Blackhawks' Schmaltz will now try and get his game going in AHL

Making the leap from college hockey to the pros - even if it's just to the AHL - is no easy feat.

Just ask Vinnie Hinostroza, who had a difficult time adjusting his playing style in Rockford last season.

"It was tougher when I went into the AHL," said Hinostroza, who played collegiately at Notre Dame. "I wasn't shooting that much. I was trying to play like I did in college - just set guys up. I worked with (IceHogs coach Ted Dent) a lot and he helped me learn how to shoot first."

Now Dent will try and get Nick Schmaltz to adopt the same attitude after Schmaltz was sent down to Rockford on Sunday. Dent said that, just like Hinostroza, Schmaltz's pass-first mentality is nice, but young players also need to know it's OK to put the puck on net.

"If you're on a 2-on-1 with (Patrick) Kane or (Jonathan) Toews or (Marian) Hossa, obviously you don't want to let them down and you want to get them the puck as much as you can," Dent said. "So I understand. That's hard for a first-year guy going in there and playing with that type of player. It can be intimidating."

Schmaltz played the last two seasons at North Dakota, and made the Blackhawks out of training camp. He took just 16 shots on goal in 26 games and had 1 goal with 3 assists.

Dent said Schmaltz was "in good spirits" after his first practice in Rockford on Monday. The 20-year-old Schmaltz will play center with the IceHogs with his wingers being some combination of Mark McNeill, Spencer Abbott and Tanner Kero.

"We've had trouble scoring this whole year," said Dent, whose team is 0-4-2 in its last six games. "That's one of the things I talked about (Monday) - he could be a real shot in the arm for the guys and give our group some confidence."

Confidence that may carry over once Schmaltz returns to the Hawks.

Toews/Crawford updates:

Joel Quenneville said he hopes Jonathan Toews, who has missed seven games with an upper-body injury, can get back on the ice "later in the week." The Hawks' coach expects Toews to return no later than either next Tuesday's game at the Rangers or Thursday's game at the Islanders.

Corey Crawford, who is out about 10-17 more days after having an appendectomy, was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, retroactive to Saturday. Quenneville is encouraged by the goalie's progress.

"Doing a little exercise today is a good sign," Quenneville said. "Hopefully by next week at some point he'll be in his equipment, and we'll get a better assessment of exactly when (he can play)."

Get out the vote:

Patrick Kane, the Oilers' Connor McDavid, the Penguins' Sidney Crosby and the Canadiens' Carey Price were the top vote-getters by division after one week of fan voting for the NHL All-Star Game. Top vote-getters by division are named all-stars and captains. Voting ends on Jan. 2 at 11 p.m.

The Hawks' Jonathan Toews was third in the Central Division, behind Kane and Nashville's P.K. Subban.

Slapshots:

Marcus Kruger moved up to center the second line with Ryan Hartman and Marian Hossa as his wingers during Tuesday's game with Arizona. Vinnie Hinostroza had centered that line for six straight games. … Defensemen Michal Kempny and Michal Rozsival were the healthy scratches.