With Kane and Toews, the future has arrived

No one has to tell Blackhawks rookies Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane that they are the future of the franchise.

They see the signs all around them.

"It was funny, we were driving the other day and you see a big billboard: Jonathan Toews, the future of the Blackhawks," Kane said. "Some of that stuff is awesome."

"It's crazy," Toews said. "I saw that driving to the United Center. I just erupted laughing.

"It really struck me. I guess I kind of understand what position I'm in as young guy coming in -- how much excitement and potential this team has."

It's been a while since Hawks fans have heard those two words used to describe their team, but more than any time in recent memory, it's exactly the way many in the organization feel -- none more so than coach Denis Savard.

"I'm very high; I'm pumped," Savard said. "This town deserves a good team. We've taken our lumps, and rightly so in a sense, but for us to become a winner we had to build within our system, within our organization.

"We're there now. We know kids that were sent down this week (after final cuts), they could have been here. So there are a lot of things to be excited about."

Topping that list are Kane and Toews. They represent the top pick overall in the 2007 draft and the third overall pick in 2006, respectively.

Kane brings flash and excitement while Toews, a future team captain in waiting, brings leadership, grit and a maturity beyond his 19 years.

"They're going to be top-line players; that's where they belong," Savard said. "They're top players and they deserve top playing time. They're our future.

"I don't expect them to be our go-to guys every night, but at some point they'll be the go-to guys. Both of them, they're hockey players. They want to succeed, they want to do well."

And if that means being labeled the future cornerstones of the organization, so be it.

"Patrick is a tremendously talented player and I like to think of myself as being capable of doing the same things he can," said Toews, who will miss the season-opener tonight in Minnesota due to a broken index finger. "It's going to take a while for us to do that and a lot of hard work. If we keep doing that and pay attention to details … it's a dream for myself to be a player that can be looked at in that way in this league."

Is that a role you embrace?

"Why not?" he said. "Everyone wants to be 'the guy.'

But until further notice, 'the guy' for the Hawks remains Martin Havlat. Last season, the majority of the offensive load fell squarely on his shoulders and he responded with 57 points in 56 games. This year the hope is it will be spread out a little more evenly.

"We were busy over the summer," Havlat said with a laugh. "We've got a pretty good mix. I think everyone's got a pretty good feeling.

"When you have more skilled players, then the other players around them get better. That's an advantage over last year -- we have more players that can score goals."

And more scoring is just what the Hawks are hoping for from gritty forward Tuomo Ruutu, who has been hampered by tendinitis in his knee throughout camp and will miss tonight's opener.

"I think we have a really skilled team -- way more skill than last year," Ruutu said. "And there's a lot more competition to win spots this year, so everyone has to work hard every day in every practice to make the lineup; it's that good this year."

But before he goes overboard with praise, Ruutu prefers less talk and more action.

"We've been talking about this before each year," he said. "This year we're going to have a really good team and this and that, but it's not going to make a difference what I say now. It's got to happen on the ice."

In addition to their young guns, the Hawks brought in veteran forwards Robert Lang, Yannic Perrault, Kevyn Adams and Sergei Samsonov along with defensemen Magnus Johansson and Brent Sopel in hopes of providing just the right mix. A pair of veterans -- a hale and hearty Nikolai Khabibulin and Patrick Lalime -- should provide a steady presence in goal.

"The talent here is tremendous," said Sopel, who recently signed with the Blackhawks fresh from a tryout with Detroit.

His coach agrees.

"Our team has gone from here to here in one summer," Savard said, raising his hand from his knees to his chest, "and it's exciting.

"I told our guys in a meeting that I believe in you, now you have to start believing in yourselves.

"We have to shoot for the top."