Teuvo Teravainen At The 10 Game Mark

Jan 21, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Chicago Blackhawks left wing Teuvo Teravainen (86) skates on the ice prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Remember last season when the buzz was will Stan Bowman play Teuvo Teravainen 10 or more games including the playoffs and burn one of his contract years? As we all know Bowman gave Teuvo a taste for 3 games then sent him to Rockford for the rest of the season. Now he’s actually played 10 games this season so here are some thoughts about Teuvo after hitting the 10 game mark with the Blackhawks.

Teuvo’s Stats at the 10 Game Mark

Goals-2
Assists-2
Points-4
Shots on Goal-22

3. Size Doesn’t Matter– The first couple of games Teuvo looked like a fish out of water which has to be expected when a player makes the jump to the big leagues. The biggest worry from almost everyone was how often he was getting hit all over the ice not just in the places he shouldn’t be like in the corners. After a couple of games though his skating has been way more fluid and he has become much more elusive for the big guys to find him for the big hit. It seems like he will be a lot like Patrick Kane in that everytime you think he could get lit up he will simply elude the check. Sure some weight or kilo’s will help but it’s not the end all be all.

2. Getting Comfortable- The biggest thing to go along with not getting hit is just you can sense he’s getting more and more comfortable every time he takes the ice. Not only is his skating more fluid his entire game is there and it’s not just on the offensive end it’s the entire 200 feet. You have to believe that when he was sent down after his 3 game stint that both the Blackhawks organization and Ice Hogs coach Ted Dent had to preach to Teuvo to play the entire rink. He’s played 10 games and doesn’t have a negative ranking in +/- which says something to both the staff for protecting him from bad defensive matchups and that he’s comfortable at both ends of the ice.

1. Huge Ceiling Offensively- It seems like while getting comfortable especially defensively Teuvo wasn’t letting his instincts do the work offensively the first couple of games. Since the slow start he’s looked like a magician with the puck and everytime it looks like he’s just throwing it to an empty area on the ice, the next thing you know it’s really a perfect pass to set up a shot attempt or a rush. Hopefully Quenneville will put Kris Versteeg on the line with Teuvo and Bryan Bickell and move Andy (Anaheim announcers) Shaw down to the fourth line so that Teuvo will be able to play with someone with enough offensive skill to capitalize on his sick passing. Shaw is a fine player but lacks the skill at times to finish off the dishes he’s been served.