Morning Chirps: Remembering Bob Pulford, Frondell wins gold

The Chicago Blackhawks will be back on the practice ice today, as they prepare for tomorrow night’s game against the St. Louis Blues. The IIHF World Junior Championship concluded last night with a head-to-head match-up between two of the Blackhawks’ top prospects. Let’s get you caught up with Tuesday’s Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Sweden beat Czechia 4-2 to win its first gold medal at the World Junior Championship since 2012. They did so by running the table and going 7-0-0. Anton Frondell did not record a point in the final game but was named the top forward of the tournament with five goals and eight points. Vaclav Nestrasil picked up an assist on Czechia’s final goal. He’ll come home with a silver medal after scoring two goals and eight points.

• Bob Pulford passed away at the age of 89 on Monday. There were very few things he did not accomplish during his long life in hockey. He won four Stanley Cups as a left wing with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame after 281 goals and 643 points in 1,079 games for the Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings. After retirement, he became the first president of the NHL Players’ Association. He spent over 30 years with the Blackhawks organization, including four stints as both head coach and general manager. He drafted players like Denis Savard, Steve Larmer, Troy Murray, Dominik Hasek, Ed Olczyk, Jeremy Roenick, Dave Bolland, Bryan Bickell, and Troy Brouwer.

• The Blackhawks hit the midway point of the season over the weekend. As Jeff Maroon writes, the improvements the Blackhawks have made this year are for a myriad of reasons.

• Our newest contributor, Josh Prost, wrote that the Blackhawks should use the upcoming trade deadline to improve the Rockford IceHogs’ lineup.

• On this date in 2015, the Blackhawks swamped goaltender Semyon Varlamov with 54 shots on goal, but he stopped them all in a 2-0 win for the Colorado Avalanche. He set the record for the most saves in a regular-season road shutout since the NHL started to track shots on goal in 1955.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Jan. 6: Carl Voss, Doug Barkley, and Adam Burish.

NHL Chirps

• Former Blackhawks defenseman Jack Johnson officially retired from hockey and has joined the Vancouver Canucks as a pro scout.

• The Philadelphia Flyers signed forward Christian Dvorak to a five-year, $25.75 million contract extension. The deal reportedly includes a no-trade clause for the first two seasons, a limited no-trade clause for the next two seasons, and no protection for the last year. At this point, I might be the top free agent this summer!

• The New York Rangers are on the outside looking in when it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their chances of returning to the postseason may have suffered a big blow. All-Star goalie Igor Shesterkin left the game with what looked to be a serious lower-body injury after Utah Mammoth forward J.J. Perterka skated into him. Head coach Mike Sullivan did not have any update on the severity of the injury after the game.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Jan. 6: Dickie Moore, Keith Crowder, Paul Reinhart, Richard Zednik, Brett Kulak, Will Butcher, Alexander Romanov, Jack McBain, and Aliaksei Protas.