Michael Frolik looks back on his years in Florida fondly. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

• The Blackhawks take on the Florida Panthers tonight at 7:30pm. Previews: NHL.com, Committed Indians, Chicago Tribune, CSN Chicago, Cheer The Anthem
• Hey, did you know they have five ex-Blackhawks on their roster, as well as Dale Tallon as their GM? Huh, huh, did you, huh?

“It’s more than just another game. That place was close to me and a lot of players in this room,” Versteeg lamented. “It’s something I’ve been looking forward to. I want to see the banner, one a lot of us didn’t get to see get raised.  I still haven’t seen it.” (CSN Chicago)

• Remember when we got Michael Frolik for Jack Skille? Good times. I mean, it’s not like Frolik is scoring, but at least he knows how to backcheck like a mofo.
• Anyway, Ray Emery will be in net for the Blackhawks tonight. Jose Theodore will be in net for the Panthers. (Left Wing Lock)
• Patrick Sharp is expected to rejoin the team during the Disney On Ice seven-game road trip in Western Canada. (@TramyersCSN)

Derp.

Before Bryan Bickell and Niklas Hjalmarsson were on the Blackhawks, embarrassing themselves by attempting to sing Christmas songs, they were on the Rockford IceHogs… embarrassing themselves by attempting to sing a Christmas song. Wow, the AHL really DOES prepare you for the NHL!

This video features an appearance by Corey Crawford, as well as some former Blackhawks you may remember…

» Continue reading “The Rockford IceHogs Sing “Jingle Bell Rock””

It's so close! (Photo: Jed Sullivan/flickr)

Tomorrow at 10am, Blackhawks regular-season tickets will go on sale via Ticketmaster, and, trust me — it will be a mad scramble. But what games will give you the most bang out of your 45 bucks (at least)? I’ve decided to help you out with the ten game tickets you should try to get your hands on tomorrow, given here in chronological order.

(You may find that this list is Eastern Conference-heavy — but this is because this will be the only chance to see these teams in the United Center this year. If you want to complain, blame Bettman.)

» Continue reading “Ten Blackhawks Games You Have To See Live”

Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr

Michael Frolik was on fire today as he helped catapult Team Czech over the Danes, 6-0—a win that not only guarantees Team Czech’s appearance in the Qualifying Round, but also placed Denmark in a precarious position where they have to win against Latvia on Wednesday if they want to avoid the Relegation Round.

Frolik opened the scoring at 2:29 with a pretty little deke that went in stick side, and the Danes failed to even it out despite a good chance a couple of minutes later. As Coach Q has told the Blackhawks, if you can’t score on a 5-on-3 then you’ve thrown the game, and the Danes learned this the hard way when they failed to capitalize on a two-man advantage and then fell apart, surrendering four goals in about as many minutes near the halfway mark of the second period. Milan Michalek scored twice, and then Frolik scored his second to put up the Czechs 4-0. Tomas Plekanec scored 13 seconds later to make it 5-0, and with less than four minutes to go in the third, Petr Prucha sunk a pass from Frolik to make the final score 6-0. That’s right, our Frolik got two goals and an assist! And Ondrej Pavelec, a former member of the Chicago Wolves, earned his first World Championship shutout! Congratulations to Team Czech—češi do toho!

This is the third time in as many meetings that Team Czech defeats Team Denmark, each time by three goals or more. (iihf.com)

» Continue reading “World Domination: Team Czech and Tre Kronor Clinch a Trip to the Qualification Round”

We hardly knew ye. But we knew enough. (Photo: Cheryl Adams/flickr)

I come to bury Jack Skille, not to praise him. And, unlike Marc Antony, I mostly plan to stick to that line.

Jack Skille was drafted seventh (yes, seventh) in the 2005 NHL Draft. The fact that he was drafted so high seemed strange then (he was nowhere in the top ten central scouting ratings), and looks completely ridiculous now (especially considering the fact that Anze Kopitar would be drafted 11th in the same year) — but the Blackhawks’ management at the time thought that he would eventually come into his own as a player.

And so, they waited. And waited. And waited.

Now, it’s not completely his fault that he had to wait so long to make the big club.  When he left the University of Wisconsin, the team was right in the middle of their rebuilding and starting to add depth, and he just wasn’t quite there yet. So he toiled in Rockford for a few years. Finally, this year, he made it! He’s a Chicago Blackhawk! Now it’s time to see what he can do when he’s playing regularly!

What he was able to do: 7 goals, 10 assists. He was a plus-3 for the year.

Now, for a fourth-liner, that’s great! But for the guy who was drafted seventh overall in 2005? Not so good.

It’s not like he didn’t try. Oh, how he tried! He had 121 shots on goal. That’s an utterly ridiculous number of shots. But, as he became infamous for, he could not get a good majority of those shots into the back of the net. Seven goals. 121 shots. That’s almost 6% of his shots converting into goals. Not a good percentage, there. In comparison, his fourth-line teammate, Jake Dowell, has five goals in 56 shots.

But the major difference between Jack and Jake? Jake was drafted in the fifth round of the 2004 NHL Draft. The expectations were lower — and continue to be lower — for Jake. Jack, however, is now seen as another Blackhawks first-round bust, joining Mark Bell, Mikhail Yakubov, and, most recently, Cam Barker in the slush pile.

Jack, you’re a good guy. You always made time for your fans, and it was obvious that your teammates loved having you around. I wish you nothing but the best in Florida.

(As for Hugh Jessiman and David Pacan? Um. Bye?)

But wait — where’s the “elated” part of this post? Well, it’s because of what we got in return — Michael Frolik and (especially) Alexander Salak. After the jump, learn about the newest additions to the Blackhawks.

» Continue reading “Jack Traded — Kat Elated”

Bye, Skille! (Image: HockeyBroad | Flickr)

The Blackhawks have traded Jack Skille, Hugh Jessiman, and David Pacan to the Florida Panthers for Michael Frolik and Alexander Salak, according to Tracy Myers.

My breakdown of this trade will have to wait until tomorrow. But until then, here are my initial thoughts about how I feel about this:

» Continue reading “Breaking News: Blackhawks trade Jack Skille”