Quenneville sees upside with Versteeg's growth

Kris Versteeg loves where he's at in more ways than one.

Not only did the 22-year-old rookie find himself on the Blackhawks' roster to start the season, now he is skating in one of the prime spots in all the NHL - left wing on the line with the dynamic duo of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, and catching the eye of new coach Joel Quenneville.

"I've been impressed." Quenneville said Tuesday. "I didn't know much (about him) in the past, but he's a young kid that's got a real good personality, the way he comes to the rink. He's got lot of energy, good speed and real good patience and vision with the puck.

"He's playing with two good players that complement his game. It's a line that hasn't played a lot together, but the upside is there, and he's earned the opportunity to get some quality ice time and be used in all situations. From where he was maybe at the start of the summer to where he is today speaks volumes of what he's capable of."

While Hawks general manager Dale Tallon is taking a lot of heat these days for personnel decisions, some of his better moves get overlooked, such as trading Matt Ellison for Patrick Sharp and later getting Mark Bell for Martin Havlat in a three-way deal.

And getting Versteeg from the Boston Bruins in February of 2007 for journeyman minor leaguer Brandon Bochenski.

Tallon remembers going to Providence to scout another player in an American Hockey League game and coming away more impressed with Versteeg.

"He was all over the ice and the best player on the ice," Tallon said. "He was leading the team in scoring as a rookie."

Versteeg finished that 2006-07 season with 72 points in 70 games with Providence and Norfolk. Last year he had 49 points in 56 games at Rockford, and was impressive in 13 games for the Hawks with 2 goals and 2 assists.

Versteeg went into Tuesday's games as the NHL's leading rookie scorer with a goal and 5 assists.

"I'm not comfortable that I'm going to be here yet," Versteeg said. "I try to take one day at a time and learn from my mistakes in my previous game and things like that.

"I want to be here. I never want to go back down ever again, but that's probably on any guy's mind that's in here. Right now I'm just focused on one day at a time, one game at a time and helping this team win. That's what I want to do, win at this level and win with a bunch of great guys."

Quenneville can't promise that Versteeg will stay with Toews and Kane long term, but that's where he'll be again tonight when the Edmonton Oilers visit the United Center.

"I really like Kris' game the last two games," Quenneville said. "It's early, and I'm not going to say it's an experiment, but everybody over the course of time will get the chance to play with each other. It's a great opportunity for him, and in a short couple games here he's taken advantage of a great chance."

• Troy Brouwer was recalled from Rockford Tuesday and right winter Jack Skille was sent down. Brouwer will skate on the second line tonight with Patrick Sharp and Martin Havlat.

"He had a good camp early and gives us some skill, some scoring and can help our power play," Joel Quenneville said. "He had a real good couple of weeks down in the minors and earned the opportunity to get back here."

• Despite Cristobal Huet's strong work in Sunday's win over Vancouver, Nikolai Khabibulin will start in goal against the Oilers tonight.

"I don't want to say it's going to be a strict rotation, but they're both going to play," Joel Quenneville said.