General Hawks Talk While Hockey is MIA

[bwana63]

Lazerus ($): The Calder Trophy case for the Blackhawks' Dominik Kubalik

 

[bwana63]

Powers & Laz ($): What we learned from the Blackhawks' first availability in 3...

 

[Brightwing]

Lazerus ($): The Calder Trophy case for the Blackhawks' Dominik Kubalik

So one thing Laz criticized Colliton for a lot is not using Kubalik more earlier in the season. Am I crazy to think that it wasn't unreasonable to ease him in? Like that's kinda how you ruin prospects, throwing them into the deep end.

 

[Styles]

So one thing Laz criticized Colliton for a lot is not using Kubalik more earlier in the season. Am I crazy to think that it wasn't unreasonable to ease him in? Like that's kinda how you ruin prospects, throwing them into the deep end.

The only criticism I have with Colliton with Kubalik is not using his one timer on the PP earlier than the 55 game mark. I think he did a good job with Kubalik otherwise.

 

[x Tame Impala]

So one thing Laz criticized Colliton for a lot is not using Kubalik more earlier in the season. Am I crazy to think that it wasn't unreasonable to ease him in? Like that's kinda how you ruin prospects, throwing them into the deep end.

I think it’s perfectly reasonable. I said the same with Q and DeBrincat during his rookie year. People were mad at Q’s usage and the ice time he gave him but I always thought it was appropriate for a rookie settling in. Then the next year DBC pots 41

 

[BobbyJet]

The only criticism I have with Colliton with Kubalik is not using his one timer on the PP earlier than the 55 game mark. I think he did a good job with Kubalik otherwise.

I think it’s perfectly reasonable. I said the same with Q and DeBrincat during his rookie year. People were mad at Q’s usage and the ice time he gave him but I always thought it was appropriate for a rookie settling in. Then the next year DBC pots 41

Kubalik was no 19-year old coming right from Junior though - at 23 years he quickly adapted his game and IMO deserved more ice after 20 NHL games or so, especially on the PP. Often times he was one of the best Hawk players on the ice at ES.

 

[Styles]

Kubalik was no 19-year old coming right from Junior though - at 23 years he quickly adapted his game and IMO deserved more ice after 20 NHL games or so, especially on the PP. Often times he was one of the best Hawk players on the ice at ES.

If I remember correctly he started off strong in the beginning of the season with Saad and then cooled off in November and December. I’m pretty sure he was scratched at some point in those months as well. No matter what the age you still need to adjust to the NHL and we saw just that when he exploded in the second half.

Edit: Looking back at the GDT against the Canucks November 7th. everyone was hating the scratch so I might be wrong on him cooling off. Idk. That was forever ago at this point.

GDT: - Blackhawks vs Canucks - 7:30 CT NBCSCH - Boq and Dachs Excellent Adventure

 

[CallMeShaft]

“In Boqvist’s final five games of the season, he posted five assists, all at even strength. He ranked tied for 11th among defensemen in points since February 27, despite ranking 143rd in games played and 182nd in average time on ice per game. Boqvist had the puck on his stick in the offensive zone at a high rate compared to Blackhawks defensemen, ranking second, and completed over eight passes in the offensive zone per game, which ranked top-50 leaguewide.
“Boqvist moved the puck out of his end with control over three times per game, which ranked in the top 60 in the NHL. He did not defend the blue line in terms of preventing entries against at a high rate compared to other defensemen across the league; however, the Blackhawks as a team did not do this at a high rate over this time period, as Boqvist still ranked second on the team, denying 39.1 percent of entries that came his way.
“Defensively, Boqvist used his stick to knock pucks away from attacking players, ranking first on the Hawks and 22nd in the league, averaging two stick checks (forcing a loss of possession with your stick) per game. Boqvist also rarely turned the puck over, doing so on just over 11 percent of his puck touches, which ranked second on the team and 25th among defensemen leaguewide.
“As for while-on-ice numbers at five-on-five, Boqvist ranked second on the team and top-60 in expected goals against and second and top-25 in high-danger shot differential during his last five games.
“All in all, very positive numbers for Boqvist in terms of creating offense, limiting it and being safe with the puck while moving it effectively out of his own end.”

