Tag Archives: Nick Leddy

Injuries starting to pile up for IceHogs; Blackhawks prospects Morin and Lavin out of action; Update on Olesz

By Chris Block

Injuries are beginning to pile up for the Rockford IceHogs.

While the team had been able to avoid everything but a few nagging injuries here and there, the IceHogs lost another key player this weekend.  For how long though, we’re not yet certain.

Jeremy Morin missed Sunday’s loss at Grand Rapids with an undisclosed injury.  Not sure of the extent of the damage other than the IceHogs saying Morin was “dinged up.”  Morin got the worse end of a third period scrap with Chicago Wolves’ defenseman and higher end Vancouver Canucks prospect Kevin Connauton on Saturday night.  Though Morin did make a return for the game’s final moments he was unavailable for Sunday’s road contest with the Griffins.  Here is a link to video of the Morin-Connauton fight from Dec 8, Morin’s first fight of the season.

Morin has been held without a point in the last three IceHogs games he’s suited up for.  Over his last 15 games, Morin has 7 goals and 2 assists to go along with a minus-2 rating.  He’s second on the IceHogs with 9 goals total on the season, one behind team-leader Ben Smith.

–Defenseman Joe Lavin broke his right wrist in a game at Lake Erie on Nov 24th.  The injury should sideline Lavin for 5-6 weeks, putting Lavin on schedule to return sometime after Christmas.  Lavin was still wearing a cast this weekend. Read more »

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IceHogs 3rd period rally answers coach’s challenge

By Chris Block

Looking to build on recent winning ways and retain their first place standing in the Midwest Division, the Rockford IceHogs played host to division rival Milwaukee Admirals, winners of three of its last four games.  Milwaukee also entered Friday’s contest riding a five-game point streak (3-0-2-0) as they recently have welcomed Ryan Ellis, Gabriel Bourque and Taylor Beck back into their lineup.

The IceHogs rose atop their division in winning 7 of its last 9 games, going from two games under .500 on Nov 16 to three games above .500 and in first place on Dec 2nd.

Friday also was the first of five meetings between the two clubs this month.  Milwaukee came into Rockford on Nov 10 and skated away with a 4-2 victory.  That night, the first of 12 times these two clubs will face off this regular season, Alec Richards was between the pipes for Rockford.

On Friday, Carter Hutton, the starter in the IceHogs last three games, all wins in which Hutton allowed a total of five goals, was back to face a Milwaukee team he went 8-1 versus last season.

Hutton was strong early Friday night but struggled to bail his teammates out when miscues and mental lapses plagued Rockford during a three-goal Milwaukee 2nd period. Read more »

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PuckChatter~Radio: Sam Fels on the IceHogs & CBA

By Chris Block

Sam Fels, lead Blackhawks maven at TheCommittedIndian.com was kind enough to join me Monday night for the jam-packed return edition of PuckChatter~Radio.

In great detail, we recapped the Rockford IceHogs at the 28.9% mark of the AHL season as well as listen to some conversations we’ve had with a few IceHogs over the past few weeks.  There is a lot going on these days out in Rockford with the suddenly first-place IceHogs and we covered most of it.

We also touch on Tuesday’s much overhyped meeting between six NHL owners and as many NHL players – Is it more posturing and sideways negotiating by the Gary Bettman and the owners in attempt to undermine Don Fehr and divide the players, or is the league finally ready to work towards getting a deal done?  We discuss.  Also, Phillip Danault and Mark McNeill were named to the Canadian U20 World Championships selection camp roster on Monday.  How do they fit and what are their chances of making Team Canada?

All this and more on this edition of Puck Chatter.

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Among the items broached on the show….

-A hockey magazine editor’s troubles with the English language
-Ted Dent talks about inconsistent play & Martin St. Pierre’s start
-Carter Hutton back on his game
-Is Nick Leddy not dominating the AHL a real problem?
-Kyle Beach’s newest move – the turtle and spear
-Jimmy Hayes talks about his transition from wing to center
-Perhaps how the Hayes-to-Center decision came about
-Surprising facts & truth on how the “experiment” is working out
-What the Hayes move says about Hawks true depth at center
-Adam Clendening’s mustache
-Jeremy Morin talks finding his scoring touch & a full off season
-Chris Block says weird things & asks odd questions
-Nick Leddy talks about his move to Left Defense & the CBA
-Stan Bowman’s ‘guys’ and where they stand
-Is Kyle Beach a power forward
-Couple of IceHogs approaching Franchise marks
-Blackhawks Board of Governors representatives
-Gary Bettman attempting to pitch a no-hitter
-IceHogs MVP
-A funny story about travels to the BMO Harris Bank Center 57:20
-And much, much more

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Special teams lift IceHogs past Peoria

By Chris Block

Rockford emerged victorious in another see-saw affair with division rival Peoria on Wednesday night.

The IceHogs got out to a two goal lead as Adam Clendening scored in the first minute of the game and Brandon Saad notched a short-handed goal later in the period.  But the IceHogs then allowed three unanswered first period goals and trailed 3-2 after the opening frame.  Rockford responded, scoring three unanswered goals of their own in route to an eventual 5-4 win.

Jeremy Morin was the biggest factor in the comeback, scoring power play tallies in the second and third period.  Martin St. Pierre had the other Rockford goal.

