And You Are...? (part I)

First and foremost, if you're heading to the UC for a game, make sure you pick up a copy of the Committed Indian gameday program outside of the stadium before you go in. Just look around a bit, the guys are always out there before the games selling it. Not only is it cheap (easily the cheapest thing you'll buy at the UC all night) and must-read Hawks commentary (as is most everything at their website, http://www.secondcityhockey.com/), but it's worth having at the game if only for the two pages that lay out the predicted lineups for each team:


This is an example from the recent game against the Canucks. Obviously you can't appreciate the detail here, but you get the idea - it's a great visual and informational layout of all you'd need to know about all the skaters you'll probably see that night. Simple, concise, and makes it really easy to keep everyone straight. I was pumped when I saw it for the first time this year, so much so that I sort of reprinted this one w/o their permission. I hope they don't hammer me for it, but I figure I'm a lawyer and they're a bunch of drunks, so...


One of the reasons the above page is especially valuable this season is because of all these new guys in the Hawks sweater are hard to keep up with this early in the year. While only the biggest names get any attention in hockey, the reality is that you definitely need contributions from at least 20 guys over the course of a season. So it's gonna take a while to understand exactly where all that production is coming from with this year.

After 11 games, at least half of which I've seen, I'm starting to get a baseline understanding of what these players might end up being when all is said and done in 2010-2011. And I'm very encouraged, as I thought I would be. It's early and we're still w/o Campbell, one of the most important pieces to our championship puzzle, but we've put up a nice lil win streak and been in every game, despite a very compressed schedule to start the year.

Sure we're getting carried by the core guys, but some of the newcomers are definitely doing their part. Hockey isn't a game where just a few strong players can do it all forever, so all the standings points we've earned mean you should be encouraged by the new guard of role players.

Here's what I've gathered on all the Hawks "newcomers" this year - I quote newcomers because I'm including everyone on this list who wasn't a regular and significant piece of the squad last season, even if they did log some time w/ the Cup winners.

Today - Goalies. Next - Blueliners. Day 3 - Forwards.

G Marty Turco, 35 years old, 9th season, $1.3M for 1 year, #30

By far the biggest off-season acquisition, Turco has a hell of a track record. He's started almost 500 games in his career and won over 260 of em (good for a stellar .580 win percentage). Before the lockout he was a beast in net, posting a GAA under 2 in his career. As the game opened up with the new post-lockout rules, Turco remained strong, winning an impressive 41 and 38 games the first two seasons out, then a still respectable 32 and 33 the years after.

Last season Marty, like the Stars, took a step back, failing to appear in 55+ games or win 30+ for the first time since he became a #1 goalie. The Hawks were wise to see thru those numbers to a guy who posted a .913 save percentage, his best since the lockout (and in fact, as good as what he posted the year before the labor break).

So how's he been doing? On opening night in Colorado, he stopped 37 of 40 shots before allowing the OT winner in. Two nights later he could must only 23 saves on 26 shots in the Banner Ceremony night against Detroit. OK, but not great and possibly cause for concern if it kept up.

Then? 4 starts, 4 Ws, and not a single one featuring anything lower than a pristine .927 save percentage, all while facing 30-40 shots a night. He followed that up with a bit of an off night, but rebounded last night with a pristine 33 saves on 34 shots against one of the hottest offenses in the entire NHL.

Now I'm not counting on Turco to end the season w/ a .921 save percentage, but it's outstanding to see he can be that good for stretches, because there will come a time in the playoffs where that's what the Hawks will need. No question right now the Hawks need some great goalie play. This is not the defensive system we saw last year, holding opponents to something like 20 or 25 shots a game. With Campbell out, Sopel and Barker gone, and so many new guys at forward, JQ's lockdown system just isn't happening.

So the fact that Turco is seeing around 35 shots a game and still has 11 out of 16 points for his squad? Yes, please. Especially on a measly $1.3M one-year deal.

And if you really wanna be sold, Niemi has four starts and been pretty terrible in three of them, while the Sharks other goalie has been absolutely sparkling. We're talking a very small sample size here, but kinda lends some credence to the idea that Niemi was a product of the system.


G Corey Crawford, 25 years old, 3rd season, $800k for 1 year, #50

That third season thing is misleading - Crawford has appeared in games each of the last two years, but he entered this season with only 5 career starts. For all intents and purposes, this guy is a rook.

So far, we've only seen three starts of his and that light workload will remain the case, as Turco is definitely a guy who wants to be in the net 60 times a year. However, Marty is getting older, the Hawks don't need to chase regular season points as desperately as most teams, and the plan certainly has to be for Turco to log 20+ games in the postseason.

All of that means that Crawford, if he can play respectably, will get 20-30 starts this year. If he can replicate what he's done in his first three, I'd be a happy camper.

He pulled out a tough W on the road against Ryan Miller and the Sabres, stopping 32 of 35 shots, and he lost a heartbreaker to the Preds when the Hawks went to sleep in the third, giving up a one-goal advantage and then losing in the final 30-seconds thanks to a horrendous penalty taken by Nick Boynton. He had another tough-luck loss against Columbus, stopping a stellar 37 of 40 shots, but coming up on the short end of a 3-2 game.

I've gotten to see two of those games and I can attest that so far this kid looks legit. I also remember him from his spot starts in seasons past and thought the same thing. A little rough around the edges but definitely capable. The excitement over Crawford has been tempered a bit by the fact that his AHL numbers were mediocre.

But chew on this - in 2008-2009, when both Niemi and Crawford were splitting time with Rockford, their numbers were about equal. The very next year Niemi was able to backstop the Hawks to a Cup. Is Crawford just as capable? Ya know, maybe. Certainly if the Hawks play the kind of D and get the kind of clutch scoring they did last season. From what I've seen - an admittedly small but still telling body of work - I think Crawford has what it takes IF, and that's definitely a bit if, he has the heart/mind to take the heat and grind of an NHL regular and post-season.

Ideally we won't find that out for another year or two, but at least for now, it's cool to know it might be the case. Keep watching him to see if his development arc suggests the same to you.


Tomorrow, I'll discuss the many new faces on the blueline (Boynton, Leddy, Cullimore, Hendry, and Scott), and next week wrap it up with the forwards (Bickell, Pisani, Dowell, Stalberg, and Skille).

As always, any comments are appreciated.