Chicago Blackhawks Players with the Most to Prove During the 2014-15 Preseason

Winning games in the preseason is not a high priority for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Leading one of the elite teams in the NHL and possessing a roster loaded with superstars, head coach Joel Quenneville knows that his top players are going to perform when the bell rings and the season begins in Dallas Oct. 9.

However, four role players need to make statements in the preseason to either justify their roster spot or earn increased responsibility this season.

In this piece, we look at four Blackhawks who have something to prove during the remainder of the preseason.

Left Wing Bryan Bickell

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Joel Quenneville and Stan Bowman have been both thrilled and exasperated by Bryan Bickell during the last two seasons.

They have been thrilled by Bickell because of his play in the postseason. He has been an impact performer who has used his size, strength and aggressiveness to help the Blackhawks win games during the most important part of the year.

Bickell scored nine goals and eight assists while playing in 23 games in the 2013 playoffs, and two of those goals were game-winners. He also scored the game-tying goal in the sixth game of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins when he finished off a perfect feed from Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal seconds later.

Bickell was once again in excellent form last spring. He scored seven goals (and 10 points) in 19 postseason games, as the Blackhawks made it to overtime of the seventh game in the Western Conference Final before going down in defeat.

He has scored more playoff goals (16) than any Blackhawks player besides Patrick Kane (17). 

Bickell has outscored Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith. He has clearly had a huge impact in the postseason, which is the exact opposite of what he has done in the regular season.

He scored 11 goals and four assists during the regular season last year and had nine goals and eight assists in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 regular season.

Quenneville and Bowman want to see more consistency during the regular season to go with Bickell's playoff productivity. They pay him $4 million per year, so they want more from him.

Bickell worked to get in better shape during the offseason. He needs to demonstrate a better effort in the final week of preseason to show that he is ready to produce more consistently in the regular season.

Right Wing Kris Versteeg

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When the Blackhawks reacquired Kris Versteeg last season, they were hoping they were getting a valuable player who could score goals with regularity and make a sharp contribution no matter where Quenneville put him in the lineup.

However, Versteeg did very little in 2013-14, scoring 10 goals and 19 assists in 63 games with the Blackhawks. 

Versteeg was coming off knee surgery last year, and his skating was impacted. That's no longer the case.

He has been a faster skater throughout training camp, and it's something that Quenneville has noticed. "He looks like a different player," the coach told Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Kind of like when we coached him before."

Versteeg needs to continue to show off his increased speed throughout the remainder of the preseason and carry it into regular-season games.

Center Peter Regin

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Peter Regin was acquired in a trade with the New York Islanders just before the Olympic break last season. He was a reliable two-way platoon player during the 17 regular-season games he played for the Blackhawks.

Regin was more of a spare part in the postseason, when he dressed for just five games.

He has to have an impressive camp if he is going to make the final roster this season, and that means he has just over a week to make his case on the ice.

Regin probably could have gone to other teams in the offseason that would have given him a better chance to earn a roster spot, but he chose Chicago anyway.

“As much as I wanted to come back, if I felt I wouldn’t have a chance to play here, I probably wouldn’t have signed,” Regin told Lazerus. “The only thing I can control is how I play and how I prepare, and hope that it’s enough.”

Regin is most likely competing for a spot on the fourth line, and he must finish the preseason with a burst if he is going to earn it.

Left Wing Brandon Saad

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Brandon Saad is one of the most talented young players in the league.

The 21-year-old has already played two full seasons with the Blackhawks and is slated to begin the year on the No. 2 line with Kane skating on the right wing and Brad Richards manning the center position.

Saad is an excellent skater, has a slew of offensive moves and carries out his defensive responsibilities.

The only thing he needs to do to improve and become a legitimate star is play with more consistency, according to Quenneville.

‘‘Look for steps in the consistency department,’’ the coach told Brian Sandalow of the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘His upside is very high-end. You have a player like that playing that level of game, game in and game out, [it] adds whole new dynamic to your line and to your team game.’’

Saad scored 19 goals and 28 assists last year, and many see that as a jumping-off point for him this year. Obviously, he's going to need to show that consistency and improved scoring touch in the regular season. However, he has time left in the preseason to hone his game and show that he is ready to take that next step.