Confirmed with Link: Hawks acquire Connelly from MIN for Winchester

[AmericanDream]

His defensive issues were overblown.

ultimately his size has held him back. he was fine with us in Rockford on the defensive side, though his time with the Wild looks to have been a bit tough for him.

guy just never got a chance to play in the NHL which is a bit surprising when you see how consistent he really is offensively.

he would be better off going overseas and making bigger money as he can produce offensively and would do just fine in the Swiss, Italian, Germany leagues.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Chasing his dream.

 

[krazyhawk]

I'm just glad Bowman is actively trying to improve Rockford too. They've been terrible for too many consecutive years. I'm hoping this is enough to get them to win their first postseason game in 6 years.

This x2. A winning atmosphere in RFD would go a long way toward improving our prospects chances.Winning in the AHL would make it easier for them to fit in with a winning NHL team like Hawks.Already having that mindset makes for a smoother transition.

The addition of PMB,LaBarbera and Connelly have made the Hogs a much more dangerous team.GA is going down and GF (already pretty good) is going up.They are finally starting to play a style like the Hawks.Puck possession and a good transition game.The Hogs now have 2 good scoring lines and,like the Hawks,can roll all 4 lines without fear.

Having your minor league team play the same style as the parent club is (imo) the best thing for everyone concerned.Familiarity with the system is a bonus for any prospect.Bowman appears to be trying to create such an atmosphere in RFD.These deals are obviously not going to improve the Hawks directly as none of the players involved are likely to see any time in the NHL.So one can only assume they were meant to improve RFD's chances.


note: an injury to Crawford or Raanta would mean a callup for LaBarbera but that's about it for those guys

 

[BobbyJet]

And how did Pirri and Morin look?

No response from Hawkaholic when it comes to Pirri's play in RFD can mean only one thing: Pirri looked pretty good.

 

[Cullksinikers]

Morin looks unreal. He's hotter than piss.

 

[clydesdale line]

As a Hogs fan, Winchester will be missed. He was outstanding on the PP, creating havoc in front of the net (screens, underrated shot, etc.) I hope someone can fill in and do the dirty work. I've always believed he was a better version of Bollig. Love Connelly though, so I may be biased. We will also see alot less dumb penalties from the back end.

Hogs lost Svedberg for the rest of the year, so this is his replacement.

Yes and no. Sveds was more a defensive d-man whereas Connelly obviously is more offensive. Sveds is a big blow to the Hogs D, but I think the Hogs like Shea alot to at least fill in admirably.

Nice for Connelly, gets to come back to an organization he is very familiar with. Not sure how many players are left that he would be familiar with, but at least he knows everybody else!

Just Morin and Pirri remain.

 

[Blue Liner]

As a Hogs fan, Winchester will be missed. He was outstanding on the PP, creating havoc in front of the net (screens, underrated shot, etc.) I hope someone can fill in and do the dirty work. I've always believed he was a better version of Bollig. Love Connelly though, so I may be biased. We will also see alot less dumb penalties from the back end.



Yes and no. Sveds was more a defensive d-man whereas Connelly obviously is more offensive. Sveds is a big blow to the Hogs D, but I think the Hogs like Shea alot to at least fill in admirably.



Just Morin and Pirri remain.

How did Svedberg get injured? That sucks.

How was he progressing and developing this season? (I'm assuming you see the Hogs play a lot.)