blackHAWKS NOTES
The Blackhawks are looking at Oct. 18 as a possible date for goalie Corey Crawford to make his season debut as he returns from a concussion suffered last season, coach Joel Quenneville said Tuesday.
The Hawks host the Blues on Oct. 13 then have four days off before playing the Coyotes at the United Center.
“Optimistically looking at the calendar and looking at dates, there’s a window of four days off after that Saturday game and if all goes well, that could be a perfect scenario,” Quenneville said. “You never know if there’s a bump or two in the road. But we’ll anticipate after this weekend, together, seeing how he handles that. Then we’ll get a better idea on picking a date.”
Crawford has not played in a game since Dec. 23 and had not participated in a full practice since February before Monday. On Tuesday, Crawford practiced with the team again and Quenneville said he looks like the player of old.
The first two — 19-year-old defenseman Henri Jokiharju and top line winger Dominik Kahun — come to mind faster than the last one. Jokiharju is a former first-round pick who the Hawks hope will become their next great defenseman. Kahun came to camp lesser known but that went away as soon as Quenneville promoted him to a line with Jonathan Toews and Alex DeBrincat.
The third? It's Luke Johnson, whose nondescript name fits well with his slow, uncertain rise in the organization. The Hawks took the gritty forward in the fifth round of the 2013 draft and signed him to an entry-level contract in 2016 after his college career at North Dakota ended.
Johnson will center the fourth line with Marcus Kruger and Andreas Martinsen.
“He did a lot of good things we’re looking for in that line,” Quenneville said. “He can be very responsible and very useful, taking a lot of (defensive) zone faceoffs and having some momentum in a game with some physicality as well with Marty on that line.”
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