It's another Mailbag Monday on Locked On Blackhawks, where host Jack Bushman answers a question from a few lucky listeners LIVE on the show! But first, Bushman breaks down Frank Nazar's stellar performance at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase and shares his other standout performers in St. Louis. Bushman also shares which prospects he would like to see get added looks for the Blackhawks during the preseason. All that and more on Locked On Blackhawks. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.
Hawks Win Game 2 (1:40)
Prospect Showcase Standouts (16:35)
Mailbag Monday (28:35)
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It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. If you are looking to refinance or get a loan right now, let me tell you about Intercap Lending. Intercap Lending is one of the largest independent lenders in the country. They are hyper responsive. They embrace change and their borrower experience is absolutely fabulous. At Lockdown, we have our own personal loan officer, Intercap Lending. His name is Steve Carter. And if you call him and tell him you're locked on, you get the corporate discount. But more than that, what's so great about Steve Carter is the reviews at Lockdown that we continually get about Steve. Mike Curtis emailed me to say, "I just wanted to thank you for your network. We just refied with Steve Carter. It was so incredibly easy. I can attest to it. I got my loan done with Steve Carter. Who else?" Richard Gordon emailed me and said, "Thank you so much for promoting Intercap Lending. We used them earlier this year. Steve was amazing. And Steve is amazing. Call him at 385-885-385885-8528, tell him to lock down, send you Intercap Lending, NMLS, number 19-0-465. For more information, visit intercaplending.com. On today's episode, Frank Nasar shines at the Tom Kervers Prospect Showcase. Your Locked On Black Hogs, your daily podcast on the Chicago Black Hogs, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. What's going on everyone? Welcome back to another episode of Locked On Black Hogs, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. My team, every day is always, I'm your host Jack Bushman. You can find me on X at Jack Bushman 2. Make sure to also go and check out my strictly Black Hogs account at Talkin' Hockey as well for all the latest Black Hogs news and updates. And last but certainly not least, got to let you all know, today's episode is sponsored by FanDuel. Go and visit fanDuel.com right now to download America's number one sports book. All right, good morning everyone, again, thank you all for joining me on another episode of Locked On Black Hogs, your one-stop shop for all things Chicago Black Hogs. I hope everyone out there had themselves a tremendous weekend still getting some summer like weather here in the Chicago land area. I believe that's actually supposed to continue on through the rest of this week, so make sure to enjoy it to all my Chicago wins out there because as we have learned, things can change in the blink of an eye, I mean, fall can suddenly be here just like that and none of us could see that coming and all of a sudden we're getting highs into the 50s and 60s, so be sure to enjoy this summer like weather while it's still here. So open things up on today's episode though, Black Hogs fans, of course, over the weekend the Black Hogs took part in the Tom Carver's Memorial Prospect showcase that's in St. Louis this year before returning back to Chicago next year and I have already broken down the opening game of the Tom Carver's Prospect showcase for the Black Hogs in which they fell to the St. Louis Blues four to three in overtime. Make sure to check out that episode so you're all caught up on things before diving into the second game and some of the greater takeaways from the Prospect showcase that I'm going to get into here on today's show and again, just as a reminder, please go smash the like button, comment down below and especially subscribe to Lockdown Black Hogs on YouTube, closing in on 2,000 subscribers, really want to hit that number before the Black Hogs open things up on October 8th against the Utah Hockey Club, so please make sure to hit that button 100% free won't cost you anything and really does help you out tremendously, but yeah, the Black Hogs to wrap up their weekend, their second game of action was on Saturday night, a 6 p.m. central time puck drop against the Minnesota Wilds Prospects, the other team that's involved in this showcase, but before I actually dive into the game itself, the Black Hogs suffered another bit of a tough break prior to the start of this game as we know they were already without Artem Levshanov, one of the most prominent names on the rookie roster along with Frank Nasar, he's missing the entire weekend and probably all of training camp as well due to a right foot injury, the Black Hogs were also without both Alex Ferrand and Marcel Marcell this weekend due to injuries and then just prior to Saturday night's contest against Minnesota, it was announced that Nick Lardis was going to be out as well due to an illness and that really sucks not only because the Black Hogs were already down a slew of players, but Lardis had himself a tremendous opening game on Friday night scoring just over a minute into that contest and then really going on to have a solid performance in multiple different ways in the rest of that game and you know the Black Hogs really want to get back to playing that speedy, tenacious, buzzing up and down the ice type of style to make it really tough and rugged on their opponents. Nick Lardis absolutely has that speed and we know he has the offensive abilities on top of it, I mean that has been very evident based on what he's done with the Brantford Bulldogs in the OHL these last couple of years, but I was also really impressed with his tenacity and even though you know of the game away from the puck isn't necessarily a strength of his, I really like to see that Nick Lardis was involved on the forecheck