Blackhawks Breakaway

On the latest Hawks Talk Podcast, Blackhawks winger Alex DeBrincat joins Pat Boyle from the IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. DeBrincat reflects on his second year in the NHL, how far away the Blackhawks are from being a playoff team and if he’s surprised by the final four in the Stanley Cup Playoffs? DeBrincat also weighs in on playing with Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane at the Worlds, and breaks down the game of the two players expected to be taken at the top of June’s draft: Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko. DeBrincat tells us he hasn’t been hanging out with his buddy Dylan Strome and fills us in on who is hanging out with his dog Ralph during the tournament. 0:35 -- What's Kosice like? 1:25 -- How far away are Blackhawks from contending? 3:00 -- What part of your game grew the most? 3:30 -- Decision to represent Team USA again 4:40 -- Playing on larger ice surface 6:48 -- Facing Kaapo Kakko 7:30 -- Playing with Jack Hughes 9:10 -- Film preparation 10:25 -- Still keeping an eye on Stanley Cup Playoffs? 11:45 -- Biggest difference with St. Louis 12:25 -- Intensity building as IIHF World Championship progresses? 13:30 -- Highlight of trip to Slovakia 14:15 -- Who's taking care of Ralph?

On the latest edition of the Hawks Talk Podcast, Blackhawks vice president of amateur scouting Mark Kelley joins Pat Boyle and Charlie Roumeliotis to discuss NHL Draft preparations. Kelley talks about whether there's added pressure in picking third overall, what goes into the scouting meetings at this time of year and how deep the first round is in terms of high-end talent. Kelley also provides brief scouting reports on a handful of top prospects, and whether the Blackhawks are leaning a certain direction at No. 3. 0:42 - Is there more pressure coming into the draft picking at No. 3? 1:45 - Different feel organizationally picking third this year vs. 2006 (Jonathan Toews) 2:45 - Is the expectation that Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko will go 1 and 2? 4:05 - The Blackhawks control their destiny at No. 3 4:40 - Did the lottery throw a curveball into draft process? 5:35 - Inside the current scouting meetings 6:20 - What the Blackhawks were keying in on at Under-18 World Championship 7:15 - Best available player? 9:20 - Scouting reports on top draft prospects 13:13 - Building roster built for regular season and playoffs? 13:50 - Having a pool of players to choose from vs. a clear-cut player at No. 3 14:40 - What you're looking for at the NHL Draft combine 16:15 - Do the scouting meetings ever get intense? 18:20 - So, are the Blackhawks leaning a certain way at No. 3 yet?

On the latest edition of the Hawks Talk Podcast, Blackhawks legend Denis Savard, a former third overall pick in the 1980 NHL Draft, weighs in on the Blackhawks options with the No. 3 selection and remembers his time as a draft prospect, nearly getting selected by his hometown Canadiens. Savard also goes in-depth on the development he’s seen throughout Patrick Kane’s career and how Marian Hossa made an impact on his game. 0:45 – Savard on not being drafted by hometown Canadiens 2:30 – What draft nights used to be like 4:00 – The type of player you get at No. 3 overall 4:30 – Would Savy go No. 1 in a 1980 re-draft? 5:50 – Projecting a high draft pick’s career 6:50 – Savard’s passion for golf and horses 9:10 – Drafting need vs best player available 11:00 – Supplementing Kane, Toews and the vets with youth 13:30 – How Savard watched Patrick Kane grow 16:30 – Comparing Savard to Kane on the ice 21:35 – Wasting career years from Kane, Toews & DeBrincat 25:00 – Blackhawks have flexibility this summer 26:00 – High praise for Nicolas Beaudin 26:45 – Youth on the Blackhawks blue line 27:35 – Savard on Jeremy Colliton & the Blackhawks future

On the latest Hawks Talk Podcast, Dimitri Filipovic from Yahoo, ESPN and The Hockey PDOcast joins Pat Boyle, Slavko Bekovic and Charlie Roumeliotis to discuss the state of the Blackhawks. How far away are they from contending? Filipovic also talks about the Blackhawks' defensive struggles, what they can do to turn it around, how they should spend their money this summer and which NHL prospects jump out at No. 3 overall. 1:00 - How far are the Blackhawks from contenting? 1:45 – Did the Blackhawks miss a golden chance in this year’s playoffs? 3:45 – Are the Avalanche an example for the Blackhawks to follow? 4:50 – How badly do the Hawks need a top-4 defenseman? 6:15 – How good (really) is Erik Gustafsson? 8:30 – Evaluating the Blackhawks’ defensive personnel 10:15 – Is this defensive system right for the Blackhawks? 13:45 – What franchise are the Blackhawks modeling? 15:00 – Did the Hawks wait too long to move on from Quenneville? 16:20 – Going worst-to-first like the Islanders 18:20 – Blackhawks need to beef up 20:20 – Building the Blackhawks with a Bruins outline 22:00 – The need for more secondary scoring 22:50 – Finding the right line for Patrick Kane 24:50 – Draft prospects that the Blackhawks should consider at No. 3 28:50 – Could Artemi Panarin stay in Columbus? 30:20 – Spending on top-end players or filling multiple needs 32:10 – Extensions for Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome 33:35 – Should Kane have been a Hart finalist?

