Quenneville likes Blackhawks’ young players

The kids are better than all right.

That’s how Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville sees it as he continues to be impressed by rookie forwards Jimmy Hayes and Andrew Shaw, who have been filling in for the injured Daniel Carcillo and Marcus Kruger.

Now toss in winger Ben Smith, who scored a goal in Tuesday’s win over Columbus playing in Patrick Sharp’s roster spot, and the Hawks have three rookies earning minutes.

Only Kruger is close to returning to the lineup from his concussion, which means Hayes, Shaw and Smith could be around awhile.

“You hope that’s the case for anybody that gets the chance to play up here, that they show that they’re capable of doing it and have the right instincts,” Quenneville said Wednesday.

“They certainly have played well, but I always find that consistency is the best measuring stick. They’re giving us signs that they’re only going to get better.

“They are very deserving of staying.”

Particularly the 6-foot-6 Hayes, who got 16 minutes of ice time against Columbus playing on the second line with Dave Bolland and Marian Hossa.

“It’s a big-time opportunity for me and I’m trying to make the best of it,” Hayes said. “I’ve come up here with a mindset of what I want to do and how I’m going to approach it.

“I just go out there, give it an honest effort, play hard every night and see what happens. My job is to be big and bring energy, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Shaw has been sneaky good in a lot of ways.

“Organizationally, we knew we had a really competitive kid,” Quenneville said. “You like his tenacity and the energy that he brings to your team game.

“We’ve been pleased by how he handles the puck; he sees plays and makes plays. He’s got a nice touch to that side of things, but I like his thought process in games. He keeps himself in the play, we’ve used him killing penalties, and he can take faceoffs.”

Surgery for Carcillo?Joel Quenneville said for the first time Wednesday that there is a chance injured winger Daniel Carcillo might need left-knee surgery.#147;Danny, there#146;s a chance he might have to have surgery,#148; Quenneville said, adding, #147;Well, we#146;ll see,#148; when asked if it could end Carcillo#146;s season.The Hawks likely won#146;t announce their plans for Carcillo until next week, after he completes his seven-game suspension for the dangerous hit on Edmonton#146;s Tom Gilbert on Jan. 2. The suspension ends Sunday.#147;Whether (surgery is) at the discussion stages or where we#146;re at, it#146;s still out there,#148; Quenneville said.Tip-ins:Marcus Kruger keeps moving closer to a return from his concussion, with Joel Quenneville saying possibly Saturday at Detroit. #133; General manager Stan Bowman completed organizational meetings with scouts Wednesday in preparation for the Feb. 27 trade deadline. #133; Ray Emery starts in goal Thursday against Minnesota.