It's hard to tell who's more excited for Jonathan Toews' NHL debut Wednesday night?the 19-year-old center or Blackhawks coach Denis Savard.
Toews will play his first game in the NHL against the San Jose Sharks at the United Center, centering for wingers Tuomo Ruutu and Patrick Kane. The line was one Savard envisioned ever since Toews, the Hawks' 2006 top draft pick (third overall), and 2007 top overall selection Kane arrived in the Hawks' prospects camp in July.A broken finger Toews suffered in the second game of the exhibition season put things on hold, but all systems are go for the franchise's future to hit the ice together.
"It's a big game and a big day I've been looking forward to for a while," Toews, 19, said. "I'm going to make the most of it and just try to play great and play as myself."
Ruutu and Kane played together during Saturday night's 4-3 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings in the Hawks' home opener, with Ruutu scoring his first goal of the season and Kane picking up his first NHL assist on the play.
"I think it's a great line," Savard said. "They're going to have some nice chemistry together. You have 'Kaner' who has great vision [and] great skill. Toews and Ruttu both do everything. They can bang and crash, they can go to the net, they can make plays. I think it's going to be a good line for us for a long time."
Ruutu, the Hawks' top pick (ninth overall) in 2001, missed the regular-season opener last Thursday in Minnesota with a sore knee but rebounded with a strong effort against the Wings. He is looking forward to playing with the Hawks' prized youngsters.
"The only thing old on that line is my knee," Ruttu said jokingly. "They're both great players and skilled guys. We'll do give-and-goes all the time and they can really see the ice well. They're both great players."
Big shoes
Patrick Sharp, who scored 20 goals last season, has been inserted onto the top line in the spot Martin Havlat held before suffering a right shoulder injury against the Wild.
"I don't think by me playing in Marty's spot means that I'm replacing him," said Sharp, who will play wing on a line with Sergei Samsonov and center Robert Lang. "I don't think any one player on this team can replace Marty Havlat. It's going to take increased efforts by a lot of different people.
"I'm going to continue to do what I do: create energy and use my speed to get on loose pucks and, hopefully, put the puck in the net a few times."
Another debut
Veteran defenseman Andrei Zyuzin will make his Blackhawks debut against the Sharks. San Jose's top pick (second overall) in 1996 came to the Hawks in a trade that sent Adrian Aucoin to Calgary in late June.
"I'm really excited," said Zyuzin, who missed the Hawks' first two games with a strained groin. "You can see we're going up and we're not going down.
"It's a great feeling we have right now and we'll just have to keep it going and stay focused on the game."
Toews will play his first game in the NHL against the San Jose Sharks at the United Center, centering for wingers Tuomo Ruutu and Patrick Kane. The line was one Savard envisioned ever since Toews, the Hawks' 2006 top draft pick (third overall), and 2007 top overall selection Kane arrived in the Hawks' prospects camp in July.A broken finger Toews suffered in the second game of the exhibition season put things on hold, but all systems are go for the franchise's future to hit the ice together.
"It's a big game and a big day I've been looking forward to for a while," Toews, 19, said. "I'm going to make the most of it and just try to play great and play as myself."
Ruutu and Kane played together during Saturday night's 4-3 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings in the Hawks' home opener, with Ruutu scoring his first goal of the season and Kane picking up his first NHL assist on the play.
"I think it's a great line," Savard said. "They're going to have some nice chemistry together. You have 'Kaner' who has great vision [and] great skill. Toews and Ruttu both do everything. They can bang and crash, they can go to the net, they can make plays. I think it's going to be a good line for us for a long time."
Ruutu, the Hawks' top pick (ninth overall) in 2001, missed the regular-season opener last Thursday in Minnesota with a sore knee but rebounded with a strong effort against the Wings. He is looking forward to playing with the Hawks' prized youngsters.
"The only thing old on that line is my knee," Ruttu said jokingly. "They're both great players and skilled guys. We'll do give-and-goes all the time and they can really see the ice well. They're both great players."
Big shoes
Patrick Sharp, who scored 20 goals last season, has been inserted onto the top line in the spot Martin Havlat held before suffering a right shoulder injury against the Wild.
"I don't think by me playing in Marty's spot means that I'm replacing him," said Sharp, who will play wing on a line with Sergei Samsonov and center Robert Lang. "I don't think any one player on this team can replace Marty Havlat. It's going to take increased efforts by a lot of different people.
"I'm going to continue to do what I do: create energy and use my speed to get on loose pucks and, hopefully, put the puck in the net a few times."
Another debut
Veteran defenseman Andrei Zyuzin will make his Blackhawks debut against the Sharks. San Jose's top pick (second overall) in 1996 came to the Hawks in a trade that sent Adrian Aucoin to Calgary in late June.
"I'm really excited," said Zyuzin, who missed the Hawks' first two games with a strained groin. "You can see we're going up and we're not going down.
"It's a great feeling we have right now and we'll just have to keep it going and stay focused on the game."
