Hawks 2011 lineup

Post #1 » by **TNBT** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 2:22 pm

I'm wondering what lines and defensive pairings you would like to see next season, and also which lines you EXPECT to be used next year. Any help would be appreciated.

WEFFPIM · Post #2 » by **WEFFPIM** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 4:39 pm

Well, it's tough since the roster isn't filled out yet. But I'll give it a go:

Brouwer-Toews-Kane
Kopecky-Sharp-Hossa
Stalberg-Bolland-Bickell

4th line is really tough to predict right now, still have Reasoner on here but no one to put around him. Kyle Beach will probably be up. I like putting Brouwer on the top line, size and skill that can do a good job making up for Byfuglien.

Keith-Seabrook
Campbell-Hjalmarsson
Scott-Vishnevskiy??

That 6th spot is up in the air, but the first 5 are pretty much set, in my mind.

Post #3 » by **TNBT** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 3:08 am

Thanks for the info. I found this site that has profiles of every player on every team, but the lines that they have never seem to make much sense, so I like to ask posters on each teams board so that I know what lines and defensive pairings to set when I get NHL 2011. The only team whose roster I know well enough is my Wings, but I guess that's because they are my team and I have been a fan of them for years.

WEFFPIM · Post #4 » by **WEFFPIM** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 10:14 pm

Reasoner's been traded to Florida for Jeff Taffe, fourth-liner who makes $550,000 less than Reasoner. Seems like the Hawks are trying to make enough room for Niemi.

SportsWorld · Post #5 » by **SportsWorld** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 5:03 pm

Niemi was awarded 2.75 mil according to Eklund.

WEFFPIM · Post #6 » by **WEFFPIM** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 6:47 pm

You can get Turco for probably $1.5 million. Think you gotta let Niemi walk, mainly because I don't think this team can afford to lose Kopecky with everyone else they've lost this offseason.

Post #7 » by **TNBT** » Mon Aug 9, 2010 4:45 am

WEFFPIM wrote:You can get Turco for probably $1.5 million. Think you gotta let Niemi walk, mainly because I don't think this team can afford to lose Kopecky with everyone else they've lost this offseason.

Looks like you were right. Niemi is gone and Turco is in. As for Kopecky, I agree with you. I've always been a Red Wings fan who likes pretty much all teams anyway, but due to some personal issues I have with some Red Wings players, I have decided to follow another team and I figure I'm a Chicago fan in NBA, NFL and MLB so I should go with the Hawks as well. Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that as a Detroit fan, I've followed Kopecky since he was a prospect, and I have always been pretty high on him. He got a few chances in Detroit but he never seemed to stick, but I do think the Wings gave up on him too early. He has great size and skill, and as everyone else here found out last year, he can be a really effective player.

molepharmer · Post #8 » by **molepharmer** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 7:34 pm

Any new guesses on who fills out the roster of 23 ?

F/C (12):Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, Bolland, Brouwer, Kopecky, Pisani (?), Potulny (?), Skille(?), Stalberg (?), Makarov (?)

D (6): Keith, Hjalmarsson, Seabrook, Campbell, Scott, Hendry (?) or Boyton (?)

G (2): Turco, Crawford

Even if all the (?) make it, there's still a couple of open spots.

Some of the young guys (e.g. Morin, Beach, Pirri) have looked good in the first couple of preseason games but they may need more seasoning before being full-time NHL players.

WEFFPIM · Post #9 » by **WEFFPIM** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 3:34 am

Boynton and Hendry are locks in my mind, so is Stalberg. Really liked how Skille has looked so far in the preseason. Pisani's probably in as a fourth-liner. I think Beach can work his way in.

molepharmer · Post #10 » by **molepharmer** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 2:24 pm

WEFFPIM wrote:Boynton and Hendry are locks in my mind, so is Stalberg. Really liked how Skille has looked so far in the preseason. Pisani's probably in as a fourth-liner. I think Beach can work his way in.

I noticed Pirri got sent down.

If both Boyton and Hendry make it, along with Beach who scored last night, that'd bring my list up to 22 (including all the question marks). Leaves only one open spot to make 23 (Dowell, Bickell, Morin, Smith ???).

WEFFPIM · Post #11 » by **WEFFPIM** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 5:12 pm

Bickell has the experience, but Morin has been terrific in camp. Dowell has paid his dues as well.

molepharmer · Post #12 » by **molepharmer** » Tue Oct 5, 2010 10:16 pm

"final" roster

Except for Leddy, none of younger new guys (i.e. Beach, Morin, Makarov, Pirri) made it

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ch ... 3448.story

Forwards -- Bryan Bickell; Dave Bolland; Troy Brouwer; Jake Dowell; Marian Hossa; Patrick Kane; Tomas Kopecky; Fernando Pisani; Ryan Potulny; Patrick Sharp; Jack Skille; Viktor Stalberg; Jonathan Toews.