On the latest Hawks Talk Podcast, Pat Boyle catches up with two-time Stanley Cup winner and the newest member of the Rockford IceHogs Kris Versteeg. Versteeg explains his recent medical issues and his experience playing last season in the KHL and Swedish Elite League. He also talks about why he decided to sign a one-year deal with Rockford and defines his role the IceHogs. Versteeg weighs in on getting a third chance to play for the Blackhawks organization and what would be the perfect ending to the Kris Versteeg hockey movie? 1:00 - Why sign with Rockford? 2:00 - KHL experience 3:00 - Back on track in Sweden 4:30 - Health update 6:00 - Deal with Rockford 7:30 - Contact with Kane and Toews? 9:00 - Family coming to Rockford? 10:00 - Mentor or last fling with Hawks? 12:00 - Kris Versteeg Movie Ending

On the latest edition of the Hawks Talk Podcast, Blackhawks director of player development Mark Eaton joins the show to evaluate the organization’s top defensemen prospects and where each of them are at in their developments. Which ones could make the NHL jump next season? Pat Boyle and Charlie Roumeliotis offer their takeaways from the Eaton interview and outlook the Blackhawks blue line group as a whole. 1:00 – Eaton on Henri Jokiharju’s development 3:30 – Adam Boqvist’s growth in North America 6:50 – Evaluating Nicolas Beaudin’s progression 8:15 – Surprised about Ian Mitchell’s decision to return to college? 10:55 – Assessing Chad Krys in college and AHL 13:10 – Challenge between stressing defensive side of game but not taking away from who the player is 15:55 – Which defensemen prospects could be in NHL next season? 18:25 – The message Erik Gustafsson’s breakout season sends to prospects 21:15 – Takeaways from Eaton interview 31:25 – Reviewing Blackhawks defensemen contracts 33:35 – Thoughts on Gustav Forsling 35:20 – The challenge for Blackhawks defense this offseason

On the latest edition of the Hawks Talk Podcast, TSN analyst Craig Button joins Pat Boyle to discuss the pool of players that could be available for the Blackhawks at No. 3 overall and who may have the highest ceiling. Button also weighs in on which player could be the most NHL ready after Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko. Slavko Bekovic and Charlie Roumeliotis join Pat in the second segment to react to Button’s analysis. Could the Blackhawks actually look to draft a defenseman? Who’s the best center available? The guys also discuss which player stands out among the crop. 0:45 – Is there a dropoff after Hughes and Kakko? 1:45 – Is Podkolzin NHL ready? 3:15 – Could Podkolzin get the Artemi Panarin treatment? 5:15 – Which center is the best available after Hughes? 7:40 – Scouting report on Byram 10:30 – Which prospect is the most NHL ready after Hughes and Kakko? 11:45 – Could the Devils or Rangers trade out of No. 1 or 2? 12:30 – Is there anything Kakko can do to jump Hughes for No. 1? 14:00 – Takeaways from Button’s interview 16:30 – Could the Blackhawks actually take a defenseman? 24:50 – Trevor Zegras earns high praise 27:45 – Don’t count out a trade? 33:00 – Dylan Cozens stands out on tape 36:30 – Patrick Kane to captain Team USA at Worlds

They only had an 8.2% chance at a top 3 pick, but the lottery balls bounced the Blackhawks way and they landed the third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Pat Boyle, Charlie Roumeliotis and Slavko Bekovic break down what this means for the franchise, what options they might have now in adding a top asset and what players might be available for the Blackhawks at the third overall pick. Plus, we’ll hear directly from GM Stan Bowman on whether he had any good luck charms with him and how this is changes the outlook of the Blackhawks going forward. 0:30 – Holy crap the Blackhawks got a top-3 pick! 2:45 – The Blackhawks now have a lot of options 6:30 – Stan Bowman addresses the media on the #3 pick 9:15 – This should add some “juice” to the organization 13:00 – Who are the top prospects in the draft? 17:00 – Importance of adding depth at center 19:20 – Could the Hawks trade up to #1 or #2? 28:45 – Was the draft lottery rigged?!?! 30:45 – Would you rather have the #3 pick or make the playoffs?

On the latest Hawks Talk Podcast it’s all about the Blackhawks exit interviews on Sunday. Pat Boyle and Charlie Roumeliotis give you their biggest takeaways from the interviews they had with Stan Bowman, Jeremy Colliton, Jonathan Toews & Patrick Kane. You will also hear from Bowman on how active he plans on being in free agency. Colliton shares how he plans to target Kane’s minutes better next season. 00:00 Exit interview podcast 01:00 Hawks active in free agency? 02:30 No excuse not to spend this summer 04:30 Is Gus part of long term core? 06:00 Will players ‘overachieve’ again? 07:00 Late 50 games, good enough to win division? 09:15 Crawford and Delia the future in net? 10:30 Recapping other players in the system 13:30 Colliton using Kane next season 17:30 How do Bowman and Colliton work together to form the head coach’s team? 19:15 Kane and Toews – together or apart? 21:00 Patrick Kane’s career season 23:30 Finding chemistry for the star players 26:00 Toews answering his critics 28:30 Gus saves his career? 30:00 Which Blackhawks heading to World Championships? 31:30 Quenneville to the Panthers? 33:00 NHL Draft lottery on Tuesday

On the latest Hawks Talk Podcast, Pat Boyle, Slavko Bekovic and Charlie Roumeliotis debate whether this Blackhawks team ever had a playoff roster. The guys also wonder if fatigue became an issue, where the season really turned and what’s at stake in the final three games. They wrap up by summarizing the season, looking ahead to this summer in free agency and the NHL draft lottery. 1:00 - Were the Hawks a playoff roster? 4:20 - Simply put: the Hawks defense is awful 9:00 - Where could Hawks add Top-4 d-man? 15:45 - Did the Hawks overperform this year? 20:20 - Where did this season go wrong? 25:00 - Is there fatigue for the top players? 32:05 - Erik Gustafsson's breakout season 35:10 - Draft lottery around the corner 37:00 - Who will lead the Hawks in goals? 38:40 - What's at stake in the final three games? 40:15 - Kevin Hayes to the Hawks?! 46:20 - How do you sum up this season? 48:30 - Keith/Seabrook legacy