Gustafsson has potential to be special D-man for Blackhawks
Ever since he took over as coach of the Rockford IceHogs last season, Jeremy Colliton has done whatever it takes to make Erik Gustafsson understand this one, irrefutable fact:
Play the right way - and take chances when warranted - and you have a chance to become an extremely special defenseman.
"He's got the world at his feet if he wants as far as his ability to contribute in this league at a high level," Colliton said after Gustafsson scored the game-winner in Tuesday's 2-1 Hawks victory over Nashville at the United Center. "He's going to make - you've heard me say this before - those special plays.
"But it's raising the minimum level that he plays at. If he does that, then he can be a top player on top teams."
We've seen Gustafsson pound home important goals the last month.
• The first came Nov. 24 in Florida when he completed an improbable comeback by scoring 2:32 into overtime.
• Then there was an impressive blast from just inside the blue line that tied last Friday's game against Winnipeg with 7.5 seconds remaining.
• He broke a 1-1 tie against the Predators on Tuesday by potting a goal on the much-maligned power play.
Gustafsson has 7 goals - with 6 in his last 12 games - making it fair to wonder if he's developing into the Hawks' first true offensive defenseman since Dustin Byfuglien.
Combined with his ability to quickly shift his position on the blue line, Gustafsson uses a heavy, accurate shot, often catching goaltenders off guard. He's not afraid to jump in a play and has an uncanny ability to hit Patrick Kane with pinpoint precision on breakouts or in the offensive zone.
It's no stretch to think Gustafsson could finish with 15 or more goals, a feat accomplished only four times this century by a Hawks D-man. Three of those seasons were compiled by Byfuglien from 2007-10; the other by Phil Housley in 2001-02.
As for the 20-goal mark? That's only happened five times in team history, and three came by Doug Wilson.
These are fun numbers to crunch, but Gustafsson is trying to become an all-around defenseman. Until then, nobody will mention his name among the league's elite.
Gustafsson's play in the defensive zone remains a work in progress and, despite pleading from Colliton, he continues to be a bit of a risk-taker with the puck.
After a rough three-game stretch in which the Hawks were outscored 19-10, Colliton decided to scratch Gustafsson against Calgary Dec. 2. The Swede took the benching hard, but also vowed to learn from the experience.
"I need to be better in my own zone and have a better gap," Gustafsson said. "All that basic stuff for me. … You want to play, but at the same time (a healthy scratch) can get you going a little bit."
That's certainly been the case of late as Gustafsson helped the Hawks go 2-1-1 on a four-game homestand against Pittsburgh, Winnipeg, San Jose and Nashville.
Against the Predators, Gustafsson was on the top pairing with Duncan Keith - a sight we may see for a while since Henri Jokiharju has been loaned to Finland for the World Junior Championships. It figures to be a huge test for the 26-year-old Swede, who did say the game is beginning to slow down for him.
"I think I read the game a little bit better now," Gustafsson said. "A couple times before, I was too fast up (in the offensive zone) and got too close in front of their net. Now I just jump in when I can."
He's certainly jumping a lot more of late. We'll see if it continues the rest of the season.
And beyond.
Kruger to IR
The Hawks Wednesday placed Marcus Kruger on injured reserve with a concussion and recalled Luke Johnson from Rockford. Johnson has 1 assist in 13 games with the Hawks this season. He was assigned to Rockford Nov. 25.