using his speed to impact the game in different ways when he doesn't have the puck and you know he was engaged in board battles, I don't expect him to win very many of those, but I really like to see his compete level and overall just the pace that he plays with on top of the offensive abilities, I thought he got off to a really really sound start to the showcase and in that episode that I dropped on Saturday recapping the first game I mentioned, I would have really liked to see Nick Lardis get an opportunity with Frank Nazer on that top line in the second game, but unfortunately we know that wasn't going to happen because Lardis was out due to an injury. So in the second game the Blackhawks were down Lev Shenov, Marcell, Ferrand and Lardis definitely sucked because of that, they had to go within 11 forward, 7 defencemen type of lineup which for those Blackhawks fans out there who have been watching this team for a while, then you know that 11 forward 7 defencemen method for whatever reason just never fair as well for the Blackhawks at the NHL level, but fortunately didn't stop the Blackhawks prospects from putting together a really solid performance in lieu of a bounce bag victory after kind of letting one slip out of their grasp against the Blues on Friday night after the Blackhawks fell behind one to nothing after 20 minutes in this game against Minnesota, they really pieced things together in the second period and got on the board to even up the score one to one from a goal from Frank Nazer, beautiful feed from Martin Michiac as well on the power play and then later on in the period, the Hawks struck again for their second power play goal of the period as Gavin Hayes found the back of the net after a little bit of a net front scramble, Minnesota would go on to even up the score once again, 2 to 2 through 40 minutes, but the Blackhawks put their best foot forward in the third period, Frank Nazer, as I'll talk about a little bit more here in just a second, sets up, Ryder roasting for a semi breakaway, he buries it, winds up being the game winning goal, Martin Michiac goes on to seal things late with the empty netter in the Blackhawks, come away with a rather solid 4 to 2 victory over the Minnesota wild in a hard fought and chippy type of game, I mean this game really had no flow to it, lots of penalties being called on both sides and quite honestly, I thought the Minnesota wild were really trying to test the Blackhawks out there, it felt like they were really trying to get under their skin in comparison to the first game, this one certainly had more chippiness, there was not a whole lot of flow, I felt like when I was watching this one, I envisioned this is what it was like, I don't have any kids, but I envisioned this was what it was like, or what it would be like to watch your like 8 or 9 year old go and play a hockey game, there's not a whole lot of flow to it, not a whole lot of action going on out there, you're kind of even wondering if this is really a hockey game, but what I like to see was the Blackhawks didn't back down, they didn't shy away from the physicality and mixing it up and that's great, I mean they have a lot of size, they have a lot of part on this team, a lot of players who are willing to mix it up and I like to see those guys not shy away from that style of play whatsoever, Samuel Savoir, AJ Spelice was mixing it up, Colton Doc certainly was involved in like every skirmish there was out there, seemed again like he really has gotten the memo from the Blackhawks front office, Paul Lewinsky was mixing it up, Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allen using their size on the back end to protect some of their teammates and protect their goaltender and whatnot, and I even like to see Frank Nazar be willing to kind of stand up for himself and he even kind of mentioned after the game when going through and talking with the media that, you know, it felt like the Minnesota wild players were maybe trying to test him or get under his skin in particular and he mentioned that he had kind of just had enough of it and was starting to throw some shots back out there, so I love to see that the Blackhawks didn't, you know, back down one bit, they showed their size, they showed their fight, they showed their resiliency and they came out with a hard fought forward of two victory while doing it, so I absolutely love that, however, the main takeaway that I got to get to from this weekend's Tom Kervers prospect showcase and really in the second game against Minnesota is that Frank Nazar was the best player on the ice and that's absolutely what you want to see out of a player in his position, you know, there's not really many players on this rookie camp roster that took part in the showcase that can actually make the Blackhawks opening night roster come October 8th, I think Frank Nazar might actually be the only one, quite honestly, I'll say Colton Doc probably has a shot as well, but this was the type of performance you absolutely wanted to see out of Frank Nazar considering the position that he's in, getting off to a flaming hot start leading into training camp opening up this week, you wanted to see him dominate games against fellow prospects, you wanted to see him be able to be leaps and bounds against the competition level and that's exactly what we saw but mostly in this second game and Nazar did get off to a really good start in the first game, you know, he drew a penalty early on, picked up that power play primary assist to set up Nick Lardis and open up the scoring early and I really liked his puck possession, you know, that was maintained throughout the course of the opening game and I talked about how I like to see him, you know, recognize plays out there and try to get pucks into the dangerous areas, trying to set up teammates in the slot or right out in front of the net when they're open, I really liked his game recognition all in all, but I did think, you know, whether it was due to fatigue or, you know, the ice also wasn't in the best condition out