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Chicago Blackhawks Prospect Camp Day 5 Review

By Mario Tirabassi|Jul 14, 2016

Oct 1, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Ryan Hartman (38) battles St. Louis Blues center Steve Ott (9) for the puck during the first period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Blackhawks Prospect Camp Day Five Takeaways

Is it so much to start on time these days?

Because the Chicago Blackhawks wanted to be early birds on Day Five of prospect camp, this writer was late by being on-time for the first practice session of Day Five, which was for the forwards group.

So, unfortunately the takeaways will not include any insight to Day Five for the Forwards group. But let me take a stab at how it went:

Vinnie Hinostroza, Ryan Hartman, Tanner Kero, Nick Schmaltz, and Tyler Motte looked solid and primed for significant time in the NHL this season.

Here is a little of Tyler Motte speaking with the Rockford IceHogs after Day Four:

So, because of being on time for practice meaning that you were late for practice, here are some takeaways from Blackhawks Prospect Camp Day Five: The Defense.

Check it out: Blackhawks Prospect Camp Day Four Review

Gustav Forsling has looked more and more comfortable in camp as the days have gone on. He seemed to have another gear to reach after Day Three, and by Day Five he has reached that gear. His skating, shooting, and puck skills have all improved since the start of camp. Which is what you hope to see from a player looking to make a big break in the organization.

: He’s good to go. Nothing more to say, really. The only thing about Kempny that can improve before heading into training camp in the Fall is his English.

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One player that stood out on Day Five was Robin Norell. After spending most of last season with Djurgårdens IF in Sweden, before joining the IceHogs late in the year, Norell has shown that he possesses the skating ability to succeed in North America. Some more time with the IceHogs will do Norell more good than anything.

Jake Ryczek and Blake Hillman, both 2016 Entry Draft picks for the Blackhawks, have done pretty fair in camp. Hillman could use more work on his puck skills, but looks solid coming out of Denver University. Ryczek has impressed with his defensive one-on-one battling and his shot.

Dillon Fournier has looked better as camp has progressed, as well. Fournier has bounced back and forth between the IceHogs in the AHL and the Indy Fuel of the ECHL for the last two seasons after coming out of Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL. He is a big bodied defender and probably will get a good chance to crack the IceHogs defensive core this Fall.

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Finally, the goaltenders at Prospect Camp have looked pretty solid as far as a prospect camp goes. Wouter Peeters and Matt Tomkins are for sure the top two goalie prospects in the system and even between those two, it’s a wide margin in favor of Peeters.
- Tomkins will need to really show improvement at Ohio State in his Senior year as he has regressed from his Freshman year, where he posted a 2.78 GAA and .911 Save percentage in 17 games.
- What more can be said about Peeters in net? He’s huge for his age (Six-foot-five, 17-years old) and has good lateral movement in net. His size is his biggest advantage right now, but with some time and coaching, his movement and vision in net will only get better. He really looks like the future in goal for the Blackhawks.
Five days down, just one more to go for Blackhawks Prospect Camp. Tomorrow is the final practice session which will be a full team scrimmage. Last chance for a lot of the young guys to make an impression on the organization before the break heading into Fall training camp. Should be fun.
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