Chicago Blackhawks looking towards Patrick Kane, Marcus Kruger for No. 2 centre position -NHL Update
Unfortunately for the Chicago Blackhawks, they were not able to find an external solution to their issues with the No. 2 centre position and have tipped off the names of
Patrick Kane and Marcus Kruger being internal answers.
Talking to the media on Friday, July 13, 2012, Blackhawks general manager, Stan Bowman, was looking to sign someone during the free agency, but with that nearly wound up and no trade to be seen in the near future, growing players internally seems to be the
best fix.
There are a number of young players, that are currently performing in the prospect camp, which could prove to be a solution, but if not, Kane and Kruger might be moved into the spot.
Four players are going at it at the moment. They are
Teuvo Teravainen, a No.18 in 2012, Mark McNeill
, 18th in 2011, Phillip Danault
, No. 26 in 2011, and Kevin Hayes, who was selected as No. 24 in 2010.
"A few years back, we identified centre as a position that we wanted to grow some guys into that [role], and I think we've seen in the last couple drafts we've got some guys who are going to be high-end players," Bowman said. "Some of them aren't too far
away, which is a good thing for us. We've seen a few of them even play the wing here just for some different looks, because they can't all play centre."
Teravainen, a 17-year-old centre, was seen as being very capable of controlling the puck and maintaining himself during the camp, but needs to add strength in order to match the conditions in the major league. He will most likely be sent back to native land
Finland in order to improve on that part.
McNeill on the other hand, is 19-years-old, and showed improvement while playing at wing for Teravainen. He seems to be a player that could be brought in for centre due to his consistent performance.
"I had a few games [at wing] here and there in junior, but mostly I played center," McNeill said. "That's the good thing about being here and getting a chance to play wing and learn that role.”
Tags: