Chicago Blackhawks development camp offers some interesting tidbits
With Chicago Blackhawks development camp at the midpoint after a third day of workouts at MB Ice Arena on Wednesday, this seems to be a good time to give fans a bit of a smorgasbord to whet the appetite on numerous fronts.
•Here are Stan Bowman's thoughts on 19-year-old defenseman Henri Jokiharju, who had a 71-point season in the WHL last season and should be in the mix for a roster spot this fall: "He's an impressive all-around player. Offensively he had a great season. But he learned how to be a two-way defenseman.
"The biggest jump for him is going to be, can you defend? … He looks like an NHL-type body now. … I was impressed with how he came into camp in great condition and you can tell he's trained hard. Physically, that's the challenge (because) you're going up against the biggest and strongest kids. He took some strides there.
"It's going to be, how does he do in training camp on the defensive side?"
• Jokiharju's chief competition in camp likely will come from Gustav Forsling, Carl Dahlstrom, Blake Hillman, Lucas Carlsson and Dennis Gilbert. Forsling and Dahlstrom gained valuable experience during the Rockford IceHogs' impressive Calder Cup playoff run that ended in the Western Conference finals against Texas.
"Very pleased with both of those guys," said Rockford coach Jeremy Colliton, who is helping run the camp this week. "There's no doubting the raw ability and the mobility. That's the biggest thing that I look at with those two guys is they're tremendous at defending the line. And that's what we want them to value.
"Of course they can make plays. They can create offense off the rush and beat a guy 1-on-1 once in awhile, and make that 100-foot pass. But the big thing (is) we want them to defend territory and defend lines and get the puck back for us. They did an excellent job in the playoffs and were a big part of our success.
"We're excited to see them hopefully come in the fall and do everything they can to earn a job."
• Another big contributor to Rockford's playoff run was Victor Ejdsell, the 6-foot-5, 214-pound forward whom the Hawks acquired from Nashville as part of the Ryan Hartman trade. Ejdsell scored 7 goals in 13 postseason games, including the game-winner in triple overtime against the Chicago Wolves on April 26.
Ejdsell, clearly a talented goal scorer who spent most of last season playing in Sweden, needs to be more consistent in all phases if he wants to stick with the Hawks out of training camp.
"It's tough to expect more from him and his first opportunity over here," Colliton said. "There is an adjustment period and that didn't surprise anyone, but he ended up scoring some pretty big goals for us and played in important situations.
"There were times where it looked like it was his first experience in North America, but there were also times where we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did without him. So I don't think we should have expectations on what he should do. He's very skilled; he has a chance to become a player.