Second City Hockey's Season Preview: Power To The People

has anyone tried smuggling in cans in the back of their bloomers – and if so does it generally escape the pat down procedures of Chicago’s finest?

-How about some wild speculation on Corey Crawford and a sophomore flameout? Is he too old/experienced for that nonsense like some suggest?
-Will there be a slow start as all the new pieces learn to gel? How slow?
-Montador plays great against WC teams. How soon/are they going to figure him out?
-Where on the spectrum of idek do you think Frolik will show up this season?
-Why am I beginning to find Dan Carcillo attractive, and consequently, is it possible to hate myself more than I already do because of it?

Barring any serious injury, what will David Bolland’s stats look like at the end of the year?

(1) With Carcillo et al in the mix, the team (as Don Cherry would say) has their “jam” back. This is meaningful, primarily, to meatheads. Is it meaningful to the club? Do the new fourth-liners have it in them to use their aggression sensibly? And how much freedom will the fourth-liners have in a league that might — might — get serious about headshots and blatant goonery?

(2) Your selections for PP and PK units, please. (Include a utility pick in case of injury, suspension, etc.)

Assuming that Marian Hossa is healthy, will his attempt at a return to 40 goals mostly depend on what center he plays with, or have we seen an indelible change to his offensive output in the last two years?

Brent Seabrook is usually the 3rd alternate captain if something happens to the other two and Toews – who would be the best pick for 4th? Brunette? Bolland? Hossa?

Will the new added depth on Defense help or hurt the likes of Marlboro 72 (among others) in their TOI, CORSI, +/- and the PP/PK?

To make other teams spread their talent around more thus creating better chances for Toews, Kane, Hossa and Sharp, or do the other teams try to “bite the bullet” and make the Hawks 3rd and 4th lines beat them and not the Top two lines?

Why should we not be concerned about a “sophmore slump” like what happened to Mason in CBJ?

Which ones start out with the Big Club, and which are next and salavating at the chance up the Reagan Expressway?

According to CapGeek the Hawks have $3,415,706 in cap space. Which existing free agent would be the best pick for this team?

Is it still kind of messed up for everyone else? On the frontpage I have to scroll all the way to the bottom to get to the sidebar. But on individual posts it’s normal.

Do the Hawks trade him while stock is high both to obtain a decent 2C & in order to leave space for the AHL young ’uns to grow into their places in the playoffs and coming seasons – given that the most NHL-ready prospects all seem to be wingers – or do they go into the playoffs with the current roster in the most natural/obvious formation (Brunette/Olesz – Toews – Kane, Brunette/Olesz – Sharp – Hossa, etc.) with the knowledge that we have 2 more seasons of Olesz on the books and therefore not much room for prospects to grow into?

I know the answer will depend on how well he plays, so let’s just say “decent” = playing to his salary.

also,

How do you fold a fitted sheet?

-Does Hossa score 30+
-Does Hammer have a good start to the year
-Can Bolland stay healthy to help this team reclaim cup glory
-Will the backup goalie take over as the starter mid-season for the 3rd season in a row

and for the optimists, who will be our biggest pleasant surprise?

Bonus question: Does John Scott play in a game for the Hawks this year?

guaranteeing him the part of Keith Stone in the Keystone commercials as a means of signing him for a lower price?

If so, then what other endorsement deals were doled out that we have not seen yet?

Will McClure try and set a new personal record this season for using the phrase “purported weiner tucker” when mentioning Rick Nash?

How many minutes into the first Blackhawks-Canucks game will Honk and Donk last before curling up into the fetal position at the sight of Dave Bolland?

And perhaps most importantly, what STD will Kaner catch this year?

That’s if John “6’8 of waste” Scott even plays, and how many fights between the Hawks and Blows (Blues) this year?

Platinum I-Pass candidates:
Ben Smith?
Marcus Kruger ?
Stalberg?
Rostislav Olesz ?
Sami Lepisto?
Jamal Mayers?

Headshot
I had to watch it on my phone, youtube sucks on my desktop.

1. Does he return from his serious upper-body injury?
2. Does he become the mentor of the Icehogs D?
3. Does he divulge which mate he cuckolded?
4. Does his name appear in an article about where he is now?

