Good morning Chicago Blackhawks fans! The Chicago Blackhawks annual rookie tournament kicks off later this month, but on Thursday the rookie roster was announced.
The Chicago Blackhawks rookie tournament at Traverse City is from September 16-20, and if you asked me a few months ago about my excitement level for this years tournament and roster, I would have said not very excited at all.
The excitement level for me changed a lot when the Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Stan Bowman signed Nick Schmaltz on the dotted line. Sadly, Schmaltz probably doesn’t sign if Teuvo Teravainen hadn’t been traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Bryan Bickell salary dump trade.
That being said, it’s really Schmaltz’s time to shine starting with the rookie tournament and hopefully he can take some strong play from the tourney and carry it over to training camp.
It would be the same starting path as Kyle Baun except for the fact that everyone’s hope is that Schmaltz will be around for a long time instead of just two games like Baun.
Of course there are other players to look forward to in the rookie tourney like Tyler Motte who looked good in his few games in Rockford after signing after his college career ended.
The surprise of the Chicago Blackhawks prospect camp Alexandre Fortin will be playing in Traverse City trying to make a name for himself, and the newly anointed top prospect in the system Alex Debrincat is also on the roster.
It should be pretty exciting to see which rookies step up in this tournament in a year when the Chicago Blackhawks really need someone young to make a huge step up for the bottom six to be effective this coming season.
Here are some Chicago Blackhawks morning links to kick off your Friday morning.
Here is a quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks rookie tournament roster (Blackhawks)
A look at the Chicago Blackhawks player numbers they will be wearing at the upcoming World Cup (Second City)
A preview of Team Finland and how it will perform at the World Cup (Committed Indians)
Why Jonathan Toews has better balance than you or I do (Madhouse Enforcer)
More from Blackhawk Up
Which players around the NHL will see a huge decline in the 2016-2017 season (Bleacher Report)
Claude Giroux says he doesn’t feel like he has a 60 year old hip and feels great (Pro Hockey Talk)
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