The Blackhawks seasons came to an earlier end than expected to the hands of the Divisonal rivals Nashville Predators (who went on to win the Stanley Cup). The Hawks organization felt that changes had to be made so GM Walsh didn't waste anytime. The Blackhawks pro roster looks completely different for the most part as they said goodbye to the likes of Patrick Kane, Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Buchnevich, and Kris Versteeg. The team were very pleased to welcome to the organization Gabriel Landeskog, Andres Athanasiou, Jake Guentzel, Logan Couture, Reilly Smith, Jesse Puljujarvi and Valeri Nichushkin. The team decided to move away from being top heavy to being more balanced throughout the lineup. They also added several draft picks in next years darft to help their prospect pool.
The organization as a whole did well last season as the Icehogs in the CCAHL got to the Finals but fell short toe the Crunch, who won their 2nd title in 3 years. Not much have changed for the Icehogs, but they did bring in Tyler Soy, Santeri Virtanen, Max Jones and Sean Durzi.
The new look Hawks haven't gotten their lines cemented just yet but are close. Here is a peak at the practice lines used during training camp yesterday.
Jason Spezza - Leon Draiaistl - Gabriel Landeskog Jake Guentzel - Logan Couture - Reilly Smith Paul Byron - Andreas Athanasiou - Valeri Nichushkin Tom Kuhnhackl - Derek Ryan - Jesse Puljujarvi Justin Schultz - Sami Vatanen Travis Hamonic - Karl Alzner Christian Folin - Alex Biega
Matt Murray Brian Elliott