Nick Schmaltz impresses Chicago Blackhawks

Schmaltz leaves strong first impression http://t.co/cnmgh786tP
— ESPN Chicago (@ESPNChiHawks) July 24, 2014

While he may not be the second coming of Jonathan Toews, not many are, soon-to-be UND freshman forward Nick Schmaltz impressed the Chicago Blackhawks brass with his efforts during a recent development camp.

Scott Powers, ESPNChicago.com --- To eliminate that risk, the Blackhawks could look to sign those college prospects earlier. They could attempt to sway their top top-tier college players to leave after their sophomore or junior seasons and sign them to entry-level contracts. They have done this before with players such as Jonathan Toews and Nick Leddy.

The Blackhawks already appear to have a handful of players whom they might consider signing prior to their senior seasons. Forwards John Hayden, Vincent Hinostroza and Anthony Louis are coming off productive freshman seasons and continued to impress at last week's prospect camp. Tyler Motte didn't attend the camp, but he also had a strong freshman season. Nick Schmaltz, the Blackhawks' 2014 first-round pick, also played well in the camp and will be a freshman next year.

That being said, it doesn't appear that the Blackhawks are going to rush him to sign an NHL contract, either.

Scott Powers, ESPNChicago.com --- Blackhawks amateur scouting director Mark Kelley did a majority of the evaluating of the 6-foot, 172-pound Schmaltz and had him high on the list of the offensively-skilled players in the NHL draft. One of Schmaltz’s skills especially stood out to Kelley.

“His hands, they’re fast,” Kelley said at the NHL draft.

Schmaltz isn’t a finished product, and that also attracted the Blackhawks to him. The Blackhawks weren’t looking for someone in the first round they could rush to the NHL. They sought someone with a high ceiling, but who would need time to get there.

Chicago Blackhawks: name Kevin Dineen assistant coach

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For those keeping track at home. Former Denver Pioneer hockey player and Team Canada women's national ice hockey team head coach Kevin Dineen has been hired as an assistant hockey coach by the Chicago Blackhawks.

NHL.COM -- Kevin Dineen coached the Canadian women's national team to a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and most recently coached Canada's men's under-18 national team to a bronze medal at the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in April.

He coached the Panthers for two-plus seasons before being fired on Nov. 8, 2013. Under Dineen, the Panthers won the Southeast Division title in 2011-12 and went 56-62-28 in 146 games. Dineen also coached the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League from 2005-11. He was the AHL's coach of the year in 2005-06.

"I am thrilled to join Joel Quenneville, a future hall of fame coach, and Mike Kitchen, as we strive to reach the ultimate goal in professional hockey," Dineen said. "After spending time speaking with [president and CEO] John McDonough, Stan Bowman and [vice president of hockey operations] Al MacIsaac it is easy to understand why the Chicago Blackhawks are considered one of the top franchises in all of professional sports. Starting with [chairman] Rocky Wirtz and continuing through the rest of the organization, the measure of success is very high in Chicago. I look forward to supporting the coaching staff and working with some of the best players in the National Hockey League."

Chicago Blackhawks: Toews and Kane looking to get paid

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Former UND Fighting Sioux forward Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are looking to a big payday. The question, will the Hawks pay these two All-Stars that much money?

TNS.CA -- Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane appear to have made their initial ask to the Chicago Blackhawks on a contract extension and are hoping to join the NHL's highest paid players.

According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, it's believed that Kane and Toews have both asked for salaries of about $12 million per year.

McKenzie notes that both players will likely end up with a lower salary than their initial ask, but could still see $10 million per year averages.

WASHINGTON POST: Capitals hosting Blackhawks in 2015 Winter Classic

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Today we find out that the Winter Classic is going to be the Washington captials and the Chicago Blackhawks. Yep, I am underwhelmed as well. Now I get the Blackhawks, I do. But outside of Alex Ovechkin, who really stands out on the Captials for you? This doesn't smack as much a much see game.

Alex Prewitt, Washington Post -- The Washington Capitals will host the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Winter Classic on New Year’s Day at a yet-to-be-announced location, an individual with knowledge of the situation confirmed Friday morning.

The Capitals will be playing in their second Winter Classic after visiting Pittsburgh in 2011, but will be hosting for the first time. The site has not yet been named, though sources indicated that Nationals Park remains the odds-on favorite, with only paperwork left to be finalized before the news is released.

Washington and Chicago met twice in 2013-14, in the regular-season opener and the penultimate game for both sides. The Blackhawks won at home, 6-4, on Oct. 1; the Capitals posted a 4-0 shutout at Verizon Center on April 11. The sides have split eight regular-season meetings over the past four seasons. Last season, the Blackhawks reached the Western Conference finals before losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles in seven games. The Capitals, meanwhile, missed the postseason for the first time since 2006-07 and parted ways with their head coach (Adam Oates) and general manager (George McPhee).