This might seem like a long excerpt, but it's a pretty small portion of a fantastic article about Boqvist from Powers. Well worth a read if you're subscribed to The Athletic.

Blackhawks future series: Dissecting Adam Boqvist's rookie...

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

This might seem like a long excerpt, but it's a pretty small portion of a fantastic article about Boqvist from Powers. Well worth a read if you're subscribed to The Athletic.

Blackhawks future series: Dissecting Adam Boqvist's rookie...

The numbers show a guy who is going to explode in the next couple seasons...should they be played.
He's nowhere near as bad defensively as people think.

 

[CallMeShaft]

Piggybacking off Powers' article, where he did a thorough evaluation of Boqvist's last 5 games, I've decided to do a less comprehensive evaluation (and comparison to other big name 2018 defensive draftees) starting from January 1.

Games Played
Hughes: 29
Dahlin: 26
Boqvist: 25

Points
Hughes: 25
Dahlin: 19
Boqvist: 10

Even Strength Points
Hughes: 15
Dahlin: 10
Boqvist: 9

TOI per game
Hughes: 22:44
Dahlin: 19:11
Boqvist: 17:06

Hits per 60
Dahlin: 4.20
Boqvist: 3.36
Hughes: 0.27

Blocks per 60
Boqvist: 4.21
Dahlin: 3.60
Hughes: 1.82

Giveaways per 60
Hughes: 1.91
Dahlin: 2.04
Boqvist: 3.22

Takeaways per 60
Hughes: 1.45
Dahlin: 0.84
Boqvist: 0.70

Goals per 60 (5v5)
Boqvist: 0.51
Hughes: 0.35
Dahlin: 0.15

Points per 60 (5v5)
Hughes: 1.61
Boqvist: 1.54
Dahlin: 1.36

Primary assists per 60 (5v5)
Boqvist: 0.68
Dahlin: 0.60
Hughes: 0.58

Secondary assists per 60 (5v5)
Hughes: 0.69
Dahlin: 0.60
Boqvist: 0.34


So long story very short, at even-strength since January 1st, Boqvist has been damn near as good as Hughes offensively at even strength. Him playing more than 5 minutes less than Hughes is the biggest difference between their 5v5 production since January 1st. However, Boqvist has been better at primary assists and goals during that time, where as Hughes has more than twice the secondary assists than Boqvist had.

Defensively, Boqvist is quite a bit different than Hughes, but not all that much worse. He's better at shot blocking and laying hits, but his giveaway and takeaway ratios are a step or two worse than Hughes'.

Also take note that Boqvist is 10 months younger, so who knows what the comparisons will be like a year from now, let alone 5 years.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Piggybacking off Powers' article, where he did a thorough evaluation of Boqvist's last 5 games, I've decided to do a less comprehensive evaluation (and comparison to other big name 2018 defensive draftees) starting from January 1.

Games Played
Hughes: 29
Dahlin: 26
Boqvist: 25

Points
Hughes: 25
Dahlin: 19
Boqvist: 10

Even Strength Points
Hughes: 15
Dahlin: 10
Boqvist: 9

TOI per game
Hughes: 22:44
Dahlin: 19:11
Boqvist: 17:06

Hits per 60
Dahlin: 4.20
Boqvist: 3.36
Hughes: 0.27

Blocks per 60
Boqvist: 4.21
Dahlin: 3.60
Hughes: 1.82

Giveaways per 60
Hughes: 1.91
Dahlin: 2.04
Boqvist: 3.22

Takeaways per 60
Hughes: 1.45
Dahlin: 0.84
Boqvist: 0.70

Goals per 60 (5v5)
Boqvist: 0.51
Hughes: 0.35
Dahlin: 0.15

Points per 60 (5v5)
Hughes: 1.61
Boqvist: 1.54
Dahlin: 1.36

Primary assists per 60 (5v5)
Boqvist: 0.68
Dahlin: 0.60
Hughes: 0.58

Secondary assists per 60 (5v5)
Hughes: 0.69
Dahlin: 0.60
Boqvist: 0.34


So long story very short, at even-strength since January 1st, Boqvist has been damn near as good as Hughes offensively at even strength. Him playing more than 5 minutes less than Hughes is the biggest difference between their 5v5 production since January 1st. However, Boqvist has been better at primary assists and goals during that time, where as Hughes has more than twice the secondary assists than Boqvist had.

