Anybody think Hawks give him a shot to play on opening night if he has a great camp/preseason, shows he can run an NHL powerplay and beats out Joker for a spot (I think Joker gets every opportunity to play with Keith)
Personally, I think it should be a raw meritocracy: We ice the best 6 D-men in the lineup whoever it is. Granted, it can't always work that way since you can't leave your high-priced vets in the pressbox for a long period of time.
If Boqvist is one of the 6 best by all means he should play no matter who he knocks off the roster--Joker or otherwise. Unfortunately it doesn't always work that way.
Realistically though I think Boqvist gets played like Joker last season--give him some time in the CHL to acclimate to the NA game even if he's a bit above that league. In fact, I'm not even so sure Joker makes it. We got Keith, Seabs, Murph, Goose, Rutta, and Manning *all* signed on D and all on 1M+ deals. Plus, Joker's slide-eligible. Something tells me Joker (and Boqvist) will get a fair shot but I think he'll (They'll) have to be head-and-shoulders above quite a few guys on D--like enough for Stan, Q, or both of them to want to keep 1M or 2M sitting in the pressbox fetching Eddie-O his soft serve.
I could be wrong, though. I do think if rumor has it that the 'hawks are still looking for D-help and they acquire yet another D-man without sending one out we won't see Boqvist or Joker this season.
Does the whole 9/10 games rule reset season to season or is it that way for the players whole chl career?
I believe it applies to players aged 18 or 19 by September 15th, so not quite their whole career. But to my knowledge yes, the contract can slide twice. So, Boqvist turns 18 in August. He can slide this year if he plays less than 10 games. Next year he turns 19, and I believe the 10 games reset, so he could slide again. Year after he's 20 and it doesn't get to slide even if he's playing for the Knights.