The kid has promise, but this is definitely a bit of a gamble by the Hawks...
He ended the season strong, but he REALLY struggles in two zones (neutral and defensive) and against bigger teams, in addition to the fact that he was a flat out turn-over machine (57 GVA to 8 TKA). The kid is talented, but like other prospects on the Hawks, he's smallish and has yet to prove a commitment put on weight to make a true difference on the ice.
Is it really though considering the situation?
What we have seen in recent history with these full on tear down and rebuilds are players getting out of town faster than they can collect and develop enough of them to climb out of the cellar. I'd guess the Hawks have recognized this.
I mean everything is a gamble, specially at this level. I personally love it.
While you might not get as much heat for it(out of sight out of mind) living inside the box is just as risky.
While nobody would recognize it not signing a deal like that could also cost you a cup in 7 years or make you far less successful. Everyone talks about/recognizes things you did and shouldn't have but half the mistakes are things you didn't do and should have if not more.
I agree....this is a "who knows" situation.
I see both sides and the Hawks picked one. No one will know until the games are played.
But I do agree it's likely an inflationary signing whether it's a gamble or not.
I personally hope it ages like Darnell Nurse. That would be nice, I wish them nothing but the worst.
They haven't finished better than 6th Central in 10 years, since they won a Cup. Imagine the bounty in that draft position for 10 years.
I'd say they have a problem in multiple areas of management.
Here's hoping for continued mismanagement. I want a Cup before they become relevant just to rub the in-laws noses in it. Love them, great people but the years between 2010 and 2018 were brutal for me. I have a long memory.
dhsux wrote: ↑23 Aug 2025 14:53 pm
They haven't finished better than 6th Central in 10 years, since they won a Cup. Imagine the bounty in that draft position for 10 years.
I'd say they have a problem in multiple areas of management.
Pierre McGuire wrote: ↑23 Aug 2025 11:35 am
The talk about the turnovers is mind boggling. Useless stat…players that have the puck, turn it over. Players whose job is to try and make plays turn it over.
I disagree, and IMO it's the single most important stat for puck possession. The year we won the Cup, I actively tracked the stat for the league and our Blues had the best GVA/TKA ratio of any team in the NHL from January to the Cup. ROR lead the league with 94TKA to only 33GVA, and almost our entire forward lines had a positive in that stat (something we haven't done since). TJ Oshie was the greatest Blue in that stat category.
I will say that the league play has shifted dramatically in this category, as turnovers reigned supreme last season...
Pierre McGuire wrote: ↑23 Aug 2025 11:35 am
The talk about the turnovers is mind boggling. Useless stat…players that have the puck, turn it over. Players whose job is to try and make plays turn it over.
I disagree, and IMO it's the single most important stat for puck possession. The year we won the Cup, I actively tracked the stat for the league and our Blues had the best GVA/TKA ratio of any team in the NHL from January to the Cup. ROR lead the league with 94TKA to only 33GVA, and almost our entire forward lines had a positive in that stat (something we haven't done since). TJ Oshie was the greatest Blue in that stat category.
I will say that the league play has shifted dramatically in this category, as turnovers reigned supreme last season...
Pierre McGuire wrote: ↑23 Aug 2025 11:35 am
The talk about the turnovers is mind boggling. Useless stat…players that have the puck, turn it over. Players whose job is to try and make plays turn it over.
I disagree, and IMO it's the single most important stat for puck possession. The year we won the Cup, I actively tracked the stat for the league and our Blues had the best GVA/TKA ratio of any team in the NHL from January to the Cup. ROR lead the league with 94TKA to only 33GVA, and almost our entire forward lines had a positive in that stat (something we haven't done since). TJ Oshie was the greatest Blue in that stat category.
I will say that the league play has shifted dramatically in this category, as turnovers reigned supreme last season...
You can’t compare ROR to a rookie on a terrible team. They are different players.
Hey, I wouldn't put a lot of trust into the Blackhawks developing Dmen right now. I'm thinking of a kid named Kevin Korchinski who played 76 games as a 19 year old. Then last year he spent most of the year in the AHL. The Hawks weren't going anywhere last year so why give him a false hope of greatness playing a league lower. Who cares he was a minus and bound to be a career minus guy. The guy has got flash now and he can learn to play d better in the Show.
larueskee wrote: ↑24 Aug 2025 13:17 pm
Hey, I wouldn't put a lot of trust into the Blackhawks developing Dmen right now. I'm thinking of a kid named Kevin Korchinski who played 76 games as a 19 year old. Then last year he spent most of the year in the AHL. The Hawks weren't going anywhere last year so why give him a false hope of greatness playing a league lower. Who cares he was a minus and bound to be a career minus guy. The guy has got flash now and he can learn to play d better in the Show.
He was only 19 - too young to play in the AHL. They had to make a decision...either he plays in the W again or he plays his rookie year in the NHL.
Last year he stayed in the AHL for the most part and was the mvp of the all star game.
He's probably their 6th best defenseman at this point....he's coming along just fine.
larueskee wrote: ↑24 Aug 2025 13:17 pm
Hey, I wouldn't put a lot of trust into the Blackhawks developing Dmen right now. I'm thinking of a kid named Kevin Korchinski who played 76 games as a 19 year old. Then last year he spent most of the year in the AHL. The Hawks weren't going anywhere last year so why give him a false hope of greatness playing a league lower. Who cares he was a minus and bound to be a career minus guy. The guy has got flash now and he can learn to play d better in the Show.
He was only 19 - too young to play in the AHL. They had to make a decision...either he plays in the W again or he plays his rookie year in the NHL.
