Panik looking strong in Blackhawks camp
When the Blackhawks acquired Richard Panik in a trade with Toronto midway through last season, the winger hadn't played a single game in the NHL for the Maple Leafs.
Then, 18 days into his Blackhawks career, Panik overslept and missed a morning skate.
To say things weren't going well for the former second-round pick would have been the understatement of the year.
The Hawks, though, stuck with Panik and he overcame the speed bump by scoring 6 goals in 30 regular-season games and registering 3 assists in a seven-game playoff series loss to St. Louis.
Now the 25-year-old is being mentioned as a possible top-line player to be paired with captain Jonathan Toews, and Panik didn't do anything to quell that noise Saturday when he scored his team's opening goal at the Hawks' Training Camp Festival scrimmage.
Panik took a pass off the boards from Brian Campbell, blazed in on Mac Carruth and beat the goalie with a nifty back-and-forth move in front of the net.
Blackhawks assistant coach Kevin Dineen said he's "excited" about where Panik's career may be headed because there's a lot of untapped potential in the Czech native.
"We've talked about some of the younger players (being late bloomers), but that happens also for players who also have a few years of professional (experience) under their belt," Dineen said. "All of a sudden it really clicks in.
"I think a lot of our players smell opportunity and are excited to try and take advantage of it. I'd say Richard is at the top of that list."
Coming back:
Kevin Dineen said Patrick Kane and defensemen Michal Kempny and Ville Pokka, whose teams were all eliminated from World Cup play, will probably be back on the ice Tuesday. Kane is not expected to play in Wednesday's preseason opener against Pittsburgh at the United Center, but Dineen didn't rule out using Kempny or Pokka.
No worries:
Because so many Hawks are participating in the World Cup of Hockey, this year's training camp and preseason will definitely have a different feel to it.
The big names missing are head coach Joel Quenneville, forwards Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Marcus Kruger, Artem Anisimov, Artemi Panarin, defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and goalie Corey Crawford.
With the World Cup going until Oct. 1 if a third game is needed in the best-of-three championship round, at least a few Hawks may not be around until Oct. 3 or 4. At that point, only two preseason games are left before the Oct. 12 opener vs. Nashville.
Veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook said he is looking forward to seeing how the young players perform in the stars' absence, and that the team will have enough time to gel once the big guns are back.
"We'll have them back eight, nine days. It is what it is," Seabrook said. "We've got good relationships and have been together a long time. When they come back it'll be business as usual and they'll have a lot of time to get on the ice with us before the season starts."