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Highmore, Dahlstrom Represent IceHogs At AHL All-Star Weekend

  
Rockford IceHogs
The Rockford IceHogs celebrate a victory on Pink in the Rink night. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)

Over the weekend, the AHL All-Star festivities took place in Utica, New York. Representing the Rockford IceHogs for the AHL Central Division were rookie forward Matthew Highmore and defenseman Carl Dahlstrom. Both players were nominated as replacements for Vince Hinostroza and Erik Gustafsson, who are currently with the Chicago Blackhawks, though Highmore and Dahlstrom had strong cases for All-Star nods on their own accord.

While the Central Division failed to continue their dominance at the AHL All-Star Challenge, both Highmore and Dahlstrom had impressive showings while the spotlight was on the AHL. Highmore competed in the ‘Fastest Skater’ contest and finished second, just .3 seconds behind Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman John Gilmour. Dahlstrom participated in the ‘Rapid Shot’ contest as well in the Skills Competitions before the All-Star Challenge on Monday night.

Even though the Central Division would go 0-3 in the All-Star Challenge, Dahlstrom and Highmore did put up three points combined between the two of them, in the ways that IceHogs fans have come to expect. Dahlstrom, the team leader in assists, had two helpers over the three game stretch. Highmore, the team leader in goals, netted a goal in the opening match-up between the Central and Atlantic Divisions.

Highmore, Dahlstrom Provide Optimism For Blackhawks Future

While the AHL All-Star game is sometimes over-looked due to misconceptions about the league itself, being “Junior Varsity” to the NHL, over simply due to scheduling the NHL All-Star Weekend to overlap in TV coverage, one thing is for sure: the Chicago Blackhawks, and their fan base, should not be overlooking Dahlstrom and Highmore.

For a franchise that is definitely in the middle of an organizational transition, having skilled young players buried on your roster can be a blessing and a curse. For the Blackhawks, having Highmore and Dahlstrom developing with the IceHogs while imminent roster moves, front office questions, and uncertainty of organizational direction looming large, it’s almost like having good poker cards in your back pocket. Sure, Highmore and Dahlstrom might not be ‘Aces’ but having a “10” or a “Jack” in your deck isn’t all that bad.

The Blackhawks have a lot up in the air at the moment. If they decide to go all-in on a playoff push, they have pieces to make those types of moves. If they decide that a re-tool or rebuild is the answer, then the idea would be to have the roster turnover change so that players like Dahlstrom and Highmore can get opportunities to show what they can do at the NHL level and if the Blackhawks feel they are part of the future of the organization.

IceHogs At The AHL All-Star Weekend

Thanks to the good people who run the IceHogs twitter account, and to Carl Dahlstrom himself, here is a look at the AHL All-Star weekend for Dahlstrom and Highmore:

What’s Next?

The IceHogs are off until Friday night when they host the AHL Central leading Manitoba Moose. Manitoba has seen their once monstrous lead in the Central Division down to 10 points over the IceHogs, who sit in fourth-place behind the Iowa Wild and Chicago Wolves. While the IceHogs lost their final game before heading into the AHL All-Star break, they are 5-2-3 over their last ten games and have points in nine of their last eleven games.

Following Friday night’s contest, the IceHogs will travel East to take on the Chicago Wolves in an Illinois Lottery Cup Rivalry game. Chicago has been one of the hottest teams in the AHL as of late with points in 19 of their last 22 games dating back to December 9. Both games are slated for 7pm CT puck drops.

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