Optimism Thread--Negativity Stay Out

ChiHawk21

Registered User
Jan 15, 2011
7,310
1,552
I just wanted a thread on the board to try and shed some light on how some more optimistic people are thinking. The hawks are in the mix at the bottom of the playoff standings as of now. IMO the hawks have the possibility of being a true cup contender by the end of the season. Some of my positives

-Role players have done their job
-Cap Space at the deadline
-Ruuta and Forsling look like true NHL defense man with upside while murphy is coming into his own.
-Young talented forwards who should/may get better with more experience (schmaltz,hayden, Debrincat)
-Star forwards who will undoubtedly play better then they have the first part of the season (kane, toews, saad)
-Better 4th line than in the past
-Crawford top of his game

Just wanted to make a thread that wasnt all doomsday "fire him, waive him" and a bit more realistic and fun.
 

DisgruntledHawkFan

Blackhawk Down
Jun 19, 2004
56,744
26,974
South Side
If at the beginning of the year you assured me that Cat would be a legit top 6 player, Rutta would be a solid second pairing guy, Murphy would be playing solid defense on his offside, and Forsling would look this good this early?

I'd have guessed the Hawks were much higher in the standings. This team has talent. The problems are fixable.
 

Salvaged Ship

Registered User
Oct 9, 2013
8,609
2,316
I like some of those positives!

Will be interesting to see if you get many responses or by the end even this turns into a Toews/Seabs/Q/Bowman bash thread like every other one does
 

CallMeShaft

Calder Bedard Fan
Apr 14, 2014
15,731
21,147
Forsling is a #2 at the moment and has had points where he looked like a legit #1. The guy is 21. Unfreakin believable.

DeBrincat has a chance of hitting 30 goals this year. As a 19yo. Drafted #39 overall just a year and a half ago.

Rutta's been solid. Murphy too.

Wingels has actually been pretty good at center. Not amazing, but better than what he's being payed.

Schmaltz is fast. Blazing speed. Hino's even faster, and while he doesn't control the puck near as good as Schmaltz, he has improved over what he was like last season.

Crawford is still a top 5 goalie.

Our PK doesn't fill me with rage like it did a year ago.

Sikura is shaping up to be a good find. Not elite, but could certainly be a 50pt player in this league as soon as next season.
 
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LordKOTL

Abuse of Officials
Aug 15, 2014
3,525
768
Pacific NW
Right now as it stands the Crawford and Vasilevskiy are leading the pack in SV% with a starter's workload...followed closely enough by BobRossky and Quick.

In an era where scoring it up it's great to see a handful of goalies putting on a clinic, and even better one of our guys is up there.

Our youth is progressing nicely.

Forsling, Rutta, and El Gato all look real.

The 4th line makes me smile.

The PK is surprisingly good.
 
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Toews2Bickell

It's Showtime
Nov 24, 2013
23,373
23,282
Looking ahead to 2018 offseason, the Hawks are actually in pretty good shape. They could have around 13m in cap space with an 80m ceiling with just Hartman, Hayden and Rutta to re-sign. So, potentially they could be in on a big UFA like John Carlson to replace Seabrook's production. Bowman will have the ability to fix some holes on this roster. So youth movement plus cap space could result in team being a top 4 team in West again, easily.

I would like to see Murphy get another chance to play with Keith. If it doesn't work out again then Bowman should be looking for a defenseman to play with Keith and maybe a bottom 6 forward in a swap for Kempny.
 

featherhawk

Registered User
Dec 13, 2006
14,227
4,959
forsling, rutta, murphy, debrincat, hayden, wingels and maybe schmaltz are the only positives besides Crawford that I can see
 

ChiHawks10

Registered User
Jul 7, 2009
27,916
21,138
Chicago 'Burbs
Basically I feel the same as most the people posting in here.

The young guys are all progressing, and developing well, and seem to be hungry every game. I've been pleasantly surprised by the play of the 4th line, which has been great for energy. Crawford has been outstanding, and is pushing for his first career Vezina. The team has not played great for any extended stretch, and they're still right in the playoff hunt. I expect them to string together 7-8 wins at some point and get right back into the thick of things for a playoff spot. They're pretty much guaranteed to put that stretch together every season. So I'm not so worried about making the playoffs yet. They're not even halfway through the season.

I'm excited for the future of this team the most, though. Some of the young guys are looking like they will be really, really good moving forward. Particularly Cat, Schmaltz, and Forsling.

Overall, this team has a lot of positives to look forward to in the future, especially with the expectation of the cap going up by 5-7m.
 

