Captain Toews impressed by rookie winger Morin

Only time will tell if there's a spot on the Blackhawks' roster for 19-year-old rookie winger Jeremy Morin.

But the fact that Morin had a stall in the main dressing room at practice Thursday might indicate he has a better chance than some others, even though he is fresh out of junior hockey.

Morin, forwards Igor Makarov and Kyle Beach and defenseman Nick Leddy have been those rookies front and center so far at training camp, but only Morin and Makarov found their equipment in the main room and practiced with the veterans.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Morin, along with Leddy and Beach, would be in the lineup again Friday night against the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena in the second preseason game.

Morin made a good showing in the exhibition opener Wednesday against Tampa Bay and had an assist skating on a line with the impressed Jonathan Toews.

"He definitely has the tools and that's half the battle right there," Toews said. "You saw that drop pass on that goal (Wednesday) - just a little play like that, he's got the awareness even at that speed.

"He sees the play going on and he's not afraid to try things even if it ends up being a mistake, which I think is a good thing as well.

"It's a good thing to have the skating and puck-handling ability, but half of it is just believing in yourself and looking across at a guy like Nick Lidstrom or Pavel Datsyuk and just saying, 'There's no reason why I can't outplay these guys.'

"It's a mental thing, and I'm sure as we go through training camp he's going to get even better."

Toews sees no reason why Morin couldn't play in the NHL at 19 if he shows he's ready physically and is mature enough. Toews did it, although there's not many young players as mature as the Hawks' captain was at 19.

"I always wanted to show that respect to my own teammates and older players, but I wasn't going to act that way towards opponents," Toews said. "I wanted to be confident right away and believe I could play at that level right away."

Hawks general manager Stan Bowman got Morin, a first-round pick and center Marty Reasoner from Atlanta in the blockbuster deal that sent Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel and Ben Eager to the Thrashers along with prospect Akim Aliu.

Morin was considered Atlanta's second-best prospect after scoring 47 goals and 83 points in 58 games in juniors last season for Kitchener. Morin added 12 goals and 21 more points in 20 playoff games.

"Certainly his goal-scoring ability stands out, but I think it's how he scores goals, too," Hawks assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff recently told NHL.com. "He's got a great shot, a quick release.

"He thinks the game very well, too. He's not just one of those guys who just gets the puck and shoots it; you can see he's shooting it with a purpose.

"But there's other aspects of his game, too, that really appeal to us. He's a very gritty player for a goal scorer. He competes very hard (and) he's got a little bit of nastiness to him. We just like his all-round game."