I bet you thought Sam would be writing all of these, didn’t you? Well that was probably very smart of you since McClure and I now have jobs that make it difficult to write as much as we’d like for this site. Anyways, sorry to ruin your prediction, but I’m going to take a shot at looking at all of the forwards. These guys are going to be in no particular order and hopefully I don’t forget anyone.
Lets get going
Before the season began, all three of us picked a player we thought would break out this year – Sam wisely picked Brouwer and he hasn’t shied away from pointing that out on a few occasions when we’re all drinking and watching the game. Rightfully so, Brouwer has done just about everything we could hope this year. He’s one of the many Hawks with double digits in goals, isn’t afraid of the physical game and has recently done a great job of getting in front of goalies with Buff still inexplicably on the point during the power play. Brouwer has lately been playing on a line with Daydream Nation and doesn’t look out of place (or at least as long as you don’t expect him to bury a wide open chance). He’s already eclipsed his career high in goals and there’s plenty of time left in the season. Final Verdict: A-
Oh Byfuglien – you once again got us into having such high hopes for you. And dammit if you haven’t mostly let us down, and yet at the same time you’re racking up a respectable point total. Only Buff could lead the team in hits, be one of seven Hawks with 10+ goals, do respectable things like this or this… and still somehow seem like a disappointment. Buff started out fairly strong this season, did his predictable disappearing act but still can instantly become a factor in any game he chooses. His ability to turn his “give a damn” switch on or off will always infuriate most of us – but no one can argue that when he’s insanely valuable to the team when he’s “on”. He’s played well lately so lets hope being left off Team USA served as the wake up call he needs (just like we thought playing with Samuel Pahlsson was… or John Madden now). It’s hard to rate him high but he’s overall been a pretty positive force on the team so far, so… Final Verdict: B–
With only 26 games played, it’s hard to really judge how much of an impact Eager has had on this team. You don’t really miss him on the many occasions his brain is scrambled but when he’s skating hard and on his game, it shows. While the top lines will get all the attention, the Hawks ability to roll out 4 lines that play their role perfectly cannot be overlooked. Eager is a big part of that. He’ll skate hard, take stupid penalties sometimes (ok… often) and now it seems like he’ll actually win a fight more often than not, until his next inevitable concussion that is. Final Verdict: B
Yeah – we’re just going to have to call this one incomplete. It was obvious early on that Bolland was hurting bad and he finally did the right thing and went under the knife. Lets just hope Bolland is back in time to get up to speed before the playoffs.. Final Verdict: Get Well Soon
There isn’t a ton to say about Fraser – and that’s OK as you really shouldn’t have to write a novel about your fourth line center. Along with Eager and Kopecky, he’s part of a fourth line that’s finally showing a lot of life and making life that much harder for other teams. You have to respect a man that’s going to lead a team in fights even though I don’t think he’s won a single one. Fraser is winning close to 50% of his faceoffs though and a good reason the Hawks are one of the best teams at the dot. Final Verdict: B-
I was still pissed off at Versteeg at the start of the season. His antics in Game 4 of last year forced me to take away his exclamation point – but I think he’s done more than enough to earn it back. He’ll still refuse to dump the puck in and is prone to playing far too cute but he skates hard, plays like he’s got a much larger frame and can dangle with the best of this team. He’s being misused on a line with Madden and Buff but makes the most of his chances when he gets them. He’s 10 goals away from a career high, has a solid +/- and a positive behind the net rating. Final Verdict: A-
Poor Kopecky. He’s always going to be forever associated as being nothing more than a security Slovak for Hossa and would be this season’s whipping boy if it weren’t for Cam Barker. People think so little of him that SBN hasn’t even bothered to update his profile picture despite being halfway done with a new season. And to be honest, he’s deserved it. The only time you noticed him on the ice for most of the season, you immediately questioned why the hell the Blackhawks ever signed him. Well, with the fourth line clicking, Kopecky’s going on a bit of a tear (or at least a tear for his standards), he’s netted 3 goals in 4 games. Some of it is just being in the right place at the right time… but at least he’s in the right place, right? Right. Final Verdict: C (might be a bit high but his play seems to be improving)