Panarin takes ice, but still on the mend

It had been a long time - nine days, to be exact - since the Blackhawks saw Artemi Panarin, their 23-year-old Russian phenom, take the ice.

He finally broke that streak Wednesday at Johnny's IceHouse, skating with Michal Rozsival and Kyle Cumiskey. The three are all rehabbing from injuries and did not join their teammates during the subsequent practice.

Panarin has been out with an upper-body injury since wowing the crowds in South Bend when training camp kicked off on Sept. 18. After Panarin missed the team's training camp festival at the United Center on Sept. 21, coach Joel Quenneville told the media that Panarin would miss a few days and it was more "maintenance" than anything else.

The plan now is for Panarin to "hopefully" practice with his teammates in the next day or two, but Quenneville doesn't expect him to play in the Hawks' remaining preseason games Thursday or Saturday.

Panarin is expected to be ready to go by Oct. 7 when the Hawks open the regular season against the New York Rangers, but just where will he be in terms of understanding the team's system and being familiar with his linemates? Quenneville didn't express much worry about those concerns Wednesday.

"The thing we like to instill is how we play without the puck," Quenneville said. "That whole package is something we'll get to work with him in practice (on).

"Certainly it's tough to measure what kind of player he is totally, but we have a pretty good idea what he's capable of."

Hey, buddy:

There has been no confirmation that Patrick Sharp will play in Dallas' preseason game at the United Center on Saturday, but if he does, old friend Duncan Keith said he'll definitely be in touch.

"I'm sure I'll be shooting a few texts over to him," Keith said.

As far as facing him on the ice? Keith admitted it will be "weird."

"It's always different playing your old teammates and guys you were close with," Keith said. "Obviously we have a lot of memories with Sharpie. It'll be weird seeing him in a different uniform, but I think he's going to add a lot to Dallas and I'm sure they're happy to have him."

Depth always helps:

Daniel Paille, after having an impressive camp with the Hawks, cleared waivers after being released and signed a professional tryout agreement with Rockford on Tuesday. Joel Quenneville admitted that the 31-year-old veteran just got caught in a numbers game, but might be able to help out down the road if he signs with the IceHogs.

"I think he's going down there with a chance to prove that he wants to play in our organization," Quenneville said. "Depth-wise, he could be very useful because we like his speed; useful in a lot of ways and experience is definitely important."

Here and there:

Joel Quenneville said Michal Rozsival, still rehabbing from an ankle injury, "is not close to playing." … The Hawks' practice Wednesday went just 45 minutes, whereas Tuesday's went for an hour, 15 minutes as the coaches were working on the power play, 3-on-3 overtime and defensive zone coverage.