there in Maryland Heights, Missouri, there were a couple different reasons I'm sure that led to Nazar's second half of that opening game, not quite being as strong as it was in the first half, I thought it was a little sloppy, he lacked a little consistency in the second half and I also thought he was guilty of trying to do too much out there while he really cleaned things up for in the second game and from start to finish, he was absolutely flawless, he was dominant and he was the best player out there on the ice and I thought that was the case, even in the first game against the St. Louis Blues, Dallabour Dvorski had a lot of good opportunities but most of that came on the power play, Frank Nazar certainly in my opinion was the most dominant puck carrier in both games over the weekend and that's exactly what you wanted to see, he had the puckathon, he was creating a lot of chances, scored goals, had beautiful assists but I thought a perfect kind of embodiment of Frank Nazar's weekend came when he picked up the primary assist on Ryder Rolston's game winning goal and at that point in time, he had already scored the opening goal of the game, he also picked up a secondary assist on Gavin Hayes's power play goal that momentarily put the black lox ahead two to one but with the game on tilt, it could go either way in the black lox, I mean again, you don't really care about the final results of these games but it would have been disappointing for them to drop both and with the game in balance two to two in the third period, Frank Nazar perfectly recognized that he had to take a hit to make a play, he knew he was going to get hit but in doing so, he recognized he was going to spring a teammate of his for a semi-breakaway, Ryder Rolston winds up getting that opportunity because of the play Frank Nazar makes, he scores the game winning goal the black lox wind up taking this one four to two so not only was it a three point performance out of Frank Nazar but he made the big plays when the game was kind of being could have been swung in other direction, I love to see that execution from from Frank Nazar and I just also love to see the mental maturity that he played with all week, I thought again, that was perfectly captured in that moment in that play that he made by taking a hit to set up Ryder Rolston for the game winning goal and he even talked about that after the game and I love to hear kind of the comments and the swagger that Frank Nazar is playing with right now and like I said he talked about kind of Minnesota trying to get under his skin, he played with that edge which I like to see out of an undersized player, he wasn't backing down whatsoever but I also like to hear his comments after the game regarding that play as well, Frank said quote all I thought was okay I'm going to get it, I'm going to make this play and if this guy steps up he's just dumb and he's giving a guy a breakaway, I don't know what he's thinking and I also think Frank Nazar just based on how Minnesota was playing his comments, I think he kind of felt that they weren't really playing with skill, they were playing with a lot of emotion out there and a lot of physicality and it felt like it wasn't the smart play, Frank Nazar was the smart, he made the smarter play with the game on the line and I love that he recognized it and I love that he talked about how hey if he wants to go and make that hit, if he wants to go and make the quote unquote selfish type of play and I'm not talking down about that prospect in particular for the Minnesota Wild or any of their prospects and how they played this game, it just felt like they were on edge and they weren't playing a smart style of hockey and in that moment Frank Nazar outsmarted his competitor, his opponent, he outsmarted the Minnesota Wild and I love that he recognized that and I love that he's saying you know I'll take that type of, I'll make that play every day of the week and I'm sure the Blackhawks coaching staff, the front office, everyone involved with the team love to hear Nazar say that and love to see him make that type of play, those are the exact type of plays that will get the coaching staff on notice so love to see a huge weekend out of Frank Nazar at the Tom Kurvers prospect showcase, love to see the Blackhawks respond and bounce back with a 4-2 win to close things out on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild, there are all my thoughts from that second game and Frank Nazar's heck of a weekend, I'm gonna take a quick break here Blackhawks fans but when I return coming up in just a 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Back here on the Lockdown Blackhawks podcast part of the Lockdown Podcast Network your team every day just want to say again thank you to everyone for making Lockdown Blackhawks your very first listen here to start off your day and a reminder we are back with five episodes every single week an episode coming out every single day training camp is kicking off on Thursday later on this week couldn't be more excited for Blackhawks hockey to be back in action make sure to hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on any of the latest Blackhawks news and updates and also make sure to go and check out the new Lockdown actually it's not new it's coming back I'm so used to saying the new Lockdown Sports today no go and check out the Lockdown NHL podcast for your second listen where the action never ends with the local expertise from every host of the Lockdown NHL podcast you can go and find the link to Lockdown NHL down in the description or you can simply search for Lockdown NHL or ever you may be listening to your podcast part of the Lockdown podcast network your team every day segment two not only did Frank Naysar shine during both games over the weekend in St. Louis but I did want to be sure to give some other players their flowers for salad performances first man up I got to give a shout out to Ben Goudreau it's not Goudreau it's Goudreau who earned an AHL contract with the Rockford ISOGs inked