Defensemen -- Nick Boynton; Brian Campbell (injured); Jassen Cullimore; Jordan Hendry; Niklas Hjalmarsson; Duncan Keith; Nick Leddy; John Scott; Brent Seabrook.

Goaltenders -- Marty Turco; Corey Crawford.

**edit - I thought I heard on CTL that Cullimore and Potulny were placed on waivers to get down to 21 (???).

WEFFPIM · Post #13 » by **WEFFPIM** » Wed Oct 6, 2010 12:24 am

I saw that Potulny and Cullimore are on waivers as well. If they clear they'll go to Rockford.

Sophie Hart · Post #14 » by **Sophie Hart** » Tue Oct 12, 2010 10:41 am

I have seen some bits and pieces of the game, was quite exciting but I’m not happy with youngsters as they could play better, but they didn’t. Hope to see some good game next time.

Post #15 » by **TNBT** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 1:05 pm

After the trade with Florida, these are the lines I am going with now for my Hawks franchise on PS3:

Bouwer - Toews - Kane
Kopecky - Sharp - Hossa
Bickell - Bolland - Frolik
Stalberg/Scott - Dowell - Pisani

Keith - Seabrook
Hjalmarsson - Campbell
Boynton - Leddy

Crawford
Turco

I like these lines a lot. The top line is pretty obvious with Toews and Kane there, and Brouwer adds some size and skill to the mix. Kopecky, Sharp and Hossa has to be one of the best second-lines in the NHL. The third line is a pretty good defensive like with Bickell bringing size and Bolland being a solid two-way player. Adding Frolik adds some offensive punch to the line. On the last line, Dowell works hard and Pisani adds a defensive veteran presence. On the left wing, I split games between Stalberg and Scott, depending on who I think will be more useful in any given game. I usually end up going with Stalberg though, because he adds speed and an offensive touch to an otherwise relatively gritty and defensive line.

With the defensemen, I don't think there is much left to say. We have a great group of guys there with a lot of talent, and you could probably throw them in pretty much any combinations and they would still produce. One guy that I am excited about though is Leddy. The kid is only 19, but he has looked good so far. He's only small, but he's a great skater and while he is pretty talented offensively, I think he will develop into a real two-way defenseman.

In goal, I generally split starts between the two. Turco is Turco, and everyone knows what he brings. The guy who I am excited about though is Crawford. He's another (relatively) young guy with talent, and I can see him becoming a very good full-time starter in the future.

WEFFPIM · Post #16 » by **WEFFPIM** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:23 pm

Frolik will be on the second line which will get Kopecky back to the fourth line. Pisani has worked out great on the checking line with Bolland and Bickell this season. Stalberg, Dowell, Kopecky on the fourth.

The defense will get altered at some point in the next couple of weeks, no way they stick with these six down the stretch.

Post #17 » by **TNBT** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 8:56 am

The Hawks website has this as the depth chart:

Sharp - Toews - Kane
Frolik - Kopecky - Hossa
Brouwer - Bolland - Pisani
Bickell - Dowell - Stalberg

Keith - Seabrook
Hjalmarsson - Campbell
Leddy - Hendry

Now I was re-thinking my lines, and a lot of fellow Hawks fans seem to want Kopecky off the scoring lines. With that in mind, I was thinking something like:

Brouwer - Toews - Kane
Sharp - Frolik - Hossa
Bickell - Bolland - Kopecky
Stalberg - Dowell - Pisani

I figured that way Kopecky gets back to a grind line where he is probably better suited, and he gives the third line some offensive punch too, However, I don't mind the lines that the Hawks have on their site. From what I hear, Sharp - Toews - Kane has worked really well. Also, Frolik and Hossa are both second line quality, and Kopecky is probably the most offensively-talented C on this team after Toews. Brouwer gives the third line some offensive punch, and the rest of the 3rd and 4th line are pretty self-explanatory. What do you guys think of the lines that the Hawks website has?

WEFFPIM · Post #18 » by **WEFFPIM** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 10:02 pm

Sharp, Toews and Kane don't play much together. Brouwer has been very good with those two, you keep him there. Bolland, Bickell and Pisani have been good together as well. You put Frolik with Sharp and Hossa, Kopecky on the fourth line.

Post #19 » by **TNBT** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:35 am

Brouwer - Toews - Kane and Frolik - Sharp - Hossa both make a lot of sense to me, which is why I planned on keeping those two lines together in my Hawks franchise. The thing that bugs me though is putting Kopecky on the 4th line. I know that he isn't really a scoring line player, and that Bickell - Bolland - Pisani has worked well as the 3rd line, but Kopecky just strikes me as being too good and too talented to be stuck on a 4th line getting very few minutes. He has a two-way game, so he could fit in well on the 3rd while also giving the line an offensive touch, but I understand the hesitation to break up the Bickell - Bolland - Pisani line. Maybe I'll just have to experiment with my lines and see which works best overall.