- Are faceoffs going to be our biggest deficiency this year? If yes, what do we do to combat it? If no, what is?
- Who is the prime regression candidate this year? (I think it’s Crawford, curious what y’all think)
- Who will write the first stupid column questioning 19 this year? (my guess is Steve Rosenbloom)
- Other than Vik Stalberg, who is the most likely candidate not to be here after February?
- Who stands to benefit from the longer offseason more, Duncan Keith or Marian Hossa?
- Stan Bowman: Will he ever find The Precious?

Paul Zanette, are those dimension possible for a pro hockey player? Backup goalie dimensions. Blackhawks website, probably an error.

…and, if not, can I sleep well with Emery as plan B?

what is the reason this happens? what clicks and becomes best case scenario for this team?

conversely,

the hawks crash and burn, lose 5-6 in a row, why does this happen?

Where should I place the over/under on number of games John Scott plays this year (total, either forward or defense)?

I don’t recall seeing these…
Who gets the first major penalty on the Hawks this year?
Which Hawk wins their fight first?
Who has more blocked shots this year, the D, or the Goalies?
Who will score the most goals in the first week/month/41 games?
and last on my list…
Who is cussed at more this season? (Not including management, ‘cause we know Q’s got that.)

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany

why was he not talking about Detroit?

that everything gets old after awhile and that it is time for Chelsea Dagger to go?
It’s time for some new music and it really should be a band from the area. Someone from: Alkaline Trio, Mudvayne, Rise Against, etc has to be a Hawks fan!

I sincerely hope that I’m not the only one that thought that the awesomeness of this video was enhanced to an all-new level of awesome by the fact that the background music was from a band from Chicago.

Have largely already been asked, but here’s a few I did not see:

1. Will Keith and Seabrook play together 95%+ of the time this year, or will the Q line generator extend to the blueline too? How will they be split up if they are?
2. Will Michael Frolik score more than 10 goals this year?
3. Who should be the next couple of go-to guys (in order) after Toews/Kane in the skills competition — and who do you think Q will use?
4. Do you think the loss of the third jersey will improve the team’s home record? (I do)
5. What do you think the team’s record has to be for panic to set in and start either seeing guys traded/sent down and/or free agents get signed.

How many times will Kopecky attempt to contact Hossa via facebook chat this year?

Complete with all the minutia from the back of the CI, just a final tally of everything.

And then project those category’s for this season or introduce some new ones.

will there be one this season? Damn, I’ll take three lines, the Hawks should have that, right?

What are the odds Brett McClean is on the opening day roster since he’s waivers exempt on the way down, but not re-entry waivers exempt? I’m at 15 to 1. Higher?

I think John Scott will likely still be on the Blackhawks roster if all remains status quo. (I’m gonna write an article on that today. Yes, I’m obviously desperate for material) What are your odds on that?

1) Do you think we will be able to roll out a 4th line that will consistently slay bums while being responsisble (somewhat) in their own end?

2) Who will the 4th line consist of on the opener and then at mid-season (barring trades, etc)?

3) If Kruger fails to live up to expectations during training camp, do you think Ho-Bo-Fro makes a comeback as Line #2?

4) Over/under on number of games it takes before Q-Stache goes all Happy Gilmore on Stalberg and murders him with a skate?

But who are your top-3 contenders for the Cup this year?

While we saw Krueger playing sort-of Center with Ryan Johnson on the 4th line against Vancouver, do you think he’ll ever fit in that spot again with out laughter/rage at TV’s across Chicagoland? Vancouver has more of a 1-a, 1-b, 2 , & 3 line make up, so he was really playing against more of 3rd line comp., so how silly would it be to have him start against a real 4th line?

I think TMFF touched on this briefly but I’ll rehash it since I’m curious.

Given Soupy’s critical puck-carrying abilities in our transition game the past few years, and his leadership qualities during the post-season, how badly are we going to miss Brian Campbell? Is Nick Leddy ready to step up and take that role of moving the puck through the neutral zone? Are the other replacements going to be much help in that department? And how will our offense/defense at even strength be affected?