The Rockford IceHogs of the 2017-18 season are in a much better place than they IceHogs of last season. A look at the current standings as of writing this wouldn’t show it, being in fifth place in the AHL Central, but with just four points separating second place and sixth place in the division (and .068 percentage points), Rockford is right in the mix and has a bright future for them and the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of it. With that said, the month of January as the calendar turns over to 2018 is going to be a very important one if the IceHogs are to create any kind of space between them and the rest of the division.
IceHogs Working to Get Through “Dog-Days” of January
The month started out with a hard grind with a three games in three days stretch for Rockford, in which the IceHogs were able to get three points with a 1-1-1 stretch over those three games. Including a loss to the Cleveland Monsters to begin the season, the IceHogs have started off 1-2-1 to begin the new year and have a 4-5-1 record over their last ten games as of January 9. Not ideal considering that the Manitoba Moose are 17-1-3 since November 15 and the Chicago Wolves are 12-0-2 over their last 14 games as of January 9. Needless to say, if the IceHogs want to climb the standings, they too will need to string wins together.
Easier said than done, of course. Coming off of their three games in three days stretch, Rockford will head out on a six game road trip that will take them to the Pacific time zone for three games against the Ontario Reign, San Jose Barracuda, and Bakersfield Condors before heading back to the Midwest for three games against the Cleveland Monsters (twice) and the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Still playing with two goalies that started the season with the Indy Fuel in Collin Delia and Matt Tomkins, and with a plethora of players heading into and out of Rockford this week, the IceHogs have a tall task in January to keep up in the Central Division.
Roster Shakeups Galore
The IceHogs have had one heck of a second week of January as far as transactions go. It was a long stretch to begin the season before the IceHogs and Blackhawks had any major movement.
Throughout the month of December, the IceHogs and Blackhawks moved the likes of Ville Pokka, Tanner Kero, Vince Hinostroza, David Kampf, and Jeff Glass with the latter three still playing in Chicago as of January 9. But in just the last few days there have been a number of players moving up and down within the organization as Tomas Jurco and Erik Gustafsson head from Rockford to Chicago and John Hayden and Cody Franson from Chicago down to Rockford. Additionally, the IceHogs sent Robin Press to the Indy Fuel and recalled Alex Wideman.
For Hinostroza, Kampf, Jurco, and Gustafsson the opportunity to make an impact for the organization at the NHL level is surely welcomed. Hinostroza led the IceHogs in scoring when he was recalled and has tallied eight points in 11 games with Chicago. For Kampf in his North American debut season, being one of the top-players that Head Coach Jeremy Colliton trusted in Rockford was a large stamp of approval and led to his recall in December. Since joining the Blackhawks, Kampf has two assists in six games and has played major minutes on the penalty-kill.
Tomas Jurco of the Rockford IceHogs (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
Jurco and Gustafsson are the most recent call-ups from the IceHogs and have opportunities to make, potentially, one last impression for the Blackhawks as the NHL trade deadline approaches. Jurco, a trade deadline acquisition last season for Chicago, left a lot of people wanting a lot more out of him in his short stint with the Blackhawks. Starting the season with the IceHogs, Jurco seems to have found more confidence in his game as he ranked second on the team in scoring with 25 points in 36 games played before being recalled.
Gustafsson is in a similar boat as he has not made an impact for the Blackhawks since playing in 41 games during the 2015-16 season. He spent all of last season with the club in Rockford and aside from an injury that sidelined him for just about a month’s time, Gustafsson has been the most reliable defenseman for the IceHogs this season. While it’s possible both of their time with the NHL club will be short, it goes without saying that with both players becoming restricted free-agents at season’s end, the time to “show me” may be now.
Finally, with all these moves, the two top names that are heading down to the AHL are veteran Cody Franson and kinda-rookie John Hayden. As of late, both players have left a little to be desired from the Blackhawks, but their paths out of Rockford may be very different.
For Hayden, playing in a fourth-line grinder role fits his style of play as a big-body power forward. But, to stick in the NHL as a fourth-line grinder is not what the Blackhawks should have in mind for the 22-year old out of Yale. Hayden developed his game at the NCAA level and netted 21 goals in 33 games as a Senior Captain for the Bulldogs. Watching Hayden in the Summer at Prospect Camp and seeing his game at Yale, the scoring touch is very much there for him. He has not had the opportunity to showcase that very much this season, so the plan for him needs to be playing quality minutes and be more skill-oriented in his role. The hope is that time with the IceHogs will give Hayden more confidence and make him more effective when the time comes to bring him back to the Blackhawks, much like the organization did with Nick Schmaltz last season.
Franson’s case has become a bit murky. He joined the team out of training camp on a fairly team-friendly one-year, $1M deal for an NHL vet of over 500 games and 200 points as a defenseman. Franson started the season off well and his contribution were a welcome surprise to fans and the organization. But as of late, his lack of foot-speed and production on the score-sheet have not been the best for the Blackhawks. After clearing waivers and being sent to the IceHogs, Franson becomes a player buried in the AHL that could still make a nice addition to an NHL organization out there. He has always been an analytics-favored defenseman, but for some reason, teams felt that passing on him through waivers was all fine and good. His last stint in the AHL was just six games with the Milwaukee Admirals in the 2009-10 season and with the NHL trade deadline approaching, Franson’s stint with the IceHogs could be short-lived as a deal could be made with the Blackhawks defensive core emerging beyond him.
New All-Stars?
With both Vince Hinostroza and Erik Gustafsson being recalled by the Blackhawks, the IceHogs have effectively lost both of their AHL All-Star’s just two and a half weeks away from the All-Star break. It’s possible that Gustafsson’s stay with the Blackhakws could be short enough to have him return to Rockford before the AHL All-Star weekend on January 28-29, but Hinostroza will most likely not be returning to the IceHogs that quickly, or at all for that matter. With his play providing a jolt to the Blackhawks lineup, Hinostroza could have potentially played his last games of the season with the IceHogs already.
Matthew Highmore of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
In their absence, the IceHogs have at least one player that has a very compelling argument to be a replacement in the AHL All-Star weekend. Rookie Matthew Highmore has been quite the addition to the IceHogs and the Blackhawks organization as a whole.
An undrafted free agent signing in the spring of last season, Highmore’s rookie season with Rockford has led the way for the IceHogs’ rookie class. With 26 points in 37 games played, Highmore leads the team in scoring and leads all AHL rookies in goal-scoring with 17 goals so far. His 26 points also rank him in the top-ten of rookie scoring overall. IceHogs Head Coach Jeremy Colliton has found yet another rookie on his roster that he can play in every situation as Highmore has played top-line center along with major minutes on both the penalty-kill and powerplay units.
If Hinostroza and/or Gustafsson don’t make their ways back to the AHL in time, Highmore should be an easy addition to the AHL Central Division All-Star roster.
What’s Next?
As mentioned before, the IceHogs are staring at a tough test as the next six games will all be away from the BMO Harris Bank Center. The good news for Rockford is that every team they play on this upcoming six game road trip are below them in the AHL Western Conference standings. Granted no game is easy in the AHL, but for the IceHogs, the games right in front of them all fall into the “winnable” category. It all begins on Wednesday, January 10 when the IceHogs roll into Ontario, California to take on the Ontario Reign.
After Rockford returns from the six game road trip, they will have back-to-back homes games before finishing the month of January on the road for a game against the Grand Rapids Griffins before taking some time off for the AHL All-Star Weekend.