From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 9

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 9 takes a look at defenseman Michal Rozsival. 

Michal Rozsival was born on September 3rd, 1978, in Vlasim, Czechoslovakia. Rozsival began his hockey career at age sixteen in the Czech Junior league with HC Dukla Jihlava, scoring eight goals and adding thirteen assists in thirty-one games during the 1994-1995 season. He was promoted to the parent team for 1995-1996, but had only three goals and four assists in thirty-six games, and then appeared for the Czech Republic in the European Junior Championship in the U18 division. Rozsival's play still attracted the attention of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who selected him in the fourth round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He came to North America in 1996-1997, and joined up with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League. Here he blossomed to a line of eight goals and thirty-one assists in sixty-three games. Rozsival remained with the Broncos for the 1997-1998 season as well, appearing in seventy-one games while scoring fourteen goals and supplying fifty-five assists. In 1998-1999, Rozsival joined the Penguins' then-American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, making forty-nine appearances and potting three goals with twenty-five assists. Rozsival finally made it to the NHL in the 1999-2000 season, playing in seventy-five games for the Penguins, posting a line of four goals and seventeen assists, and then going pointless in two playoff games. The Penguins were not as interested in his services in 2000-2001, having him appear in thirty games at the NHL level with scoring totaling one goal and five assists before being sent to their new AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to play in twenty-nine games, with a line of eight goals and eight assists. Rozsival rejoined Pittsburgh in 2001-2002, playing in seventy-nine games, while knocking in nine goals and serving out twenty assists. Rozsival struggled to stay in the lineup in 2002-2003, playing in only fifty-three games that season, and scoring just four goals and six assists. He was looking to rebound in 2003-2004, but had a severe knee injury in training camp and missed the entire season for the NHL and only playing in one AHL game. Making matters worse was the NHL lockout that cancelled the 2004-2005 season, leaving Rozsival with no choice but to play at home in the Czech Republic. He began the campaign with Ocelari Trinic of the Czech Extraliga, playing in thirty-five games with only one goal and ten assists before signing as a free agent with Pardubice, where he played in sixteen more games in the regular season to the tune of one goal and three assists, followed by sixteen playoff games in which he recorded one goal and two assists. Finally, once the lockout was over, Rozsival returned to the NHL on a two-year contract with the New York Rangers. Any questions of his durability were erased when he played in all eighty-two games during the 2005-2006 season, scoring five goals and dishing out twenty-five assists. He then played in four games in the playoffs, with one assist. In his walk year of 2006-2007, Rozsival gave the Rangers reason to keep him, scoring ten goals and thirty assists in eighty games, followed by three goals and four assists in the playoffs. New York re-signed Rozsival to a four-year contract worth $24 million after the season, and then posted thirteen goals and twenty-five assists in 2007-2008, as well as one goal and five assists in the postseason. Rozsival was selected to play for the Czech Republic in the World Championships in 2008, and appeared in four games but scored no points. Rozsival's numbers slipped in 2008-2009 when he scored eight goals and twenty-two assists in seventy-six regular season games before being kept off the scoresheet completely in seven playoff games. Rozsival continued his decline in 2009-2010, posting only three goals and twenty assists while playing in every game. Rozsival again played for the Czech Republic in the 2010 World Championships, supplying two assists in nine games as the Czechs won the gold medal. Entering the final year of his contract with the Rangers in 2010-2011, Rozsival scored three goals and twelve assists in thirty-two games before being traded for the first time in his career to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Wojtek Wolski. Rozsival closed out the season with just three goals and three assists for Phoenix, and went pointless in only four playoff games. The Coyotes resigned Rozsival to a one-year contract, and he appeared in only fifty-four games in 2011-2012, scoring one goal and passing twelve assists, and then going pointless in fifteen postseason games. Rozsival did not play during the lockout in 2012, but was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks for 2013, playing in twenty-seven games during the shortened season and registering twelve assists. He was deemed a vital part of the strong Blackhawks defense, and lived up to the role in the playoffs, playing in twenty-three games and scoring four assists, including one on the goal that ended the triple-overtime in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Five games later, Rozsival's long quest to hoist the Stanley Cup came to a successful end as the Blackhawks won the series over the Boston Bruins. Rozsival was rewarded with another one-year contract from the Blackhawks on July 5th, 2013.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 8

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 8 looks at blue-collar center Michal Handzus.

