Will Dach find a spot on Chicago Blackhawks' roster?
In less than two weeks, the Chicago Blackhawks will open the regular season against the Philadelphia Flyers in Prague.
One of - if not the biggest - remaining questions is, will Kirby Dach be on the roster? Or will the No. 3 pick of last June's draft be assigned to his junior team, the Saskatoon Blades?
Dach (concussion) missed the first seven days of practice, then went through about 30 minutes worth of drills Friday. He was not on the ice Saturday as the Hawks prepared to face Boston in a preseason game at the United Center.
For his part, general manager Stan Bowman isn't focused on whether Dach will make the team, saying he can't begin to make that determination until the 6-foot-3 center is on the ice with his teammates.
"I think maybe the media spends more time worrying about where he's going to be in 10 days or two weeks," Bowman said before the Hawks hosted Boston in a preseason game Saturday. "When we get there, we'll worry about it. …
"Hypotheticals are dangerous. I realize people like to talk about them. For me, all it does is create potential problems. Let's just see what happens and then we'll assess it at the time."
Bowman reiterated that if Dach can help Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Co. win this year, then he'll play for the Hawks. If not, he'll continue to develop in juniors.
If Oct. 4 arrives and Bowman is still on the fence, he could opt to put Dach on the roster for nine regular-season games without burning a year of his entry-level deal. The Hawks' ninth game is at Carolina on Oct. 26.
Bowman also could keep Dach around longer and still send him back to juniors, but then Dach would only have two years remaining on his contract.
"Usually you try to make your mind up by the ninth game," Bowman said.
Hawks 3, Bruins 2 (OT):
Patrick Kane scored 3:04 into overtime, Dylan Strome and Brandon Saad scored in regulation, and Robin Lehner made 39 saves as the Hawks defeated Boston in a preseason game at the United Center.
Lehner was particularly impressive as the only goals he allowed came on a penalty shot 3:23 into the second period and on a 2-on-1 short-handed breakaway in the third period.
Kane scored when the puck bounced right to him at the goal line after former Wolves goalie Max Lagace saved a shot from Connor Murphy.
Roster moves:
The Blackhawks assigned the following players to the Rockford IceHogs: Dylan Sikura, Matthew Highmore, Brandon Hagel, Philipp Kurashe, Mikael Hakkarainen, Alexandre Fortin, Reese Johnson, MacKenzie Entwistle; defensemen Nicolas Beaudin, Joni Tuulola, Lucas Carlsson and goaltender Matt Tomkins.