Colliton hopes intense practices pay big dividends vs. Oilers
It's been an intense, frenetic first week of training camp for the Blackhawks as they prepare to face the Edmonton Oilers in a play-in series that begins August 1.
Practices are chock full of fast-paced drills and bag skates that have left nearly every player gasping for air by the time the hour is over.
Wednesday's session included a 25-minute scrimmage that featured a pair of goals by Dylan Strome, another by Drake Caggiula and 3 impressive saves by goalie Colin Delia.
Malcolm Subban also impressed, stopping a one-timer by Chad Krys and a breakaway chance by Brandon Saad.
"I've been really impressed and pleased with the intensity that our guys have shown and the work ethic," said coach Jeremy Colliton, who gave his team Thursday off. "We've had three pretty hard days. ... We're trying to put ourselves in the best position to be prepared when the puck drops for Game 1, and I think so far we've done that."
As might be expected, there were plenty of hiccups. Passing was sloppy at times and some players were taking unnecessary/dangerous chances.
Before the opener at Edmonton, the Hawks will face the defending champion St. Louis Blues in an exhibition game. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. July 29.
"They're a really good team and it's gonna help us get ready right off the bat," said forward Alex DeBrincat, who has been placed on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad. "(These) three weeks we're trying to get ready for playoffs and that's a hard pace. I think St. Louis plays a hard game, so that should be good for us."
Colliton has consistently rolled out the same forward lines thus far. The others have Dylan Strome centering Patrick Kane and Alex Nylander; Kirby Dach centering Dominik Kubalik and Drake Caggiula; and David Kampf centering Ryan Carpenter, Matthew Highmore. Philip Kurashev has rotated in on the fourth line.
The 'D' pairings figure to be Adam Boqvist and Duncan Keith; Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy; Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek.
The wild card is obviously Brent Seabrook. If he shows enough, he would probably slot in on the third pairing for Koekkoek.
Signings
The Blackhawks made the Ian Mitchell signing official Thursday. The 21-year-old defenseman inked a three-year deal ($925,000 salary cap hit) that runs through the 2022-23 season.
The Hawks also signed forward Pius Suter to a one-year, $925,000 deal and defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk to a two-year, $1.85 million deal.
Suter, 24, was MVP of Switzerland's National League-A last season where he recorded a league-best and career-high 53 points (30G, 23A) in 50 games.
Kalynuk, 23, was captain of the Wisconsin Badgers last year and recorded a career-high 28 points (7G, 21A) in 36 games. He was originally a seventh-round pick of the Flyers in 2017.
Gilbert announcement:
Defenseman Dennis Gilbert went on Twitter on Thursday and announced that he is not participating in the NHL restart due to a wrist injury that will require surgery. Gilbert played 21 games for the Hawks and 30 for Rockford this season.