Michal "Zeus"Handzus was born on March 11th, 1977 in Banska Bystrica, Czechoslovakia. Handzus began his playing career in 1993-1994 at the age of sixteen by playing with SK Iskra Banska Bystrica Jr. in the Slovak Junior League, posting twenty-three goals and thirty-six assists in forty games. He stepped up to the Slovak second-tier league in 1994-1995, appearing in twenty-two games with fifteen goals and fourteen assists. He also made his first representation of Slovakia in the European Junior Championship, scoring five goals and three assists in five games. His success in Slovakia earned him NHL consideration, and he was drafted 101st overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. Handzus stayed in the Iskra organization in 1995-1996, playing with their Slovak Extraliga team, but he only had three goals and an assists in nineteen games. He was also invited to play in the World Junior Championship in 1996, chipping in three assists in six games. In 1996-1997, Handzus joined SKP PS Poprad, playing in forty-four games and recording fifteen goals and eighteen assists, followed by another appearance at the World Juniors, scoring two goals and supplying four assists in six games. Handzus came to North America in the 1997-1998 season, playing for the Worcester IceCats of the American Hockey League, scoring twenty-seven goals and notching another thirty-six assists in sixty-nine games. His production was deemed worthy of an NHL promotion in 1998-1999, and he appeared in sixty-six games with the Blues, scoring four goals and passing twelve assists. Handzus played a larger role in 1999-2000, playing in eighty-one of the eighty-two games in an NHL season, and scoring at a twenty-five goal and twenty-eight assist pace. This earned him a chance to represent his native Slovakia at the World Championships, where he had one goal and four assists in six games while his country earned the silver medal. His postseason numbers in the NHL only showed five assists in eighteen games, which is reasonable given the preference by coaches for veterans in the playoffs. Also, Handzus' had a strong defensive game which was rewarded by a nomination for the Frank J. Selke trophy, which honors the league's best defensive forward. The 2000-2001 season was not as spectacular for Handzus, who struggled to a line of ten goals and fourteen assists in thirty-six games with the Blues before being traded with Ladislav Nagy, Jeff Taffe, and their first round selection to the Phoenix Coyotes for the star Keith Tkachuk. With the Coyotes, Handzus had four goals and four assists in ten games. The following season proved to be busy for Handzus, who remained with the Coyotes and played in seventy-nine games, scoring fifteen goals and dishing thirty assists during the regular season before going pointless in the postseason over five games. He also represented Slovakia internationally twice during the season, playing two games at the Salt Lake City Olympics and scoring one goal, followed by one goal and four assists during six games at the World Championships, where Slovakia won the gold medal. Despite all of that, the Coyotes parted ways with Handzus at the draft in 2002, trading him and Robert Esche to the Philadelphia Flyers for Brian Boucher and the third round pick they had previously acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators, which was used to select Joe Callahan. Handzus played the full eighty-two games for the first time in his career in 2002-2003 with the Flyers, posting a line of twenty-three goals and twenty-one assists, and then two more goals and six assists in thirteen postseason games, preventing him from going to the World Championships. The 2003-2004 season was fairly similar for Handzus, playing in every game and owning a twenty goal and thirty-eight assist statistics line, while supplying another five goals and five assists in eighteen playoff games. Handzus had to put his Flyers career on hold during the 2004-2005 season due to the season-cancelling NHL lockout, so he returned home to Slovakia and played with HKm Zvolen in the Slovak Extraliga, scoring fourteen goals and twenty-four assists in thirty-three games. He also represented Slovakia at the World Championships for the first time in three years, scoring three goals in seven games. After the labor disagreement was settled, Handzus returned to play in seventy-three games with the Flyers in 2005-2006, while scoring only eleven goals with thirty-three assists, and then just two assists in six postseason games. The Flyers traded Handzus to the Chicago Blackhawks in the offseason for Kyle Calder. This proved to be an unfortunate choice, as Handzus tore his ACL in his eighth game of the 2006-2007 season with Chicago, after scoring three goals and five assists in what looked like a promising season. Nonetheless, Handzus received a four-year contract from the Los Angeles Kings on July 2nd, 2007, worth $16 million. Many would think this might be an overpayment for a player with durability questions in a salary cap era, but Handzus proved the doubters wrong in 2007-2008, playing in all eighty-two games and scoring seven goals and fourteen assists. Notably from the season was that no health questions persisted, but now production was the subject with Handzus. So again, he quelled the doubts by doubling his point total in 2008-2009, scoring eighteen goals and twenty-four assists while playing in every game. He also made another representation for Slovakia at the World Championships, scoring only four assists in six games. The story was similar in 2009-2010, when Handzus missed only one game while scoring twenty goals and twenty-two assists, while seeing the Kings make the playoffs for the first time while he had played for them. In the postseason, he had three goals and two assists over six games. Handzus also represented Slovakia at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, potting three goals and three assists in seven games. This likely kept his mind from having to watch his previous two teams play for the 2010 Stanley Cup, which the Blackhawks won. In 2010-2011, Handzus played in every game again at the age of thirty-three, but his production slipped to twelve goals and eighteen assists in the contract year, and he only had one goal and one assist in six more playoff games. The Kings had seen enough, and let the defensive forward walk at the end of the year, and walk he did to the San Jose Sharks, signing a two-year and $5 million contract after playing at the 2011 World Championships to the tune of two assists in five games. In the 2011-2012 season, Handzus played in only sixty-seven games, while scoring seven goals and passing seventeen more assists, followed by a lackluster postseason of only two games, with no points. Even worse, he watched another former team, the Kings, hoist the Stanley Cup without him. Handzus again had to take his talents overseas when the NHL locked out their players in 2012, and he played in fifteen games with his hometown team in Slovakia, HC '05 Banska Bystrica in the Slovak Extraliga, scoring nine goals and ten assists in fifteen games. He returned to the Sharks once the lockout ended, scoring one goal and one assist in twenty-eight games primarily as a fourth-line shutdown forward. He was then traded back to the Blackhawks for only a fourth round draft pick. Despite the slight of being traded for only a pick, Handzus was able to continue contributing defensively in eleven regular season games with the Blackhawks, and he also scored one goal and five assists. Handzus was a person of focus in the Blackhawks locker room during the playoffs, as the now-thirty-six year old forward had still not won the Stanley Cup. After twenty-three games of playoff hockey, that statement was gone, with Handzus contributing three goals and eight assists as well as spectacular defense to help him finally obtain the Stanley Cup. He was one of the first two people to be handed the Cup after captain Jonathan Toews lifted it, a gesture of respect to the most senior veterans of the team.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 7

