Upper body injury sidelines Hawks' Teravainen
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - A day after dazzling fans with a couple high-skill goals, Teuvo Teravainen missed the Blackhawks' final day of scrimmages Sunday at the University of Notre Dame's Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Hawks' top prospect sat out with an upper-body injury and is listed day-to-day as camp shifts back to the United Center on Monday for the annual Training Camp Festival. There is a possibility that Teravainen could play in the scrimmage Monday night and coach Joel Quenneville said the injury hasn't set him back in his quest to make NHL roster.
"It's way too early in camp," Quenneville said. "We haven't even played an exhibition game yet. It should be nice to see some of these guys in that type of environment, and a lot of guys will be getting their first (preseason) games as well, so we'll see how that test goes and I look forward to that."
Teravainen, 20, wowed fans Saturday with impressive goals in each of his group's two scrimmages. He used a slick backhand-forehand deke to score the first one and launched a one-time rocket from the right circle for the second.
In between those goals, he was hit hard with a clean check by defenseman Cam Barker - a former Hawks prospect, player and free agent invitee to camp. That collision might be what prompted Terevainen's absence from drills Sunday, but Quenneville didn't confirm that when asked.
Teravainen didn't miss any action Saturday after taking the hit and met with reporters afterward. The Finnish rookie, drafted 18th overall in 2012, came into camp with hopes of finding a role on a Blackhawks team already stocked with talented forwards.
Missing time probably doesn't help his chances, amid a highly-competitive camp for forwards, but there's still enough time left to make up for it. The scrimmage Monday night may provide another chance to shine, if he plays.
Also working Teravainen's favor is the assumption Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman must orchestrate a trade prior to the first game of the regular season Oct. 9 to get under the NHL's $69 million salary cap.
If a trade moves a couple established NHL players off the roster, that could bode well for Teravainen starting the season in a Hawks uniform. If the they only deal one NHL player, especially a defenseman, Teravainen might be ticketed for the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.
There's also the possibility Bowman and the front office think Rockford is the best place for Teravainen to start regardless of what happens with the Hawks' roster, knowing he'll start out playing a role among the IceHogs' top two lines.
As for the rest of the Hawks, Sunday concluded the second year of starting camp at Notre Dame. Once again, the experience drew good reviews.
Patrick Kane said he and his teammates enjoyed the skill rooms the arena has built into them for shooting and stick handling. Quenneville enjoys the team-building aspects that getting out of Chicago for a few days provides.
"You get some camaraderie," Quenneville said. "You're with one another a little bit more. You get that bonding that sometimes, you look for these little experiences in training camp. But having everybody together, day in, day out for three days here is a real good experience."