The Rockford IceHogs have had quite the season so far in 2017-18, given the amount of turnover from last season and the amount of first-year pros that have played significant time this season. A new head coach and nearly a dozen AHL rookies regularly in the lineup, the IceHogs find themselves right in the middle of the AHL Calder Cup Playoff race after 46 games.
Fourth-place in the AHL Central Division and Sixth-Place in the AHL Western Conference, the IceHogs are in a much better spot than last season with youth and depth skill in their lineup and a bright future ahead. With that in mind, here are a couple of “mid-season” awards for the IceHogs at the AHL All-Star Break.
IceHogs Top Rookie: Matthew Highmore
There will be plenty of mentions for Matthew Highmore throughout this, but as an undrafted, free-agent signing by the Chicago Blackhawks last Spring, Highmore has been one of, if not the brightest highlights of the IceHogs’ season so far. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native played 289 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Saint Johns Sea Dogs, tallying 247 points along the way and helping the Sea Dogs to a QMJHL Championship in the 2016-17 season.
Matthew Highmore of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
After signing with the Blackhawks, Highmore made a splash at the Prospect Summer Camp and during Training Camp before heading to the IceHogs. Playing in all 46 games so far this season, Highmore has racked up 29 points with 18 goals and 11 assists and was named an AHL All-Star. Highmore’s 29 points rank him in the top-ten for AHL Rookies and his 18 goals are tied for the third-most among AHL rookies. In a stacked rookie class for the IceHogs, Highmore has been at the top of the list all season.
IceHogs Top Goaltender: Goalie By Committee
It’s been an interesting season for the IceHogs in net. Coming into the year, J.F. Berube and Jeff Glass were slated to be the starter and back-up goaltenders for Rockford, but due to injuries with Berube and Corey Crawford of the Blackhawks, Glass was forced into a back-up role with Chicago and Indy Fuel goalies Matt Tomkins and Collin Delia were called upon to be the starters in Rockford.
Collin Delia of the Rockford IceHogs (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
Over the entire season combined, Glass, Berube, Delia, and Tomkins have a combined Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.94 and a combined Save Percentage of .902 and have all combined to put the IceHogs in the position they are in right now. For the time being, Delia continues to take the starting role for the IceHogs with Tomkins playing his back-up. Berube looks to be close to returning from his lower-body injury and could inject the Rockford roster with some quality starts in net down the stretch of the season.
IceHogs Top Defenseman: Carl Dahlstrom
Last season was the first full North American season for IceHogs defenseman Carl Dahlstrom. A second-round pick by the Blackhawks in the 2013 NHL Draft, Dahlstrom played in 117 games with Linköping HC in the SHL in Sweden from 2013-16 before making his full-time AHL debut last season. Dahlstrom is one of the more defensive-minded defenders on the Rockford squad and is regularly called upon to shut-down top players on the opposition and is trusted in all situations by head coach Jeremy Colliton.
Last season, Dahlstrom played in 70 games and tallied 11 points with only 16 penalty minutes. Already this season, he has surpassed his offensive output with 23 points in 44 games played and leads the IceHogs in assists with 20 and plus/minus with a +15 rating. Dahlstrom was named an AHL All-Star this season and is one of the rising young defenders in the Blackhawks organization.
IceHogs Top Forward (not named Matthew Highmore): Anthony Louis
As mentioned before, the Rockford roster is full of players skating in their first full-seasons of professional hockey. A number of forwards are having great seasons, the most impressive being Matthew Highmore. But to only focus on Highmore would do a disservice to the rest of the standouts that Rockford has at their forward positions. One such player is another rookie and Illinois native, Anthony Louis.
Anthony Louis on Pink in the Rink night for the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
A Sixth-Round pick by the Blackhawks in the 2013 NHL Draft, Louis played in the United States Development Program before playing four seasons with the University of Miami (Ohio). In his four years with the Red Hawks, Louis skated in 145 games and tallied 126 points and was named the NCHC Conference Forward of the Year in 2016-17 before joining the IceHogs for 13 games at the end of last season. So far in 2017-18, Louis has played in 41 games and is second on the team in assists with 19 and points with 26.
IceHogs Most Valuable Player: Matthew Highmore
Again, Matthew Highmore shows his value to the IceHogs this season in all facets of the game. Highmore is regularly called upon to take important draws in the defensive zone, plays quality minutes at five-on-five, and plays in all special teams situations for the IceHogs. Highmore is a quality finisher and generates a major amount of chances for Rockford offensively. On the current active roster, Highmore leads the IceHogs in shot attempts with 115.
Matthew Highmore of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
The Blackhawks organization has a good amount of depth that is showing a lot of promise in Rockford this season. Players like Highmore, Dahlstrom, and Louis have stepped up in Rockford while guys like Vince Hinostroza, Erik Gustafsson, and David Kampf, who all started the season with Rockford, are making impressions with Chicago. For an organization that is teetering on the edge of buyer or seller as the trade deadline looms, as well as potentially preparing for a rebuild or re-tool of the NHL roster, the options in the AHL have a load of potential to be future pieces for the Blackhawks.