Quoting: Garak
Thanks! Yeah, there will be a time and a place for frustration about the Blackhawks, but that won't be for a long time. It's best just to accept it and find other ways to enjoy the game and other aspects of the team to be excited about, like the rebuild process, etc.
Concur. I now live in the South Bend area, and perhaps the most fun I had this season was attending Notre Dame games - like when BU and other teams visited with high-end prospects.
I especially enjoyed it when the University of Michigan and University of Minnesota visited, so I could watch multiple, high-pick Hawks prospects. And, truth be told, the Hawks' prospect with whom I was most impressed this year was... RInzel. Oliver Moore was all effort all the time, fast, and fun to watch. He has good instincts. Nazar was inconsistent; had bursts of making big impacts on the games, but also stretches where he seemed to disappear. Slaggert looked really good to me; seemed very positionally sound and willing to do whatever was needed for his team.
Contrary to what I'd heard and read about Rinzel, though, he was MUCH more polished than I expected. Sure, he has good size and speed; I expected that. But I was surprised by how positionally sound he seemed to be in his own end; VERY calm and competent. He almost always made good decisions there, even under pressure. Nothing seemed to faze him. I LOVE how poised he was.
Now, I saw him here in South Bend at the end of the regular college year; he made strides from the beginning of the season. And he seemed sometimes lost and/or indecisive in the offensive end. So, he needs more time. But... out of all the Hawks' prospects who came to play at ND, he is now the one about whom I'm most excited. Assuming he continues to make strides and develops in the offensive end, too, I can see him eventually being a top 4- or even top 2 - RD in the NHL.
Cheers, LA