Blackhawks: Fighting Through It

Do not count out Patrick Kane just yet.

Kaner spent the beginning of camp under the glare of lights, unable to talk about the current situation that has dominated the summer headlines for the Blackhawks. At no point did he seem happy to be sitting there, next to Team President John McDonough, who was equally uncomfortable.

That said, if you walked through the Compton Family Arena on Sunday, you would see the jersey percentage was probably 40% Kane, 30% Toews, and 30% everybody else.

The fans were losing their minds waiting for the second scrimmage, and their chance to see Kane take the ice. And when he did so the kids and their parents cheered him on just as loudly as they would have during the Cup run last year. As I sat there in the stands I heard it from all directions as the last minutes ticked down before the Red B team took the ice:

"I can't wait to see him skate."

"Dad? When is Kane gonna skate?"

The crowd still loves Patrick Kane, and Patrick Kane still loves the crowd. He still skated close to the glass during warmups and fed off the kids pounding on the glass. He tipped at least one puck over the boards to a fan. In the middle of the scrimmage he did some fancy stick work with the puck, keeping it in the air and off the ice, that made our entire section laugh with delight. He was smiling as he did it. He was trying to have fun again.

Despite all of this it was obvious that the situation is impacting his game. We didn't see the fire we've seen from him in the camp the last two years at Notre Dame. Honestly...how could we have?

We saw a guy with a lot on his mind who still saw a stadium full of people that seemed to have his back. Coach Joel Quenneville said he's seeing some improvement as Kane tries to get comfortable with the puck again, and recapture his relationship with it. He didn't seem concerned about it.

As for his teammates, Kaner's Captain said it best on Thursday. The team is focused on taking care of business on the ice. Period.

Do not blame Marcus Krüger for his visa troubles.

Kruugs couldn't be at camp because the native Swede had no current visa to come to the U.S., but it was beyond his control. ESPN reported that he couldn't get the paperwork turned in until he had a contract. His one-year, $1.5 million contract happened on September 11th and that didn't allow enough time for the wheels of bureaucracy to be properly greased. He's expected to suit up this week.

Do not block a puck with your face.

That's for you, Kirill Gotovets. Hope you're feeling better. He took a hard shot to the face and had to leave camp to, I don't know, get rebuilt or something. The ice crew took a while scrape out the bloody chunk of ice. It was pretty gnarly from the stands. His souvenir from Notre Dame is a neat set of seven stitches between his nose and upper lip. It'll make for a hell of a story in the locker room at Rockford.

Do not struggle right out of the gate.

Goalie Brandon Hope leaked like a sieve almost instantly and went home, leading to a number of people tweeting "For the Blackhawks this year, there is no Hope." Clever.

And you have to feel for fan fave Scott Darling, who gave up a goal Sunday before the announcer was even done saying that he was in goal for Black C Team. I mean...it literally happened AS he was getting attention from the speaker. Ouch.

Do not taunt Andrew Shaw.

I can't relate to it but I can understand Garret Ross' situation. You're at Camp. You have an unimportant number in the 60s (61, actually) on your back and no one really expects you to do much because you're competing against a lot of Left Wing talent and you have a spot in Rockford that's still warm. So you're going to go out there and make some noise. But unceremoniously dumping Andrew Shaw, a renowned scrapper, hard onto the ice is not going to make him back away from you. He's Andrew Shaw. He's going to eventually hit 212 virtual degrees and start shedding gloves and elbow pads so he can get better traction with his right fist.

The fight, late in the second scrimmage, was quite a crowd pleaser. It wasn't the first one we've seen from Blackhawks Camp at the Compton: Duncan Keith tuned a guy up pretty good in 2013. This fight though...it was hard. It went on at least a minute and half, maybe two. Shaw went after Ross like the kid was wearing a St. Louis 64th note on his sweater, eventually dragging the kid down.

"I didn't mind the fight," Quenneville said later. "I minded how long it was."

Ross said they were okay after the melee. Teammates doing what teammates do.

Do not expect Marian Hossa to skate like a 36 year-old.

Because he won't. He will shoot past you like a 24 year-old who wants the puck and bends it to his will as if he doesn't have an ounce of fear in him. We call the man The Demi-God for a reason. He's my favorite player for a reason. He doesn't look like a guy who got soft after winning another Stanley Cup.

Do not freak out about Rozsival getting a new contract.

That one is mostly for me. I've had mixed feelings about the veteran Defenseman for a long time. He's a great leader but during the regular season he...you know what, I'm just not going to say it again. I said it enough during the season and it all still worked out in the end.

Do not forget the Car Bomb.

Speaking of guys who underwhelmed from time to time, Daniel Carcillo announced his retirement last week, shortly before the beginning of Camp. In a sport where it could be argued the goons are slowly being phased out, he was the kind of throwback that always fun to watch. Best wishes, Salad. Thanks for the memories.

Faces making statements.

Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin, whose first names are close enough to be amusing, didn't show us too much in camp. they were focused on getting comfortable in the system. We saw enough to be glad they're in Chicago now. Marko Dano skated especially well and scored, and Ryan Garbutt even had some impressive moves. Jake Dowell was interesting to watch, as was Daniel Paille and Mark McNeill, a first-round pick from 2011, had a goal and an assist that fed Dennis Robertson.

On the other side, D-Men Ville Pokka, Trevor Daley, and Cameron Schilling stood out to me. Trevor Van Riemsdyk looked solid as well, and Duncan Keith is skating on his blades like a surgeon at a table. He and newly-minted Assistant Captain Brent Seabrook were constantly in the ears of the other Defensive players, doing what they should be doing.

The whole team's statement was this: We have a lot going on right now, but we are getting ready to take a stab at repeating as the Stanley Cup Champions. Hold on for a bumpy ride.

And oh yeah. Do NOT wear a Detroit Red Wings sweater to Blackhawks Camp.

Nothing good can come from that. The booing noise when the guy showed off the logo on the big screen over the ice was the loudest the crowd was other than Kane's first appearance and the Shaw/Ross bout.

Bring on the Preseason and Go Hawks!

- T