I was able to attend the Blackhawks holiday party skate for their team and employees on Monday. It’s more of a relaxed setting than the dressing room after a practice or game, so it was nice to hang out and talk about the season with players and the Hawks staff. Here are some things of interest besides Patrick Kane’s shiner:
Jonathan Toews was talking about the big hit he took from Matt Smaby late in the second period on Sunday -- he’s the same guy who tripped Kane earlier in the game. Did you know Toews and Smaby played college hockey together at North Dakota? Not very nice, but Toews didn’t know it was Smaby who hit him until John Madden told him later. He thought it was Mattias Ohlund and went after him instead. “When I found out, I tried my best to even up the score there in the third period,” Toews said. “I was watching my shot and he kind of caught me off guard a little bit.” Toews said there was no animosity lingering from college.
“I wanted to knock his head off.” That was Adam Burish talking about Smaby. Burish was on the ice at the holiday party, but not on skates. He’s working hard to get back and is keeping close tabs on his teammates in the meantime. “I played against him [Smaby] in college,” Burish went on. “If I was out there I wouldn’t have thought twice. I would have grabbed him and given him what he deserved. I always thought those North Dakota guys were punks, but not Tazer.”
Marian Hossa was basking in the glow of his extraordinary goal from Sunday night. Despite some great hand/eye coordination he said he never played baseball as a kid and it’s not a move he has practiced. He just did it and “luckily” it went in.
Joel Quenneville was in a good mood, as you would expect. He said he wants his “two front teeth back” for Christmas. A wish, I imagine, a lot of hockey players make. He said he’s been asking for that for many years but “they ain’t coming back,” Quenneville said.
Dave Bolland says he feels better every day. There isn’t much he can do in terms of physical activity since he has a back injury, but he knows it’s just “a matter of time” before he can get going. “It’s pretty boring right now, and it sucks having to watch these games,” Bolland said. “I want to be a part of it.” He indicated this could have been a much worse injury and hopes to be skating in a few weeks and playing by February. Bolland is aware of the debate over who should take his place until he returns. His response: They’re doing pretty well with whoever is there. Patrick Sharp did tell him the last time Bolland was out with a finger injury, “hurry up and get back so I can go back to wing.” Most Hawk fans would agree.
John Madden is looking forward to playing his old team, New Jersey, on New Year’s Eve at the United Center. I asked him if he had a “hit list” of players he wants to take a shot at. All he said was he wanted “to score on Marty [Brodeur] and stand over him while someone takes a picture.”
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Jesse Rogers
Jesse Rogers covers the Chicago Blackhawks for ESPN 1000 and ESPNChicago.com.
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TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Marian Hossa
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Goals | P. Sharp | 33 | ||||||||||
| Assists | M. Hossa | 48 | ||||||||||
| +/- | P. Sharp | 28 | ||||||||||
| GAA | C. Crawford | 2.72 | ||||||||||
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