Blackhawks goalie Lankinen 'pumped' about Fleury signing
Kevin Lankinen won 17 of the Blackhawks' 24 contests during last season's pandemic-shortened 56-game campaign and was poised to enter 2021-22 as the undisputed No. 1 goaltender
That is until the Hawks went and traded for three-time Stanley Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury in August.
Many pro athletes would have bristled at such a move and lamented their plight. But not Lankinen.
"I was pretty pumped about it," the 6-foot-2 Finn said after practice Monday at Fifth Third Arena. "It's a really good opportunity. ...
"He's in the position where I want to be one day. Getting the chance to get to know him, learn from him, compete with him - it'll be huge."
What could have been a three-headed monster in net for the Hawks last season became a one-man show as Lankinen proved he could handle a heavy load while leading his team into playoff contention. After Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia had a few chances early on, Lankinen brushed off a rough performance in Florida and went 10-4-3 with a .924 save percentage over the next 17 games.
He faltered down the stretch, but so did the rest of the Hawks as a demanding schedule and underwhelming roster exposed the roster's flaws.
During the summer Lankinen worked on his puck-handling skills and tried to get better at seeing shots through traffic. So how, exactly, does one improve on the latter when there aren't a dozen teammates around?
You improvise.
"We pulled out a whole bunch of tires and all these cones," Lankinen said. "(Then) guys are shooting. We (also) put a couple guys in front of the net and (it's about) just finding pucks."
Lankinen allowed just 1 overtime goal by Kirby Dach during about 25 minutes of action during the Hawks' scrimmage Tuesday.
In the third period, however, disaster almost struck when Lankinen turned the puck over after skating out to the right faceoff dot. Only a heads up play by a teammate prevented a sure goal.
"As a goaltender it's not one of the things you focus on coming up," coach Jeremy Colliton said of playing the puck. "It probably doesn't matter as much. Most of these guys are top players at the levels before and they're not asked to do the details - or they're kind of glossed over because they're so good in the other areas. ... The higher level you play at, the little things matter a lot because that's what makes the difference."
While the media never spoke with Lankinen face to face last season, you can tell he's among the planet's most polite professional athletes. On Thursday, he walked into the media room at Fifth Third Arena wearing a wide smile, genuinely happy to stand in front a small group of reporters.
Afterward - when all other players just exit stage right - Lankinen stuck around to say how nice it was to finally meet everyone.
Now, make no mistake: While Lankinen definitely exudes a laid back, relaxed persona, the 26-year-old still expects to be the Hawks' top goalie some day.
"That's my goal," said Lankinen, who would become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he's not re-signed. "I like to compete. I've always been competing throughout my whole career. ...
"The way I see it: If you want to be the best one day, you've got to learn from the best, you've got to compete with the best, and at the end of the day, you've got to beat the best."
Slap shot:
Dominik Kubalik and Michal Teply scored for their respective teams during the Hawks' 45-minute scrimmage at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday. Kirby Dach notched the game-winner in overtime.
He said it:
"Not gonna lie. It's been hard."
- Dominik Kubalik on the first five days of training camp