that on July 1st this past summer and he had a really solid performance in the second game against Minnesota a huge reason why the Blackhawks were able to pick up this victory in particular the second and third periods he was really dynamite did not allow a goal in the third like I said a huge reason the Blackhawks were able to come away on top four to two and quite honestly I'm not going to put much stock into this because again it's a small sample size only two games of action in a prospect exhibition tournament and also it's the first bit of action that both of these guys have had for several months now and that's kind of the story with everyone involved in this Tom Carver's prospect showcase I'm not going to put too much stock in it good or bad although I did want to see Frank Naysar dominate the way that he did this weekend so that absolutely was a huge box to check off but Ben Goudreau did outperform Drew Camesso this weekend he was better than Drew Camesso if you go one-on-one who was better between the two Ben Goudreau was better than Drew Camesso was this weekend now that has no inkling in terms of who is going to be the better goalie for the Rockford ice hogs this year and quite honestly given that Camesso and Arbud Satterbloom are going to be in Rockford I would expect Ben Goudreau to spend a good amount of time with the indie fuel in the ECHL however I'm just happy for the for the lad you know coming on to a stage like this and performing rather well as a backup not really any expectations for him I'm happy Ben Goudreau was able to put together the performance that he did to help lead the Blackhawks to victory and I'm sure there was something that the Blackhawks organization liked when they saw him play for the areaters of the OHL these last couple of years a teammate of Martin Mesiac who all have more on here in just a second but there must have been something that they liked in his game and he actually if you go and do your homework on Ben Goudreau someone who had represented Canada on the international scene quite a lot and was a decently regarded goalie prospect when he was a little bit younger but just never really found his footing in junior these past couple of years but getting an opportunity here in the Blackhawks organization again I don't know how many actual starts he's going to make for the Rockford ice hogs this year but got to tip my cap to Ben Goudreau for a heck of a performance on Friday night without him playing that well I don't know if the Blackhawks wind up splitting their two games in St. Louis this weekend I also wanted to give a shout out to both Ethan Delmastro and Nolan Allen and I actually had some people in the comment section and responding to some of my takeaways on acts like arguing that Nolan Allen had a really good performance and I thought Nolan Allen looked fine especially like in defensive positions like he was in the right spot he was blocking shots he was showing his physicality he was cleaning out the cleaning out the crease in front of his goaltender I thought he was doing good work along the boards I just thought both he and Ethan Delmastro didn't really have good outlet passes in that opening game there were a lot of plays that should have gotten out of the defensive zone that didn't but again I'm not going to hold them against not going to hold that against them because this was their first game like action in several months and for Nolan Allen I mean this was his first game action since coming off of that torn mcl that forced him to miss the end of his first pro season with the Rockford ISOGs but I thought both of them bounced back nicely in the second game against Minnesota Delmastro was a lot more poised with the puck than he was in the first game I thought was very patient and had a really nice primary assist to set up Gavin Hayes on the Blackhawks second power play goal of that second period good play recognition with a little bit of a mad scramble in front the goaltender had lost his positioning and lost his footing he recognized that he just didn't need to fire that one on net from the top of the point no he passed it over to Gavin Hayes as the defense was out of position and that led to him getting a yawn in cage so happy to see both Ethan Delmastro and Nolan Allen kind of closed things out on a better foot this weekend than they certainly started things Paul Budwinski I also thought was notable noticeable for the second consecutive game mostly just man because of the pace he plays with I did not think he was that good of a skater and I've been keeping up with his highlights down with the Kingston Frontenax this these past couple years serving as captain and I knew his offensive game took a nice notable noticeable stride this past year compared to two years ago when he was first drafted by the Blackhawks which the beginning of that year was stymied a little bit due to a concussion that he actually suffered during this Tom Carver's Prospect showcase but I certainly think he's more capable offensively because of that speed that he plays with and just all in all the impact that he can make on both sides of the ice he's also a decently big kid too not maybe the most rugged and is not going to lay a booming hit or anything but he's another guy who is willing to mix it up and again can buzz up and down the ice in a hurry that's the style of the Blackhawks really want to get back to playing I thought Paul and Winski perfectly embodied that in both of the games this weekend Ryder Ralston like to see him make an impact in the second game winding up with the game winning goal another guy who has really good wheels and a really good shot whenever I talk about Ryder Ralston those are the two things that I always mentioned I thought that pace was very evident in the second game and really those wheels are what led to him getting that semi-breakaway opportunity along with the play recognition by Frank Nasar but nice to see Ryder Ralston wind up with the game winning goal and wind up on the stat sheet here over the weekend and