Chicago Blackhawks: October Grades

If you take two games off the calendar—Calgary and Dallas—Huet would have an A+ for the first month.

Despite his miserable efforts in those two games, he's still seventh in the NHL in goals against (2.32) and has improved his record to 4-3-1 on the season.

Over Huet's last three starts entering play in Friday night, Huet had allowed two goals on 75 shots.

After the near-mutiny after the Calgary and Dallas games, he's rebounded very well and is playing effectively as the Hawks' number one goalie.

When Huet struggled for a stretch, Niemi stepped in and made matters worse by playing spectacular between the pipes.

In October, Niemi went 3-1-0 and ranks fourth in the NHL in goals against average at 2.07 per game. He also has a solid .909 save percentage. He also has one shut out on the season.

He's played without his wing man for three of the first 11 games and has been a surprising offensive force for the Hawks. Whether he's been next to Seabrook, Campbell or Hjalmarsson, he's been spectacular.

He's third on the team in points (eight) and is +5 on the young season.

I'll begin by sharing a brief anecdote that was brought up on a recent Hawks telecast. Pat Foley remarked that Blackhawks' senior advisor Scotty Bowman has mentioned Hjalmarsson, only 22, reminds him of a young Mr. Lidstrom in Detroit.

Anyone familiar with the career of Lidstrom knows that Scotty Bowman couldn't give much higher praise to young Hjalmarsson than that.

Not many casual fans outside of Chicago have heard of Hjalmarsson, and not many hard core fans can spell his last name, but he's been an absolute rock start on the blue line next to Brian Campbell this year.

The asterisk is because of the missed ice time for Seabrook in the early going.

Keith and Seabrook is of the best defensive pairings in the entire NHL, and the Hawks noticeably missed Seabrook in his absence. He's also +5 on the season and has already scored seven points on the young season.

He's smart, physical, and good on his skates. Should be an All Star.

The knocks on Campbell are that's overpaid, doesn't hit, and turns the puck over in bad situations too often.

He hasn't fixed all of those items, but he stepped up in Seabrook's absence and played very well. He's averaging almost 24 minutes a game and has six assists. He's also plus four on the year.

Cam Barker drives be absolutely crazy.

He's got a nice shot from the point, and has six points already entering Friday's action, but he does so many little things wrong it's painful.

For $3 million a year, he needs to turn the puck over in bad situations less, be more physical, and not get caught deep in the offensive zone as much as he does.

If Barker drives me nuts, Sopel makes me want to harm myself.

He's the slowest skater on the team, has one of the worst shots I've seen in a couple years, and gives up more odd-man rushes on Huet/Niemi than anyone on this team.

He'll lay down and give up his body to block a shot, but a mule can get between a puck and the net. Sopel's just not good enough to be on this roster.

The Captain's missed four games now with a concussion, but has still managed to be plus seven on the young season.

His grade would be an A based on his performance on the ice, but his absence being so obvious in the Hawks offense only enhances his value to the team. He's a leader and a fantastic hockey player that the Hawks need back on the ice soon.

Madden was brought in with a one year deal to solidify the third center position for the Hawks, and has done so much more than that.

He's had an obvious influence on young players like Versteeg, and has been in the right place at the right time nearly every moment he's been on the ice.

He's also been more of an offensive player than his 2008-09 numbers would have led fans to think he could still be; he's already scored four points (one goal, three assists) after only scoring 23 all season last year.

Bolland's a ridiculously skilled center who plays both ways well and should see his numbers skyrocket when Hossa returns, but he's been dealing with some back issues and hasn't been fully effective.

Considering that he's not at 100 percent, he's played great hockey.

Fraser is tied with Kopecky for last on the team at minus four, which is a symptom of the two playing together and neither playing very well.

He's fighting for a roster spot, and hasn't done much to keep it when Toews and Hossa are back. If Andrew Ebbett plays well, Fraser might not stay with the big club come December.

Kane's numbers aren't spectacular (four goals, team-high six assists), but he's played much better hockey that the stat sheet would indicate.

He obviously put on some muscle mass this summer and has matured both in his body and in his game, and is playing like a veteran who won't turn 21 until November 19.

He's been used on the PK more this season already, and would have a handful more helpers if his team-mates had finished a few nice passes.

Sharp got off to a red-hot start to begin the season, but has cooled off over the last few games. He's still tied with Patrick Kane for the team lead in scoring entering Friday night's action with five goals and five assists.

Sharp's role has evolved with the Hawks in October as well. He spent most of the last two years on a line with Kane and Jonathan Toews, but has played a lot with Kris Versteeg on the third line for the Hawks this year.

He's also spent some time playing the point on the Hawks' power play.

Steeger's off to a good start to his sophomore season, and has shown a great improvement on the defensive side of the ice.

He's benefitted from skating next to Patrick Sharp and John Madden a lot in the early going,

Brouwer, like Madden, isn't a statistical giant, but he's doing all of the little things so well that he deserves every bit of this grade.

He's stepped up with more consistent playing time this year and has rewarded Quenneville by being a quality contributor.

Ladd's plus four and has six points already on the young season, but he hasn't wowed my on the ice. He showed a lot of promise last year skating with a number of different lines, but this year has struggled to find his groove.

In my mind, Byfuglien's the polar opposite of Madden, Brouwer, and Hjalmarsson. He's all over the stat sheet for the Hawks (five goals, two assists, seven points through 11 games), but he does a lot of the little things wrong.

He's drawn twice as many penalty minutes (26) as the next highest player on the Hawks (Brouwer - 13), and has struggled with his temper over the past four games.

Byfuglien's got all the potential in the world, but he gets sloppy at times and it costs his team-mates.

Andrew Ebbett was picked up off waivers from Anaheim and is fighting for a roster spot with the Hawks as a swing center/wing on the fourth line. He's done an adequate job in the circle in Toews' absence.

Dowell's been up and down for the past couple weeks, and has done nothing but the punchless fight pictured here.

Skille got every chance to earn a spot on the roster and failed to do so.

The words "not" and "good" come to mind when I think about Kopecky's first month.

He signed a two-year deal that's been widely regarded as a favor to his best friend, Marian Hossa, and hasn't earned a penny of the contract. He's the worst on the team at minus four, has only two points and is averaging barely over nine minutes per game on the ice.

Kopecky was brought in to be a versatile forward who could play center or wing, but he hasn't done much well yet this season.

The problem appears to the naked eye to be that he's just not fast enough on his skates to keep up with the rest of the Hawks young stars.

He's been forced to deal with a few injuries already and done his best to kill the fire under Huet's tail.

Come late November, he's going to have some tough decisions to make with his lineup when Hossa and potentially Eager are back.

Any Blackhawks' coach that has the team in first place on November 1 gets an A.