Defensively, Boqvist is quite a bit different than Hughes, but not all that much worse. He's better at shot blocking and laying hits, but his giveaway and takeaway ratios are a step or two worse than Hughes'.

Also take note that Boqvist is 10 months younger, so who knows what the comparisons will be like a year from now, let alone 5 years.

Hughes and Dahlin are still better players.

 

[CallMeShaft]

Hughes and Dahlin are still better players.

Never said they weren't.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

Hughes and Dahlin are still better players.

Right now, yeah. We'll see about Hughes and Boqvist in the future. Right now Hughes' skating advantage gives him a huge edge. When they're developed, I think Boqvist's shot and offensive IQ will more than make up for the difference in skating ability.

I expect Dahlin to continue to be a better player than Boqvist, but I expect AB to pass Hughes eventually.

I still think that Boqvist is going to be the 2nd best D from the 2018 class.

 

[CallMeShaft]

One thing I will say about Qughes is his zone entries, his best attribute, wasn't really apart of those stats above, outside of him being a bit better offensively and defensively from moving the puck up ice.

But what I was going for, is to look at how big (or small) the gap was between him and Boqvist (also threw Dahlin in because why not).

Boqvist was always going to take longer to get going. He's a few months younger than Dahlin, and a whopping ten months younger than Hughes. He also lacked any NHL experience until this season. So I didn't want to compare them throughout the entire season, which is why I went with January as the start of this comparison. But since the beginning of 2020, Boqvist has definitely been comparable to both guys in several major categories.

Still not quite at their level, and it's a small sample size, but it is interesting all the same.

 

[Kevin Musto]

I think it's going to be a long time before there's another prospect I like as much as Quinn Hughes.

Since him I've been really high on Kirby Dach, Jakob Pelletier, Marat Khusnutdinov, Marco Rossi, Lucas Raymond, etc...but Hughes, man. What a special prospect to watch. One of a kind. Would have given a lot just to move up one spot for him.

 

[bwana63]

LeBrun: NHL's return still on track for summer amid CBA and...

 

[Malagahawks]

Says stats are slightly skewed but hey we have the most passionate fan base with largest home ice attendance.

 

[Taze em]

John Forslund is looking like he might be a free agent. I think he’s the one guy you fire Foley for. He’s electric and would be an institution here.

 

[Kevin Musto]

John Forslund is looking like he might be a free agent. I think he’s the one guy you fire Foley for. He’s electric and would be an institution here.

Meh, he's pretty generic sounding. Not unique...but at this point I'll take almost anything over Foley.

 

[Nellie Fox]

I still like Foley when he's not with Olczyk. Eddie's a top-notch analyst, and Foley's a good PBP guy, but when they're together they act like a couple of silly grade-school kids, constantly giggling at each other's lame jokes.

 

[bwana63]

I still like Foley when he's not with Olczyk. Eddie's a top-notch analyst, and Foley's a good PBP guy, but when they're together they act like a couple of silly grade-school kids, constantly giggling at each other's lame jokes.

Foley was great, but is declining. It happens.

To your other point, yeah, the Foley-Edzo schtick can be hard to take. It's cool that those guys are great friends, but letting that flood into their call is a big time negative. I don't mind so much when a game is out of hand, but when it's not...

 

[RayP]

Foley is old as dirt. Sure he’s a bit senile but everyone’s run comes to an end at some point.


At the end of the day I’m glad we got as many great games called out of him even if that means the stretch run is a bit rough to watch.

 

[BK]

Hire Gary Thorne.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

John. Weideman.

Don’t overthink this. His radio call in 10 will be remembered for the rest of our lifetimes. He’s paid his dues, he’s fantastic, and he’s forever tied to the golden era of the franchise.

 

[Kaners PPGs]

John Forslund is looking like he might be a free agent. I think he’s the one guy you fire Foley for. He’s electric and would be an institution here.

Agreed. I started watching a lot of Carolina games this year and Forslund is excellent.