“That was a big win for us,” said Morin, the game’s number one star, after the game.

“We needed it.  It was good to get the power play going.  We need to start producing [on the power play] and not taking so many penalties.  That is going to be huge for us.” Read more »

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The Rockford Files: Dent on the Jimmy Hayes Center Experiment, Notes on Beach, Saad’s return, Bad starts, the offense and more

By Chris Block

Each week from now until the end of the season we will bring you a first-hand account of the latest news, developments and analysis of this season’s Rockford IceHogs, the Chicago Blackhawks’ American Hockey League affiliate.

Conflict of Interests?

“Well, we’re 1-3.  So, that’s my assessment.”

That was IceHogs coach Ted Dent this past Saturday night after a 4-2 loss at home when asked to give his assessment of Jimmy Hayes’ performance in the four games after the decision was made to move Hayes from his regular spot at right wing, over to the center ice position.

Eight games into the season, the edict came down from Chicago Blackhawks management that they wanted to see how Hayes would do at center.

Little forward thinking went into this decision either, apparently.  Blackhawks Director of Player Development Barry Smith was quickly dispatched to Rockford to go over film and one-on-one instruction over three days with Hayes, who admittedly hadn’t played the center position since he was a kid.

Not during training camp.  Not over the summer when Hayes was a part of a group of 12 top Blackhawks prospects who traveled to Sweden for a five-day August mini-camp.  No, during the last week of October was when the IceHogs coach received word he was to play Hayes at center until further notice.

“No, I haven’t played there in a long time,” Jimmy Hayes said last week. Read more »

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IceHogs carry 4-game win streak into this weekend; Dent on sitting Dylan Olsen; Leddy, Saad injury update and tons of news and notes

By Chris Block

After getting off to an auspicious 0-3-0-1 start to the 2012-13 season, the IceHogs rolled off 4 straight wins over eight days last week to vault themselves into second place in the AHL’s Midwest Division and two points behind the first-place Chicago Wolves.

Those same Wolves will travel up Interstate 90 tonight to face the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Harris Bank Center.  Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05pm.

In the only other two meetings between the two teams this season, the Wolves bested the IceHogs back on opening weekend, both times at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.  The Wolves begin their annual November road trip with tonight’s game.  They’ll be on the road for their next five games due to the annual circus stint at Allstate Arena.

Chicago defeated the IceHogs 1-0 in a shootout on October 13th and then again 5-3 the following day. Eddie Lack was in goal for the Wolves both nights and is expected to start between the pipes again for Chicago tonight. Read more »

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PuckChatter~Radio, e.119, Game Off

By Chris Block

Monday night, PuckChatter~Radio returned to discuss the fallout from Gary Bettman cancelling 26 percent of the 2012-13 NHL schedule through November 30th, the Rockford IceHogs 4-game winning streak, the presidential election, fantasy football, the big golf challenge, the big tennis challenge, bonertime~!, first impressions of Jeremy Roenick’s new book, the people he supposedly hates most, Roenick’s account of the infamous 1999 Tony Amonte slashing incident, WWE and much, much more.

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PuckChatter~Radio, e.118, Crazy Uncle Gary

By Chris Block

Listen at your own risk.  And with the sound low or through headphones if at work.

Gary Bettman got up on a podium Tuesday afternoon and made a point to declare he wasn’t one to negotiate through the media…. while he did just that.

However, the NHL did offer a potential major step forward to making a deal with the NHLPA on Tuesday to save the 82 game season and we break that down.

Also, the Rockford IceHogs opened their regular season with several Blackhawks in the lineup and came up on the short end in both of their games over the weekend.

We’ll also discuss Kyle Beach, Marcus Kruger, Nick Leddy, what we’ve been up to, the TTMI Fantasy Hockey League, bloggers and mysterious hand impressions over the urinal in the men’s room.

All this and much more on this edition of PuckChatter~Radio.

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PuckChatter~Radio, e.115, NHL Lockout Insurance

By Chris Block

PuckChatter~Radio returns tonight to share our thoughts on the possible, probable.. impending NHL work stoppage and the circumstances surrounding it.

We’ll also review all the news, response to some recent Blackhawks prospect rankings; take a look at dumb things said by some Blackhawks fans, a limited amount of we’ve been up to lately and much, much more.

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We’ll return next week with a very special guest.

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12 Blackhawks in Sweden this week for mini-camp

Photo credit: www.sskoveralltalltid.se

By Chris Block

For the second consecutive year, the Blackhawks have teamed up with a European league team for a friendly preseason tune-up.

Twelve Blackhawks players and prospects are in the town of Södertälje, Sweden this week taking part in a week-long mini conditioning camp.

These Blackhawks are guests of the Södertälje Sportklubb (SSK), a team in the Allsvenskan league, a level below the Swedish Elite League (Elitserien), as the Södertälje team makes its final preparations to begin its 2012-13 regular season.

List of Blackhawks players and prospects in Sweden for this week’s workouts:

Nick Leddy
Marcus Kruger
Dylan Olsen
Jimmy Hayes
Kevin Hayes
Ben Smith
Brandon Pirri
Jeremy Morin
Brandon Saad
Adam Clendening
Klas Dahlbeck

Brandon Bollig will join the group on Wednesday after clearing up a passport issue. Read more »

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