Last year he stayed in the AHL for the most part and was the mvp of the all star game.
He's probably their 6th best defenseman at this point....he's coming along just fine.
MVP of the AHL ASG is great and all but I’d be worried about his -17 in 56 games with Rockford last season.
Combine that with a -39 in 76 games that year with the Hawks and then -5 in 16 games last season.
I know +/- can be a misleading stat but that’s 2 different teams. This guy went 7th overall in the Bolduc/Mailloux draft of 22.
larueskee wrote: ↑24 Aug 2025 13:17 pm
Hey, I wouldn't put a lot of trust into the Blackhawks developing Dmen right now. I'm thinking of a kid named Kevin Korchinski who played 76 games as a 19 year old. Then last year he spent most of the year in the AHL. The Hawks weren't going anywhere last year so why give him a false hope of greatness playing a league lower. Who cares he was a minus and bound to be a career minus guy. The guy has got flash now and he can learn to play d better in the Show.
He was only 19 - too young to play in the AHL. They had to make a decision...either he plays in the W again or he plays his rookie year in the NHL.
Last year he stayed in the AHL for the most part and was the mvp of the all star game.
He's probably their 6th best defenseman at this point....he's coming along just fine.
MVP of the AHL ASG is great and all but I’d be worried about his -17 in 56 games with Rockford last season.
Combine that with a -39 in 76 games that year with the Hawks and then -5 in 16 games last season.
I know +/- can be a misleading stat but that’s 2 different teams. This guy went 7th overall in the Bolduc/Mailloux draft of 22.
Pierre McGuire wrote: ↑23 Aug 2025 11:35 am
The talk about the turnovers is mind boggling. Useless stat…players that have the puck, turn it over. Players whose job is to try and make plays turn it over.
I disagree, and IMO it's the single most important stat for puck possession. The year we won the Cup, I actively tracked the stat for the league and our Blues had the best GVA/TKA ratio of any team in the NHL from January to the Cup. ROR lead the league with 94TKA to only 33GVA, and almost our entire forward lines had a positive in that stat (something we haven't done since). TJ Oshie was the greatest Blue in that stat category.
I will say that the league play has shifted dramatically in this category, as turnovers reigned supreme last season...
You can’t compare ROR to a rookie on a terrible team. They are different players.
I'm NOT comparing Nazar to ROR...
You made the statement that GVA/TKA is a useless stat, I simply stated I disagreed and stated why with a few examples.
dhsux wrote: ↑23 Aug 2025 14:53 pm
They haven't finished better than 6th Central in 10 years, since they won a Cup. Imagine the bounty in that draft position for 10 years.
I'd say they have a problem in multiple areas of management.
GM Kyle Davidson is on year four...
Yeah the first half of that 10 years involved Stan Bowman trying and failing to keep the Hawks relevant as long as Kane and Toews were around. Davidson really started the proper rebuild with the 2022 draft (Nazar, Korchinski, Rinzel).
Pierre McGuire wrote: ↑23 Aug 2025 11:35 am
The talk about the turnovers is mind boggling. Useless stat…players that have the puck, turn it over. Players whose job is to try and make plays turn it over.
I disagree, and IMO it's the single most important stat for puck possession. The year we won the Cup, I actively tracked the stat for the league and our Blues had the best GVA/TKA ratio of any team in the NHL from January to the Cup. ROR lead the league with 94TKA to only 33GVA, and almost our entire forward lines had a positive in that stat (something we haven't done since). TJ Oshie was the greatest Blue in that stat category.
I will say that the league play has shifted dramatically in this category, as turnovers reigned supreme last season...
You can’t compare ROR to a rookie on a terrible team. They are different players.
I'm NOT comparing Nazar to ROR...
You made the statement that GVA/TKA is a useless stat, I simply stated I disagreed and stated why with a few examples.
I think his point is more about how the league seemingly changed the way they tracked giveaways and takeaways last season. League-wide, the giveaways skyrocketed for almost all players. Last year’s stats on that look nothing like before. While I would agree that generally speaking, possession and this giveaways/takeaways are very important, how the league tracks it seems to have gotten super screwy in the last year, rendering it rather meaningless.
Young kid cashed in. Now he can sit back, relax and just play a game for a living. No need to work hard on a team that should be a bottom feeder. Just cash that check and go drive your lambo on the weekends.
Young kid cashed in. Now he can sit back, relax and just play a game for a living. No need to work hard on a team that should be a bottom feeder. Just cash that check and go drive your lambo on the weekends.
Sounds like the mindset of a lazy person. Not too many of those in the NHL. Most guys have to be the most fiercely competitive people in the world to make it to the best league in the world. I doubt that mindset changes for too many of them once they get paid. Just like McDavid, MacKinnon etc could all coast, cash checks and enjoy their off days (which usually aren’t weekends btw), they don’t because they’re fiercely competitive.
Frank Nazar on his contract extension: "I'm going to go into each day and each season thinking I'm the best. I don't think anything changes for me. I'm the same me."
Pierre McGuire wrote: ↑23 Aug 2025 11:35 am
The talk about the turnovers is mind boggling. Useless stat…players that have the puck, turn it over. Players whose job is to try and make plays turn it over.
I disagree, and IMO it's the single most important stat for puck possession. The year we won the Cup, I actively tracked the stat for the league and our Blues had the best GVA/TKA ratio of any team in the NHL from January to the Cup. ROR lead the league with 94TKA to only 33GVA, and almost our entire forward lines had a positive in that stat (something we haven't done since). TJ Oshie was the greatest Blue in that stat category.
I will say that the league play has shifted dramatically in this category, as turnovers reigned supreme last season...
