As injuries continue to plague team, 3 players enter spotlight
No matter how many times he is asked about doubters or given opportunities to trumpet the Chicago Blackhawks’ unexpected start, Luke Richardson rebuffs those invitations.
At Friday’s practice at Fifth Third Arena, a day after the Hawks improved to 5-4-2, the first-time head coach was asked when he can say what kind of team he has.
“April,” he deadpanned. “As soon as you take your foot off the pedal, you’re in trouble. Good teams don’t.”
The Hawks might become or already be a good team as currently constructed — they lost to the Jets 4-0 on Saturday in Winnipeg — but who will make the lineup a month from now is still unknown. Several players are at various stages returning from injuries, and one who has yet to play a minute this season might shake up the defensive core.
Here are three players in the spotlight.
1 . Has Caleb Jones taken a step forward with his brother Seth’s absence?
With defenseman Seth Jones out with a right thumb injury, there’s one role he can fulfill: Caleb’s “coach.”
“He’ll make comments on our team game and what he’s seeing, but he’ll give me a little bit of advice on the power play and things like that,” Caleb Jones said. “He told me on the breakouts and the power play to make sure I’m coming with a lot of speed to kind of push the (penalty kill) forechecker back and give our guys on the drop pass a little more space.
“So that’s the kind of thing he’s said, but he said I’ve been doing a good job and to keep sticking with it and playing well.”
And Jones has been doing just that — playing well — given his added ice time, an unintended benefit of his brother’s absence, expected to be up to a month.
“He’s done a great job and he’s added a lot on the offensive side,” Richardson said of Jones, who entered Saturday with six assists in the last six games. “He really gets pucks through quick. He doesn’t have a 100-mph slap shot — he’s not that type of guy — but he finds sticks, like he has the past two games for goals, and that’s huge for us.”
Caleb Jones registered no points on two shots on goal Saturday, and a puck that leaked past him resulted in Adam Lowry’s shorthanded goal.
Against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, Jones found Jason Dickinson’s stick on a redirect goal to open the scoring.
“It’s funny, the offense is kind of coming right now,” Jones said. “But I came into the year really focused on trying to buckle down in the D-zone and be a really good defender.”
That’s not surprising to Richardson.
“I think defensemen, if you consciously work on your defensive game, the other comes around because you’re in less defensive trouble,” he said. “That’s probably been helping him be less in the D-zone and then (have) more energy to spend in the O-zone and maybe fresher decisions with his mind to get quick shots through.”
And his “coach” will be there to offer tips.
Asked if Seth Jones is harder on him as the younger brother, Caleb chuckled.
“Naw, he’s soft,” Caleb Jones said. “I actually have to ask him stuff to get it out of him, otherwise he’ll just stay quiet.
“It’s kind of just how he is.”
2 . How cautious should the Hawks be with Petr Mrázek?
With a standout 2-1 overtime win against the Kings, Arvid Söderblom served notice with a 32-save outing that he’s making his bid to stay in Chicago.
Alex Stalock has had his highlight moments, too, when he was thrust into the starting role.
So Richardson has little incentive to push Mrázek to return from a groin injury, especially because it has given the goaltender problems before.
Said Richardson: “With his history, last year coming back right off the hop, it’s probably going to be a couple of weeks to make sure he has the proper time to get back, and not just get out and get some reps in practice but to strengthen it. I think we’re looking at getting full practice in next week and coming full bore on the L.A.-Anaheim trip.”
Richardson indicated this isn’t a case of the Hawks being overly cautious with Mrázek, who has a 1-1-0 record in three starts with a .873 save percentage and 3.76 goalsagainst average.
“I think it’s mutual,” Richardson said. “t’s just smart, speaking with him and what he went through last year and the training staff, just understanding what he went through. It wasn’t as bad as probably they thought at the beginning, which is good, but just to take that extra couple of days.”
3 . Can Ian Mitchell force his way into the lineup?
Mitchell missed camp with a left wrist injury, a setback to the third-year defenseman’s quest for a roster spot.
But he was filled with optimism Friday after practice at Fifth Third Arena.
“It’s progressing here,” he told the Tribune. “I feel that (Friday) is the best it’s felt so I feel like I’m getting closer, which is exciting. I feel like I shouldn’t be too long. I don’t know an exact date but it’s just like a day-by-day thing with the pain tolerance with it.”
The defensive core has gotten crowded in his absence, with Caleb Jones, Filip Roos and Alec Regula among the young blueliners in the rotation for ice time.
Mitchell said he’s focused on training and will let the big picture take care of itself.
“It’s something my dad was telling me growing up: it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” he said. “So (I’m) trying to stick to that and knowing that it doesn’t change the player I am or how the organization feels about me. It’s just (that) my start’s a little bit delayed this year, and that’s OK.”
The Hawks plan to practice several days next week before a West Coast trip, so the timing of Mitchell’s recovery might work in his favor.
“If we’re healthy, we’re not sure if he’ll have to play games in Rockford,” Richardson said. “But if not, he might (not) be ready to jump in here. That’s another reason this week will be really good for us.
“If we can get through this game (in Winnipeg) pretty healthy, we’ll have to make some decisions next week on him if he’s starting to get close.”