L.A Kings Justin Williams game winning goal.

L.A Kings forward Justin Williams scores the game winning goal in game one against the New York Rangers.

L.A. Kings: Interesting Stat alert

Now that's an interesting stat. The L.A. Kings are the first team to win three game sevens on the road in one post season.

2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane is on fire

Right now, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane is on fire. He's smoking hot. Kane has (2g-6a—8pts) in the last three games. Incidentally, Kane came into game five with a single point during the third round. Since then, he has gone a tear the last two games. Scoring (2g-5a—7pts). For the playoffs, Kane has scored (8g-10a—18pts) in 18 games.  

(Video) Chicago Blackhawks: Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane ice the Kings - game six

Think about this for a minute, in the last two games, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has scored (2g-5a—7pts) and been an absolute beast against the L.A. Kings. Coming into game five, Kane had scored 1 assist, in the other four games of the series. This has been a very good hockey series and it's only fitting that this series is going to a game seven.

11:34 CHI Duncan Keith (4) Wrist shot - ASST: Patrick Kane (10), Andrew Shaw (5) 3 - 3 Tie
16:15 CHI Patrick Kane (8) Wrist shot - ASST: Brandon Saad (9) 4 - 3 CHI

(Video) Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez score 2:06 apart to take the lead - game 6

The Kings would take the lead back from the Chicago Blackhawks as Kings Defensemen Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez score 2:06 apart. That lead would evaporate quickly as the Blackhawks would get two goals in just under five minutes to take the lead.

05:32 LAK Drew Doughty (4) Wrist shot - ASST: Dustin Brown (6), Mike Richards (6) 2 - 2 Tie
07:38 LAK PPG - Alec Martinez (3) Wrist shot - ASST: Drew Doughty (12) 3 - 2 LAK

(Video) Andrew Shaw and Jonathan Quick mix it up, Crawford and Quick butt heads

Exciting end of the second period of game six. First, it looks like Andrew Shaw is helped into L.A. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. It was obvious that Quick was still fuming from that incident, butts heads with Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford on the way off of the ice. Checking the box score, there were no penalty assessed.

(Video) Chicago Blackhawks score two goals in 1:37 - game 6

The Chicago Blackhawks scored two quick goals 1:37 minutes apart in the opening minutes of the second period to take a 2-1 lead in game six.

Kane is smoking hot, and in the last two games has scored (1g-4a-5pts).

01:12CHI PPG - Patrick Kane (7) Wrist shot - ASST: Jonathan Toews (8), Brent Seabrook (10) 1 - 1 Tie
02:49 CHI Ben Smith (4) Wrist shot - ASST: Patrick Sharp (5), Brent Seabrook (11) 2 - 1 CHI

(Video) Chicago Blackhawks: Michal Handzus scores the game-winning goal - game 5

That's the first ever overtime game-winning goal that Chicago Blackhawks forward Michal Handzus has scored and I guess he picked a good time to score it. Patrick Kane assisted on four-of-five Blackhawks goals. So, we will have hockey on Friday night in L.A.. I still think that the KIngs will this series. Nonetheless, this was a great hockey game.

Well that was one amazing hockey game. #LAKings return home to finish this up Friday night.
— LA Kings (@LAKings) May 29, 2014

(Video) Peter Regin goes into the net but puck stays out, no goal

It was very close, but close doesn't count on the score board. Blackhawks forward Peter Regin is cross-checked into the goal by L.A. Kings defenseman Willie Mitchel. As the puck is headed towards the goal line the puck is batted out of the net by L.A. Kings forward Tyler Toffoli.

Peter Regin goes into the net but the puck stays out. #blackhawks #lakings pic.twitter.com/ndffkwDJwf
— Shnarped Hockey (@shnarped) May 22, 2014

Kane with a backhand that goes up in the air and around the line. Does the puck go ALL THE WAY in? That's the question. #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@TramyersCSN) May 22, 2014

Doesn't look like it crossed the line. #Blackhawks are going to get a power play anyway; Mitchell in the box again.
— Tracey Myers (@TramyersCSN) May 22, 2014

(Video) Chicago Blackhawks goal that was disallowed (Goalie Interference)

Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews thought he had scored Chicago's second goal of the game. The play was ruled goalie interference. Was this the right call or not? Should the goal have counted?  Rule 69.1 states that you can't review goalie interference with the aid of video replay.

So, here's my question, how do we know when the refs didn't didn't use video replay when they called up stairs to make the decision? We don't. This might be one of those plays where the  refs "should" be able to review video to help them make a decision.

