scored his. It was almost a no-look shot.
So, is he becoming the MJ of the Hawks?

In terms of his broader impact? Yes. He's playing a different game than everyone else. So maybe the Jack Nicklaus of the Hawks, too.

I almost said that the Larry Bird of the Hawks might be more appropriate, but a single player just can't turn a hockey team around, any more than one guy can turn a football team around.

It also bears mentioning that Trevor Zegras did the same thing, about the same way, on the same night. Still amazing, both of 'em.

Grizzled · Mon Dec 25, 2023 8:43 am

karhu wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2023 12:48 am
Grizzled wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 8:17 pm

So, is he becoming the MJ of the Hawks?
In terms of his broader impact? Yes. He's playing a different game than everyone else. So maybe the Jack Nicklaus of the Hawks, too.

I almost said that the Larry Bird of the Hawks might be more appropriate, but a single player just can't turn a hockey team around, any more than one guy can turn a football team around.

It also bears mentioning that Trevor Zegras did the same thing, about the same way, on the same night. Still amazing, both of 'em.

Not as pretty as Bedard's but still another Michigan. Hopefully one day we're talking about him as a Gordy Howe or Bobby Hull or one of the other greats.

Otis Day · Thu Dec 28, 2023 9:38 am

Bedard 2 goals last night and the game winner in OT. That wrister was wicked. Got a kick out of the guy actually throwing a few checks last night.

Boris13c · Thu Dec 28, 2023 11:56 am

I was excited when the Blackhawks drafted him, and he has been incredible ... and the poise he has as a rookie being the best guy on the ice at most times is very impressive ... never seems out of control ... and he is just so fluid and natural with his puck handling

welcome to the Bedard era indeed

Grizzled · Fri Jan 05, 2024 6:38 pm

Bedard has become the youngest player in NHL history to make the All-Star game.

Otis Day · Sun Feb 25, 2024 7:41 pm

Great jersey retirement ceremony for Chelios tonight. Also, great tribute to Kaner on his return to the UC.

Otis Day · Sun Feb 25, 2024 9:19 pm

Kaner get the game winner for Detroit in OT. Pretty damn fitting way for the game to end.

Otis Day · Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:57 am

Otis Day · Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:59 am

Kane tribute

Otis Day · Mon Mar 04, 2024 8:47 am

Took the train up to Chitown on Saturday for the Hawks v Columbus game. As soon as I heard Soderbloom was in goal, I knew I would be seeing an L. Dude is awful. How he is still with the team is beyond me. Enjoyed yesterday downtown in the beautiful weather. Had to hit the Burger Bar for their great burgers and mac n cheese. Had the triple chocolate shake as well. Trip was not a total loss.

Kylo Bearen · Sun Apr 14, 2024 4:39 pm

From what other Hawks fans are exalting this kid is pretty good. Saw some highlights and I'm digging it.

karhu · Wed May 08, 2024 1:35 pm

No Celebrini for us, but if Demidov had played in NA last year, or even if he'd been playing the right minutes at the right level in Russia, I think there's an honest conversation about who goes first. Whenever I try to imagine how he'll fit in with the rest of the first line and ask myself "What does he really do well? What will he be able to translate into the NHL?" my best answer is "Yes."

San Jose needed Celebrini; he's the right guy to build around. The Hawks need Demidov. Even if we have to wait for a year.

Otis Day · Thu May 09, 2024 10:07 am

Tha Hawks can make some moves this year. Take that #2 and get another stud. Then they have the 20th pick, 3 2nds and 2 3rds. Package something together and get an experienced vet who is not too old who can help bring this team back. Hell, Kaner may be in the picture for next year. They definitely need a backup goalie and some strong D men. Soderbloom (whatever the hell his name is) sucks. If I turned on the game and he was in goal, I turned it off.

karhu · Mon Jul 01, 2024 3:39 pm

No Demidov, but I still loved our draft. Tons of speed and athleticism, lots of guys with long runways, a terrific RHD, and two forwards I really liked. Boisvert is a 200-foot player who's been boxing competitively since he was 8, and he's not the tougher of the two: Vanacker's just a smart, violent player who forechecks and backchecks like he doesn't know he's not Marian Hossa. Lots of sandpaper up and down the draft, but Vanacker's more like an angle grinder.

Oh, and a terrific first blast of FA, too. Welcome home, Teuvo!

The deliberate tank is done. The knock-on tank won't last more than a season.

thunderspirit · Tue Jul 02, 2024 11:34 am

Some of the 'hawks moves in FA were curious to me.

A lot of guys close to 30 (Bertuzzi, Teravainen) or older (Brossoit, Martinez, Maroon, Smith). I guess the intent is to show, not tell, the young guys how to win. We'll see how it works out.

karhu · Tue Jul 02, 2024 2:42 pm

thunderspirit wrote: ↑Tue Jul 02, 2024 11:34 am Some of the 'hawks moves in FA were curious to me.

A lot of guys close to 30 (Bertuzzi, Teravainen) or older (Brossoit, Martinez, Maroon, Smith). I guess the intent is to show, not tell, the young guys how to win. We'll see how it works out.

Brossoit was a massive upgrade from Soderblom and a bridge to Commesso. Surprised that anyone's surprised there.

The rest are decent-to-solid veterans (Turbo's probably got a couple more years of downright good play in him) who the young guys will need to fight through. And they all accepted shorter terms, which probably limited the pool right off the bat. Structurally, that makes sense to me. Rockford's going to be loaded next year, which should give the college men in our system good reason to consider staying in school for another year. That lets us sign guys a bit more deliberately and over a longer span. There aren't many other ways to rebuild an NHL system through the draft, not at the pace KFC has set.

thunderspirit · Tue Jul 02, 2024 3:44 pm

Yeah, it wasn't a commentary on the quality of the acquisitions (Brossoit is a significant upgrade, yes), more on the timeline they have.

But it does lend the prospect of keeping guys at Rockford until they're ready, rather than until they're needed. Fair enough.

karhu · Tue Jul 02, 2024 4:41 pm

thunderspirit wrote: ↑Tue Jul 02, 2024 3:44 pm Yeah, it wasn't a commentary on the quality of the acquisitions (Brossoit is a significant upgrade, yes), more on the timeline they have.

But it does lend the prospect of keeping guys at Rockford until they're ready, rather than until they're needed. Fair enough.

Gotcha. I'm probably a bit high on Kool-Aid for now, and expecting a tad too much from our tsunami of U21 guys, which helped temper my expectations for FA. "Yeah, raise the floor for now, but don't get stuck with a lot of dead cap when we're ready to hand things over to Nazar and Levshunov and Rinzel and Boisvert and Greene and Vanacker and EDM and...."