it's going to be a big year for him with the ice dogs is one of the so-called veteran players in that forward group it's going to be young up front for Rockford but he's going to be one of the guys that his look down as a little bit of a veteran this year and I'm sure he still has hopes of trying to get to the NHL level even though hasn't been quite as successful at doing that since turning pro out of Notre Dame I also wanted to give love to Martin Nisiac as well I you know I didn't I hope I didn't sound like I was dogging him when I brought him up on Friday night because quite honestly if anything even though he is clearly needing to add on some weight and is clearly undersized for wanting to play against grown men at this stage of his development his skill was there both Friday and Saturday you know it's not jaw dropping skill I don't ever think he's going to be like a legit puck handler at the next level but his play recognition was really solid he made some really savvy passes on Friday you know he set up AJ Spellacy in transition found him in the neutral zone entering the offensive zone with speed got him the puck that wound up leading to a goal for Spellacy with Nisiac picking up the primary assist he also had a beautiful saucer pass to set up Frank Nazar for the Blackhawks opening goal of the game and Nazar even said to the media after that that was absolutely nasty and all he had to do was really put his stick down on the ice and the puck found his way found its way onto the tape for him to put it put it five hole for an easy tapping goal but yes and good skill plays by Martin Nisiac wound up with the empty netter as well in the second game so three points out of Nisiac and two games worth of action really solid stuff again for a kid who is clearly undersized and needs to grow into his body a little bit more before making that full-time leap to the pro hockey scene hopefully this gives him a little bit of confidence though I envision because he is going back to junior you know maybe he'll get some preseason action I'll get to that in just a second here um I imagine though he'll probably be among the first roster cuts and we'll probably go back to Erie pretty early but I hope he takes some of this momentum over and carries that over to the start of the OHL campaign where you know he should get one heck of an opportunity with the eerie otters somewhere in the top six not exactly sure if it's going to be center or on the wing he kind of split time between both last year but a really good prospect showcase I thought for Martin Nisiac and then one final shout out to Colton doc because he was among the most noticeable guys who were sticking up for teammates mixing it up getting into skirmishes with Minnesota wild players and he was really doing that same type of stuff on Friday against the blues as well right playing a real power forward type of style playing with a lot of energy playing with a lot of motion out there and I thought he kept it in check for the most part he wasn't really doing anything egregious or being too much out there it just feels like he's gotten the message that the blackwalks organization kind of sent to him and we know he's James Bond man on a mission trying to make a uh trying to make a trying to earn a job um once training camp comes to a close along with Frank Naser as I talked about earlier probably the only two guys uh taking part in this rookie camp that actually have a shot of doing so but I thought both of them had really solid performances over the weekend in St. Louis one final thing that I did want to get to before jumping over to segment three getting into mailbag monday some of the players from this time curvers prospect showcase that I would like to see get a little bit of uh extended pre-season action to see what they have in store against grown men at this point in time because we got to see how they fare against fellow prospects fellow guys who aren't NHL or pro ready for the most part but preseason action is a different type of ballgame so I certainly would like to see some of these guys get some looks obviously Frank Naser and Colton doc we know they're going to be getting opportunities uh land and slaggers probably in that group as well right I think he's on the outside looking in but still if he has a sharp preseason in training camp there is a chance that he makes the opening night roster but too importantly for me Nick Lardis hopefully that illness isn't going to kind of take him off his game for too long hopefully he'll be fully ready to go when training camp opens up later this week on Thursday but he and Paula Dwinski are two guys who I really want want to see what they have in store against grown men in preseason type of action I know they got looks through the black clocks in the preseason last year so certainly expect them to get more this year Gavin Hayes I would like to see what he has in store against grown men as well kind of had a ho hum prospect tournament did of course score a goal on Saturday against Minnesota but he's someone who can really shoot the puck I really like him in particular in the bumper role because he can fire one timers off in a hurry a 40 goal score each of the last two years in the OHL and has some good size along with him as well so want to see how he mixes it mixes it up against grown men and then same with AJ Spellacy I want to see how that body and that speed holds up against pros and then Martin Michiac as well before he goes back to Erie give him a game or two in the preseason to just kind of see where he's at because he made some heads up plays I know he's undersized I know he has to gain weight but there were some savvy hockey plays that he made out there so those are some of the guys in particular that I'm looking forward to seeing in action during the preseason which is just about a week and a half away Black Hawk fans life is coming at us fast here in September but there are my final thoughts from the Tom Krivors prospect showcase this weekend in Minnesota coming up here in just a