Morning Chirps: Bedard's Olympic chances, possible landing spots for Panarin

The Chicago Blackhawks will be back on the practice ice later this morning. I’ll be there to give you all the latest on Teuvo Teravainen’s upper-body injury and the overall health of the team after having a stomach bug plow through the locker room.

Blackhawks Chirps

Frank and I seem to be the only two in the Blackhawks sphere not affected by the stomach bug going around. We climbed back into the Second Balcony to discuss the last whacky few days, Anton Frondell’s plans, and Olympic hockey.

• The Rockford IceHogs snapped their six-game losing streak by rolling past the Manitoba Moose 6-2 last night. It was a big night of firsts as Sam Rinzel scored his first AHL goal on an opening-period power play. Harrison Israels, recently called up from the Indy Fuel, also scored his first AHL goal. Martin Misiak had his first professional multi-point game with a goal and an assist. Owen Flores made 28 saves for his first AHL win, as apparently Drew Commesso returned to Rockford under the weather. Prospects Gavin Hayes and Samuel Savoie recorded assists in the big victory. The IceHogs have a busy weekend with a game at the first-place Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, then a home-and-home series against the Chicago Wolves starting in Rosemont on Saturday and finishing in Rockford on Sunday.

• Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic had the latest on Team Canada’s Olympic roster. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point injured his right leg during Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Head coach Jon Cooper said that his season is not over, but he’s week-to-week. That doesn’t sound too encouraging for his trip to Italy in a couple of weeks. According to the two insiders, Connor Bedard is on Canada’s reserve list as a possible injury replacement. Point is a right shot who can play center and wing. Sound familiar? Wyatt Johnston of the Dallas Stars is another possibility if they don’t choose Bedard. That is, of course, if Point cannot play.

• Staying at The Athletic, Corey Pronman released his rankings of his top players under the age of 23. Bedard is ranked second on his list of 137 players, with 10 other Blackhawks showing up in the rankings.

• On this date in 1933, Tommy Gorman replaced Emil Iverson as the Blackhawks’ head coach. He was the 10th head coach in the franchise's short seven-year history. After missing the playoffs in his first season, he led the team to its first Stanley Cup championship in 1934. He resigned 10 days after winning it all due to a dispute with ownership. He landed the head coach gig with the Montreal Maroons and won another Stanley Cup in 1935.

• In 2016, Joel Quenneville moved past Al Arbour on the NHL’s all-time wins list with his 783rd regular-season victory as the Blackhawks beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Jan 14: Aud Tuten, Dave MacKay, Nick Boynton, and Frank Nazar.

NHL Chirps

• Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now gave some insight on what the San Jose Sharks are hoping they have in their newest defenseman, former Blackhawks first-round pick Nolan Allan.

• In the most recent episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman speculated on trade talk surrounding New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin. He listed the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Washington Capitals as potential landing spots. He has a full no-movement clause, so he’ll dictate where he’ll go if he’s traded. Panarin looks like he’ll be the top free agent this summer after so many other players signed extensions. However, there is always the chance that he signs an extension with whatever team he is traded to.

• The Calgary Flames are in town tomorrow night, and they will be without the services of forward Blake Coleman. He was placed on injured reserve as he’s dealing with a minor upper-body injury. He currently leads the team with 13 goals.

• The Edmonton Oilers and their dads headed down to Nashville, where they lost to the Predators 4-3 in overtime. Connor McDavid celebrated his 29th birthday by picking up two assists to extend his point streak to 20 games. Steven Stamkos scored the opening goal for his 16th career 20-goal season, the fourth-most among active players behind Alex Ovechkin (21), Sidney Crosby (18), and Patrick Kane (17).

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Jan. 14: Babe Seibert, Sergei Nemchinov, Alan May, Bob Essensa, Peter Holland, Connor Brown, JJ Peterka, Carson Lambos, and Berkly Catton.