Chicago Blackhawks: Three Players Who Need To Bounce Back

Trevor van Riemsdyk

Let’s get right to the point: The ‘Hawks’ defense was straight up terrible last season. Players were showing their old age, and their young age. The player who most had his young age showing was van Riemsdyk.

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He was 24 years old for the entire season last year, and it was his first whole season in the NHL. With all that taken into account, he still did not have a very good season.

Statistically he had three goals, 11 assists and a plus/minus of minus-5. The most important parts of that are the assists and the plus/minus. Most defensemen for the ‘Hawks have always thought offense first. Among their main goals is to get the puck up the ice and onto the tape of the forwards.

TVR was only able to do that well 11 times. For 82 games played, that is just dreadful. The plus/minus is one of the most important stats for a defenseman as well. He needs to be around plus-10, since the defense for the ‘Hawks is not the best.

In order for the ‘Hawks to compete for the Cup this year, players like TVR need to step up. He will probably be going between the second and third pairings all year and those are the types of players who need to play well. The ‘Hawks’ defense has gotten one player deeper with the addition of Brian Campbell, but coach Joel Quenneville will still view TVR as a pivotal point of the D.

Next: Andrew Desjardins