second still got to get into our weekly mailbag Monday fan segment you know we love talking stats here at lockdown wild here's one that's super simple to remember discover automatically doubles the cashback you've earned on your credit card at the end of your first year with cashback match that means with discover you could turn 150 cashback into 300 dollars that's right you could put it towards some memorabilia you've had your eye on or treat yourself to a premium sports network you earn and discover doubles see terms at discover.com/creditcard real quick just another reminder to please go and hit that like button comment down below and subscribe to the lockdown Black Hawk's YouTube channel thank you very much and if you're tuning in through an audio platform whether that be Apple podcasts, Spotify, whatever it may be please make sure to go and rate and review the show as well preferably with a five-star rating those always put a big smile on my face but that also helps me out tremendously goes a long way and won't cost you anything is 100% free but before I wrap things up still got to get into mailbag Monday and with the lockdown Black Hawk's podcast switching back to five episodes per week mailbag Monday is going to be back in full store so make sure if you didn't get your Black Hawk's question in for this week drop them down below in the comment section right now I obviously can't get to them on today's episode but I'll make sure to put a little star next to them and get to them one week from today when I run mailbag Monday back next week but the first Black Hawk's question that I have here today comes from a De-Paris 2172 on YouTube who asked this is a long one but I'll try to get to everything here Jack what do you think the chances are of Kevin Korschinski starting the year in Rockford in my opinion there is much developing to be had for him with the ice hogs most games last season he was chasing his tail around the ice like he was on fire sure it wasn't experience but how much actual development could have taken place in such an environment the only way I would be comfortable with him making the team out of camp is if he was blowing everyone away in the preseason and it was absolutely obvious that he's ready for the NHL first things first what do you think the chances are of Kevin Korschinski starting the year in Rockford probably 50-50 maybe even 60-40 that he starts the year with the Rockford ice hogs I kind of agree with this I think he has to have a really standout camp in order to make the Black Hawk's roster for October 8th against Utah I would say it's even the more unlikely of the two sides just given how the Black Hawks have kind of handled all of these prospects over the last couple of years since Kyle Davidson stepped in and had they had their choice last year Kevin Korschinski would have been in the AHL now I'm not gonna go back and forth about whether or having him turn pro or you know whether going back to Seattle would have been more beneficial for him it's all in hindsight now everything's 2020 right but I do think he still learned from what went down last year yeah I agree was chasing his tail like it was on fire and he was a little hung out to dry out there you got to remember though not only was Conor Medard the youngest player in the NHL Kevin Korschinski was the youngest defenseman in the entire NHL and oh yeah he really didn't have a D partner for the majority of the year I love Conor Murphy he just hasn't been his study these last couple of seasons then he was hurt for a lot of the second half Kevin Korschinski had to play with Jacob Meghna like who was respectfully a seventh defenseman you know probably not even that I'm gonna play off caliber team right so like wasn't exactly an ideal situation for Kevin Korschinski but I still think he learned a lot about himself about the NHL level about the speed of the game about what it takes to be a pro even though it didn't go smashingly successful for him on the ice I still think there were lots of takeaways but as far as his likelihood of making the Black Hawks roster out of camp yeah I agree like he's got to have a really solid performance during the preseason and training camp to prove to this coaching staff that he's ready for that level but I would say the more likely outcome as that Kevin Korschinski opens things up with the Rockford ice hogs we've seen the Hawks go that way which is too many defenseman prospects these past few years and I really think they should have gone that way with Adam Bocquist and they probably regret not doing that even though it's obviously a new regime in place next question here comes from Luke Hinesman on YouTube who asked future mailbag question how worried are you about the Hawks missing out on a top five pick and not filling in another star level forward I will say I'm not really worried about the Black Hawks missing out on a top five pick I don't really think that's at the forefront of the organization's minds any longer and I think they're quite honestly focused on taking that next step and I really do believe they're at that point in time I will admit though I am a little concerned about them not having another star level forward and that's why I really would have taken Ivan Demidov but the second overall pick because it's not like the Black Hawks blue line is lackluster in terms of prospects did they need to add another right handed defenseman yes absolutely was Artem Levshinov deserving of being the first defenseman off the board and my mind absolutely they were going defenseman Artem Levshinov checked off a lot of boxes but Ivan Demidov would have checked off a lot of boxes up front as well and I think the Black Hawks are now going to have no choice but to go and spend a lot of money on the free agent market to get a top line winger along with counterbudard of the future because that's kind of what they're really missing I have a lot of high hopes for frank nazar but I still think there's going to have to be another piece in this forward group that has star