Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Blackhawks keep two newcomers on final roster, prepare for opener in Dallas

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With a 4 p.m. NHL roster deadline looming Tuesday, the Blackhawks pared down to a 23-man lineup compliant with the salary cap. The team will enter the regular season, which starts Thursday, with 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies. 

The Hawks practiced at Johnny's Ice House West on Tuesday morning in preparation for their season opener, a road game against the Dallas Stars at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, which will air on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

New defensemen Kyle Cumiskey and Trevor van Riemsdyk made big impressions on the organization during training camp, and with Michal Rozsival (upper body) likely being sidelined for a game or two, at least one of the pair may be in the lineup to start the season. 

Cumiskey was acquired by the Hawks following the 2013-2014 season and spent the last two seasons in Europe. The 27-year old hopes he did enough during camp to start the season on the ice. 

"Hopefully they think I played solid every (preseason) game, bring some speed, jump up to the play a bit and (can) still be sound defensively," said Cumiskey, who played for the Colorado Avalanche when the team was coached by Joel Quenneville, but hasn't seen action in an NHL game since 2011. "I've had a rough couple years here, I've been looking forward to getting a chance to (come) back in the NHL."

Van Riemsdyk was signed after playing three seasons at the University of New Hampshire. He has dazzled the Hawks brass more than Cumiskey it seems, as Van Riemsdyk was paired with Niklas Hjalmarsson in practice Tuesday. Cumiskey didn't crack the Hawks' top three defensive pairings at practice.