Friday, September 19, 2014

Winterhawk Roster Merry Go Round

Due to players missing at NHL training camps (thanks for starting so late this year NHL!) and injuries, the Winterhawks management had to scramble for bodies in order to field a team for tonight and tomorrow's games. Along with details on these are my PREDICTIONS on when the missing players will be back

Who is Missing and Why?
Nic Petan (C)
-Winnpeg Jets training camp. Like all players away at camp, it is unknown when he will be back and since he played so weel at the Young Stars tournament, he could see some preseason games.
-Winnipeg has preseason games on 9/22, 9/24, 9/27, 9/29, 9/30, 10/2 and 10/4.
-I expect him to play most if not all of the preseason games. If he does play in all of them he will miss the frst 7 Hawks games of the season.

Chase De Leo (C)
-Also at Winnipeg Jets camp. He is still unsigned though and is behind Petan on the depth chart. It was a great sign for him though that he was not among the 6 players re-assigned on Tuesday.
-I would expect him to see limited action in the preseason and miss 4 games at max. If he sees extended time in these games, he could get an NHL deal from the Jets.

Oliver Bjorkstrand (RW)
-Columbus Blue Jackets camp. He has an professional contract and scored 4 goals in 4 games at the Traverse City tournament (which the Blue Jackets won). He should impress in practice and scrimmages with his pro-ready shot.
-Lumbus has preseason games 9/21, 9/23, 9/25, 9/27, 9/29, 10/1 and 10/4. I would expect him to play in about half of these games and miss 4-6 WHL games to start the season.

Anton Cederholm (D)
-Vancouver Canucks camp. He has a pro contract. Anton, as a D-man didn't get HL blog pieces written about his play at the Young Stars tournament, but I watched 2 of his games and he was steady while the rest of the D-men each had some bad turnovers leading to goals against.
-Vancouver has preseason games on 9/23 (split squad), 9/25, 9/26, 9/29, 10/2 and 10/4.
-He should at least action in one of the split squad games vs. San Jose. He is unique in that he is a 19 year old that could be assigned to Utica of the AHL. I predict he gets an extended look, but is eventually sent down to Portland. This decision may be influenced by what Minnesota decided last year with Mathew Dumba.

Brendan Burke (G)
-Arizona Coyotes camp. Unsigned. Burke saw some action in the 2 rookie games Arizona had vs. L.A. earlier this week.
-Arizona has exhibition games on 9/22 (SS), 9/23, 9/24, 9/28, 9/29, 10/1 and 10/3.
-I would expect him to play in the first week there as there is a lot of games in a row and then be back in town for the Hawks 3 in 3 nights next weekend.

Keegan Iverson (RW/C)
-New York Rangers camp. Unsigned. Iverson played on the 4th line in all 3 Rangers Traverse City games.
-I was somewhat surprised that Iverson was invited to camp and do not predict he will last past the first cut. He will probably only miss this weekend.

Dominic Turgeon (C)
-Detroit Red Wings camp. Unsigned. Turgeon centered the 4th line for Detroit at the Traverse City tournament and must've impressed enough to stick around.
-Like Iveron, I would only expect him to miss this weekend's games.

Josh Hanson (D)
-Injured with broken knuckles. He did not play in any of the Hawk's preseason games and was still in a cast as of last week. Word is that he is just now gripping his stick again. Because of this, he could miss a couple more weeks.

Blake Heinrich (D)
-Injured with a concussion. He apparently sufferd this consussion from a hit he received in a game at the Tri City preseason tourney. Recovery from concussions are so unknown that it's really anyone's guess when he will be back.

Other Roster Substractions:
Adam De Champlain (C)
-Adam decided to forgo his 20 year old season, where he might have worn a letter, in order to play for the Camrose Kodiaks of the AJHL. Camrose is about a 40 minute drive from his hometown of Sherwood Park.

Justin Greer (D)
-Has been battling an illness and was taken off of the roster in order to give him the time to recover.

Zach Paterson (D)
-This was surprising, as he is an 18 year old D-man and gives them a body to throw in a really depleted lineup. His being sent back to Midget, makes me think that he could be a trade piece at some point.

Roster Additions:
Reed Morison (C)
-Morison had been sent home from camp after the Tri City tourney, but was quickly recalled, as he was the only body, under a WHL education contract that was not already in the opening night lineup. This will give him the opportunity to impress the coaches again and maybe stick around.

Travis McEvoy (RW)
-Travis was released from the Vancouver Giant's camp as their 4th 20 year old and Portland quickly gobbled him up this morning, in order to have 11 forwards in the lineup tonight. McEvoy is an enforcer type who has a large body (6'0" 215 lbs). This adds some size the roster and a guy who can drop the gloves. I don't think he will last too long with the Hawks, unless he realy lights it up this weekend. In 3 seasons with Saskatoon and Vancouver he has 23 goals, 26 assists and 147 penalty minutes.

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