power for the Black Hawks to hit that next year when they add that piece whether it's this summer summer 2025 26 that's kind of the question next one here is from SGK43 DR3 on acts that is a mouthful who asked AJ Spellacy NHL or do you think Jack I know it was just one weekend but he looks dynamite I will say there certainly is potential because of a the pace that he plays with which is just so prevalent in today's game if you don't really skate well just hard to see you having a chance even if you do have some good skill he certainly checks that box and he has a lot of size and isn't afraid to play with it I've also spoken time and time again about what a freak athlete AJ Spellacy is and it seems like he has all the work ethic so I wouldn't be surprised he certainly has a capped ceiling though because of the lack of offensive abilities but that pace that he plays with is always going to give him a chance along with the style of play it's unique for the Black Hawks forward group yeah I do think AJ Spellacy certainly could be an NHL or how good to be determined next question comes from Grace Helton on YouTube who asked odds Black Hawks don't figure things out with Comcast I'm getting worried Jack Grace I wouldn't panic just yet as I talked about on Friday Saturday can't even remember when it was I think it was Saturday these things usually do wind up coming down to the deadline and quite honestly I think Comcast is the next big box for CHS and to kick down I would be absolutely stunned stunned they don't wind up with a deal with Comcast because the Black Hawks the organization knows if they don't have Comcast they're losing out losing out on millions of eyeballs in the Chicagoland area that in term loses them money and guess what money runs the world so don't think that's going to happen I'd be stunned if Comcast winds up not getting a deal remain patient though Grace these things can take a little bit next question comes from Barney Gumbel 2990 which is maybe one of the funniest email handles I've ever heard of who asked best part and worst part of doing a sports podcast thinking about starting one and interested in getting as much input as I can from people in the industry thinks and this is always a reminder you don't have to reach out with Black Hawks questions I'm happy to answer any questions you got from me throw them this way you know if you want to just have fun and ask me random shit from across the board I'm here willing to do it what I will say Barney is if that's your real name um best part about doing a sports podcast is man there's just a lot of great things about it um when you smash an episode like and you know you put everything together and you put your thoughts out there and kind of perfectly tied it all together in a bow there's really no feeling like that like it makes you feel like your art has meaning and you're uh in in in a result it kind of makes you more motivated to go and do it again and I think that's just kind of the beauty of creation and kind of doing your own thing and making your own things you know when it does come together and winds up being is right as you envisioning your mind it's like the most satisfying feeling in the world and then you want to go and do it again and again and again I really enjoy that artistic type of style of it the worst part is just a little nitty gritty details man you don't really realize it until you're in the industry but I mean just even for one single show I can tell you guys all what goes into it I mean I have to put together the background I have to make the thumbnail I have to write up the description I have to edit my audio I have to edit my video I got to upload it to youtube I got to fill in all the audio tags I got to put in ad placements I got to put in ad placements on the audio side of things I got to trim the audio down I got to share it I got to convert the file I got to upload it I got to put in ad markers like there's a lot that goes into it that you don't probably recognize it's not just you know talking into a camera on a day-to-day basis it is very complicated but again when you do kind of get in that groove and put it all together it is very very satisfying so I hope that kind of gave you some insight Barney and I would say absolutely go for it if you don't try you'll never know that can turn out better than you even imagine one of my favorite pieces of advice I've ever heard what if it turns out better than you imagine next question comes from one of my buddies Quinn Conlass who asked Blackrock's blues rivalry back again I sure hope so man it is a rivalry that I really miss both of these organizations I mean the Blacklocks more so than the blues obviously have been down in the dumps these last couple of years but man go into college in Missouri as a huge Blacklocks fan getting chirped day in and day out as I'm wearing my patty cane sweater on the Hawks and blues are taking on each other in the first round of 2016 go into that still the last Blacklocks playoff victory true playoff victory game 6 2016 at the United Center against St. Louis fortunate enough to be in attendance the loudest I had ever heard the United Center in person and I'll tell you what it was because we were being the St. Louis blues on both sides Blacklocks fans and blues fans care about this rivalry really hopes really hope it gets sparked up heavily again this season and more times moving forward last couple sets of questions here phdvm on youtube had a two-parter first one is jack I'm curious whether you think Colton doc has what it takes to be a part of the picture for the Blacklocks I think he's gotten off to a great start to rookie camp here this year seems like he's taken on kind of the comments that the organization has given him as far as what he needs to do to reach that next level and to achieve his goal I think he's kind of taking that on full force and has really reciprocated that well my question for Colton doc is my questions have always been around been around the skating and I love to hear that he really