Minnesota Wild: Erik Haula scores a sweet goal in game six (Video)

Minnesota Wild forward Erik Haula scored a beautiful goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in game six of the Western Conference Semifinals. The Blackhawks would win the game and series in overtime with a goal from Patrick Kane.

During the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Haula gave us a glimpse of things to come and tells us that the future is very bright for the Minnesota Wild hockey team.

02:29 MIN Erik Haula (4) Wrist shot - ASST: Matt Cooke (3), Clayton Stoner (2)

Wild's Ballard not impressed with Bollig's dirty hit or his text

Minnesota Wild defenseman Keith Ballard is returning to the lineup tonight and weighed in on Brandon Bollig's dirty hit. Classic stuff.

Ballard: "Too much gets made of the whole, ‘Did he text you?’ I don’t give a shit. I honestly don’t. It’s fine. That’s what happens."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 13, 2014

Two Ex-UND Hockey Players in Top-10 for Playoff Scoring

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Former UND hockey players Jonathan Toews and Zach Parise are still in the top-10 for scoring during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

2013-14 NHL Playoff Leaders Points
1.	Anze Kopitar	15
2.	Zach Parise	14
3.	Ryan Getzlaf	13
	Evgeni Malkin	13
5.	P.K. Subban	12
6.	Marian Hossa	11
7.	Marian Gaborik	10
	Nathan MacKinnon	10
	Corey Perry	10
	Brent Seabrook	10
	Paul Stastny	10
	Jonathan Toews	10

Full 2013-14 Leaders

Chicago's Brandon Bollig will have a hearing with Department of Player Safety

Looks like Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Bollig's has a date with the NHL's Department of Players Safety. The Chicago forward has a hearing for his dirty, and dangerous hit on Wild defenseman Keith Ballard. After the hit, Ballard was face down on the ice for a period of time before he got up, and skated to the Wild bench. Ballard didn't return.

(@NHLPlayerSafety) tweeted at 12:57pm - 10 May 14: Chicago's Brandon Bollig will have a hearing today for boarding/checking from behind on Minnesota's Keith Ballard.

Minnesota Wild: Putting it all into perspective

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Good morning… I was looking at my favorite new statistics site [hockeyreference.com] and perusing the Minnesota Wild’s playoff stats. I am sure that like many of your, I was surprised to find out that the much maligned Wild forward Dany Heatley has scored (1g-5a—6pts) and is a +7 in nine playoff games. Seriously, a (+7). That’s not a misprint or a typo. Heater was a (-18) during the regular season. Since returning to the lineup, the former Wisconsin Badger has played decent, and hasn't been the usual turnover factory that he was during the regular season. My guess is that Heatley is trying to impress future suitors when July 5th free agent signing period comes around.

Last night, Matt Cooke returned from his league imposed seven-game suspension for his dirty leg check on Tyson Barrie and immediately gave the Wild another dynamic that they lacked while he was gone. Cooke created havoc in the Blackhawks end and assisted on Justin Fontaine’s first period goal.

Justin Fontaine's goal in the first period of last night's game was a thing of beauty. Coming into the season, there were a lot of Fontaine doubters that said the former UMD Bulldog would never get much more than a cup of coffee at the NHL level. Well, I think he's surpassed those expectations. Well, through 66 regular season games and seven Stanley Cup Playoff games, the former Bulldog has scored (14g-9a—23pts). I would think that 73 games would classify as more than a cup of coffee.

Last night, I said on twitter, “When you get past all of the extra bravo sierra Matt Cooke is a really good hockey player.” I thought Cooke’s was a game changer last night, and just proved that when he plays hockey, and doesn’t attempt to decapitate people, he’s a very important asset on the ice. It’s obvious that the Wild missed his play.  As a fan, you just hope that he can behave himself the rest of the playoffs and stay out of suspension trouble.

One of the things that I saw pop up on Twitter last night was that the Wild had six skaters on the ice to open the third period. It's actually pretty obvious that the Wild have way too many on the ice, however, the play went undetected by the on-ice officials. [Here's the link to the video.]

Last night, Wild forward Zach Parise blasted Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane with a stiff, hard, legal check.  I told someone this morning, that I thought that Parise had an extra gear last night.

Brandon Bollig Boards Keith Ballard

Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Bollig absolutely destroyed Minnesota Wild defenseman Keith Ballard with a very dangerous, and unnecessary hit. You can't hit a guy in the numbers, not like that. I think that Bollig should have been tossed from the game for this hit and given a five minute major and a game misconduct. Ballard would leave the game with what appears to be a concussion.

Yeo gave no update on Ballard. More tomorrow
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) May 10, 2014