ColdSteel2

Registered User
Aug 27, 2010
34,759
3,578
Everything with the young/new players has gone as well as it possibly could. We know the problems all lie with the veterans. So at this point, I’d just as soon not count on them bringing us back to contention and start catering to the young players with playing time and linemates that put them in the best possible positions to grow and succeed. The future is bright. It would be nice to add an offensive minded top 6 center with the upcoming 1st round draft pick. We need to look at Toews as more of a shutdown C that chips in on offense. We need to continue to play Seabrook as a third pauring D. Sharp is a 4th liner and should be slotted with those kind of minutes. We’re moving in that direction but not quite there yet. It’s time to move forward and let go of the past. I’d trade Panik too. He’s the kind of player that could fetch a 1st rounder from a team like LA or Washington, an older contender with cap issues.
 

Hawkaholic

Registered User
Dec 19, 2006
31,454
10,788
London, Ont.
Yeah he has. Other than the first 7-10 games when he was obviously still hurt, he has been the most consistent player on that 2nd line, AINEC. He looks good every single game, and has for a long time now. He has literally been the Hawks best center.
He had a rough start to the year, but he has been great for the last 20 games or so.
 
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Robsker

Registered User
Nov 8, 2014
1,051
205
I just wanted a thread on the board to try and shed some light on how some more optimistic people are thinking. The hawks are in the mix at the bottom of the playoff standings as of now. IMO the hawks have the possibility of being a true cup contender by the end of the season. Some of my positives

-Role players have done their job
-Cap Space at the deadline
-Ruuta and Forsling look like true NHL defense man with upside while murphy is coming into his own.
-Young talented forwards who should/may get better with more experience (schmaltz,hayden, Debrincat)
-Star forwards who will undoubtedly play better then they have the first part of the season (kane, toews, saad)
-Better 4th line than in the past
-Crawford top of his game

Just wanted to make a thread that wasnt all doomsday "fire him, waive him" and a bit more realistic and fun.

I agree with all you say. And I add that Cat is a real pleasure to watch and that Schmaltz is coming along and that speed of his is something. Finally, some of the D-man who i at least was not so excited about are better than anticipated (say Franson who some just rag on --- but who has contributed --- and also Osterle).

There is much to like.
 

Blue Liner

Registered User
Dec 12, 2009
10,332
3,608
Chicago
In addition to the youth playing well currently you have more youth on the way in Rockford and coming out of college once NCAA seasons are done that have real good potential and will create competition, shorter term. Longer term some other NCAA and junior guys that are very interesting.
 

kuzy

Registered User
Mar 31, 2012
1,725
1,200
St. Charles, IL
Not to be negative or anything but its only been four games lol

giphy.gif
 
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ChiHawk21

Registered User
Jan 15, 2011
7,310
1,552
Best game of the season last night. Getting some offense and all our lower end D have played well recently. Schmaltz coming on strong as well.
 

EbonyRaptor

Registered User
Jul 10, 2009
7,173
3,040
Geezerville
A 4 game winning streak brings out the optimism for sure. Some random optimistic thoughts:

1. DeBrincat - after a lackluster prospects camp, it was probably less than 50/50 he would even make the team. Once he made the team, he showed flashes but he also had some turnovers, was pushed off the puck fairly easily and got lit up a couple times to where the concern was he isn't going to be able to take the physicality in the NHL. But he has made adjustments/improvements. He has shown he is responsible defensively. He's very good at picking the puck and making quick plays in all areas of the ice. His passing is second only to Kane (maybe tied with Schmaltz). His quick release accurate shot is everything we hoped it would be. He hasn't got lit up lately and whether that's due to him being more aware or just lucky - it's still a positive. His puck handling along the wall is greatly improved as he is using edges better and isn't as easily knocked down and off the puck. His scoring pace has been going up and should rise even more now that he's playing in the top-6. He's even in the conversation for Calder. And, he's only 19.

2. Schmaltz - after looking like an all star in Game-1 against the Pens, the concussion he got in Game-2 really set him back. When he returned from the concussion he was no where near as dynamic or productive. However, he has started to show that explosive ability again lately and he and Kane seem to have found some chemistry. He still needs to shoot more, but it seems he's aware of that and trying to improve in that area. His passing is top notch, as he showed last night against the Jets with that dish to Kane. As long as he can play with abandon and keep his brain from getting scrambled again, he can be a very good player. And, he's only 21.

3. Forsling - while most people penciled him into the lineup before the season started, it was more because of the Hawks depleted d-corps than because he shown he was ready for the NHL. He was arguably the best d-man prospect in the Hawks pipeline, so we had high hopes that eventually he would be a mainstay for the Hawks, but realistically he was still a season or two away. He made the team and even though he's had a few iffy moments, his overall game and consistency has been about as good as we could have hoped. He's not straight line fast but he's quick enough and skates well enough to skate the puck out and initiate the offense by skating the puck into the o-zone. He has a very good shot and should be getting Keith's minutes on the PP. He is a solid 3/4 d-man. And, he's only 21.

There are more happy stories, but I'll save some positivity for later.
 
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