worked on his foot speed and his pace this year because if he improves in that area I really like his chances because of his size and his shot I don't think he's ever going to be much of a playmaker and again I don't really like mean this negatively I think he's a shot first type of player I don't think he's out there looking to pass the puck I think he believes in his instincts trusts himself he'll shoot from dirty areas all areas on the ice but that's his style of play and he has a good shot I think that's his best asset I just have concerns about the injuries man he's been really injury plagued at a young age you know there's no telling as to whether that's going to continue to play him moving forward but it really has held him back these last couple of years so the foot speed the the the pace um and kind of the injury bug leads me to be a little bit concerned I do think he'll wind up being a bottom six type of guy for the blackwalks but I don't ever think he's really going to be a star here in Chicago next question uh second part of this comes from the same person I should say sorry second question is Rykel dot dot dot the top six looks crowded he just doesn't seem like a bottom doesn't seem like a bottom six roll suits him Rockford doesn't look like an option his trade value seems limited what do you see happening with him yeah I mean this is all kind of on the money and why this is a really big make or break type of year for Lucas Rykel and I do think he probably opens things up on the third line for the blackwalks if I had to guess maybe the second line but what I will say is there is absolutely more skill on the third line than there has been in the past and Rykel needs to play with skill guys that seems very very evident doesn't seem like he's ever going to be a driver of play by himself I do think he has those capabilities and I wouldn't be absolutely stunned to see if he goes and becomes more of a dominant puck carrier this year but I don't think he's ever going to play center and as the wing you're just limited in those opportunities but he has to play with skill guys the blackwalks have better better situation for him than they ever have if he is going to be a third liner but at the end of the day it's just got to come down to Lucas Rykel executing getting out there on the ice and being the player we know he's capable of being the consistency it's almost like Philip Kershev level of inconsistency up until this year what Philip Kershev did this past year for the blackwalks I really hope is what we'll see out of Lucas Rykel but I certainly do have more concerns about him than I did you know 365 days ago when he was in absolute standout for the blackwalks during training camp second to last question here comes from franr32@gmail.com who emailed in and asked will we see cold gutman in the NHL this year always liked the kid but didn't think he got much of a chance last year certainly on the outside looking in behind probably slager doc frank nasar as well in the pecking order so I'd expect him to open things up in rockford for the third consecutive year but that hasn't stopped him from getting to the NHL level I mean he has been a very very productive player down in rockford unfortunate that he got hurt late last year it wasn't really able to finish off the year with the momentum that he had built if he picks up where he left off in the AHL level last year and continues to be the type of player that we have seen him be at that level yeah I think we will see him at the NHL level this year as far as whether he'll stick around and be a you know everyday NHL or the jury still kind of out on that one I'm probably gonna lean towards no he'll probably always be more of a fringe style player but I'm a fan of Cole Gutman I like his game he's of course a former guest here on the podcast so I'll be rooting for Cole whether it's in Rockford or in Chicago I'm always hoping for the best out of number 70 and then last but certainly not least from poly sesco on youtube who asked better chance of making the team out of camp Wyatt Kaiser or Kevin Korchinski good one good one I'm gonna go with Wyatt Kaiser just because of his age his experience he got time with the ice hogs late last year and performed pretty well I'm sure he was disappointed by being reassigned after a standout camp got him a spot on the opening night roster but I think he was pretty clearly a little bit in over his head which isn't the worst thing in the world and that doesn't mean that Wyatt Kaiser is gonna be a bad NHLer just means he wasn't ready at that point in time and as far as who's more ready Kaiser or Korchinski I think Kaiser is probably the more ready of the two Kevin Korchinski absolutely has the better skills but as far as how the blackwalks have gone about handling these things under Kyle Davidson I would say the likelihood certainly leans with the older player in Wyatt Kaiser all right that is going to wrap up today's episode of lock down blackwalks I know it was a bit of a beefy one but just want to say thank you to everyone who stuck around until the end and again be sure to go and subscribe to lock down blackwalks on youtube follow lock down blackwalks for free as well wherever you may be listening to your podcast if you're on the go or wanting to tune into an episode during your launch you're not able to watch on youtube you can follow the podcast 100% free wherever you may be listening to your podcast if you want to follow me on x you can find me @jackbushman2 be sure to check out my strictly blackwalks account as well @talkinhockey for all the latest blackwalks news and updates so until the next episode everyone again five days a week coming back here this week with training camp opening up so I'll be back here tomorrow afternoon until then enjoy the rest of your day I'll see you next time on the lockdown blackwalks podcast part of the lockdown podcast network your team every day a prime member you can listen to this lockdown podcast add free on amazon music download the amazon music app today
