It's Fine That It's Bad

The Hawks returned home for the preseason, and it looked pretty much how it's going to look.

Unlike the last time the Hawks played Detroit in the preseason, where their top lineup (for the most part) simply got run over by a collection of Griffins, Walleye, and gym teachers, last night's loss looked like what a lot (and I mean A LOT) of losses in the upcoming season will look like. The kids look springy for large stretches of the game, but they don't score. Any game where Bedard or Nazar don't scratch, the Hawks are likely to struggle to get enough goals to really compete. And Bedard and Nazar aren't going to score enough to be competitive in a majority of games, i.e. getting games to OT or winning or whatever. They're not going to lose every night 5-1. At least I hope.

-Let's get to the first note, which you knew was coming, and that's the decision to, once again, send Kevin Korchinski back to Rockford. I can't argue that Korch has showed so much in camp to force the Hawks hand. But I think it's also curious that the Hawks were so intent on making him force their hand.

Matt Grzelcyk is...fine. Aggressively fine, though that might be giving him the best of it. He can probably, if things break right, be a third-pairing bum-slayer as the puck-mover on that pair. It wouldn't be the worst idea for him to be the mobile, veteran puck-handler to guide a younger, free-safety type who needs bailing out from time to time.

Except, who is that? Are the Hawks more interested in the development of Ethan Del Mastro or Louis Crevier than they are Korchinski? That doesn't make any sense. If they are, that means they totally blew a #7 overall pick. The fact that in his third pro season, if the Hawks feel he needs even more time in Rockford, it probably means they blew a #7 overall pick. What an be said for sure is, they've neutered whatever value he might have had, if Kyle From Chicago were interested in taking a big swing in the trade market.

The way the Hawks are set up now, there's no reason that Korch can't be that third-pairing bum-slayer himself. The Hawks are sporting Vlasic, Murphy, and Kaiser, all players meant to support an adventurous, puck-carrying partner. Jeff Blaaaasheeeeel seems intent on pairing Vlasic and Murphy, for some unknown reason, so they can jam either of two plugs in Del Mastro or Crevier into the lineup.

Once again, I have to ask what it is they think they have to lose by having Korch on the third-pairing. The AHL is a waste of his and their time. What is the point of Grzelcyk? Do they think they can rehab him for a deadline trade? How'd that work out for the Penguins last season?

It's mismanagement, and for the sake of it.

-Anyway, some positives, I guess. Bedard was more intent on shooting from everywhere than we'd seen for most of last season. One-on-ones, chances where it seemed he was faced up and he curled and shot around it anyway, etc. He narrowly missed two of them, and caused an awkward save on another. Here's one in the first...

As I keep saying, Bedard should have no conscience when it comes to shooting. He does not need to defer. This team has nothing riding on the season, and everyone needs to find out if Bedard can score from spots and chances that few, if any, other players can. That includes Bedard. If he does, he'll feel more comfortable firing away from odd places and situations, and he becomes the unique weapon he was drafted to be.

For the Wings first goal, Bedard turned the puck over at the offensive blue line, on a nice play from Arvid Fever's brother. Darren Pang, in his infinite wisdom on the broadcast, was bemoaning that Bedard didn't just dump the puck in and got his team caught.

HORSE. SHIT.

There's no point in having Connor Bedard if he's going to be instructed to just dump the puck in when he has even a sliver of an opening. The Wings d-men on the play were split wide, they had surrendered the line to him, he just got caught from behind. Bedard has to be allowed to try and make plays only he can, which means he has to be allowed to fuck up on occasion. Any jamoke can just dump the puck in. Every one of his teammates should be aware that Bedard is going to "try shit."

-Speaking of Pang, he couldn't wait to defend the ice surface in the very 1st period. There isn't any part of this organization that Pang can't carnival bark over.

-There was yet another chance where Oliver Moore got to use his speed, but showed that he has no head. He created a 2-on-1 by blitzing a d-man at the defensive blue line, and had Mikheyev streaking to the net all alone. He didn't see him until he was in the circle, at which point Mikheyev was crashing into the net and the pass was no longer available.

Get your head up, son.

-Sam Rinzel started to look itchy. He gave up one goal by getting his pocket picked, and Hawks fans had better get used to that sight. This idea that he can walk into a top-pairing role after eight games above college is just so rickety. What happens if his first 10 games are U-G-L-Y? Is he going to Rockford then? How much rope do those eight meaningless games really buy him?

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