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 7 talks about backup goaltender Ray Emery.

Ray Emery was born on September 28th, 1982 in Hamilton, Ontario. He began his playing career in the Ontario Junior C league with the Dunnville Terriers, appearing in twenty-two games to an appalling 3-19 win-loss record and a 6.36 goals-against average in the 1998-1999 season. In 1999-2000, Emery improved in the Ontario Junior B league with the Welland Cougars, playing in twenty-three games with a 13-10 record and a 2.81 GAA, along with one shutout. For the 1999-2000 to the 2001-2002 seasons, Emery played in the Ontario Hockey League, compiling a 60-49-11 record in 127 games played, with a 3.10 GAA and six shutouts for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Between his second and third seasons with the Greyhounds, Emery was drafted 99th overall in the 2001 Entry Draft as a prospect for the Ottawa Senators. Then, at the end of the 2002-2003 season, Emery made three appearances with the Senators in Ottawa, winning in his only start while the other appearances came in relief, and he had a solid 1.42 GAA. Before that, Emery had played with the American Hockey League Binghamton Senators, posting 27-17-6 record in fifty games, while playing to a 2.42 GAA and shutting out the opponent seven times. Emery still played in Binghamton in the 2003-2004 season, appearing fifty-three times with 21-23-7 record while allowing goals at a 2.47 GAA rate but only three shutouts. In three more games in Ottawa, Emery had two wins and a 2.38 GAA. Emery likely would have played in the NHL for 2004-2005, but due to the season-cancelling lockout, stayed in Binghamton and had a 2.65 GAA an 28-18-5 record in fifty-one games. Emery got the NHL to stay in 2005-2006, starting thirty-eight games while making one relief appearance, with three shutouts, a 2.82 GAA, and a 23-11 record, as well as ten games in the playoffs that saw him have a 5-5 record and 2.88 GAA. Emery improved his NHL numbers in a larger role in 2006-2007, playing to a 33-16 record and 2.47 GAA with five shutouts in fifty-eight games, followed by twenty playoff games with a 13-7 record and a 2.26 GAA as the Senators fell short against the Anaheim Ducks for the Stanley Cup. Emery had his struggles off the ice though, including traffic violation and legal issues, which came to a head in 2007-2008, as the Senators soured on his behavior. He played in thirty-one games while making a 12-13 record and a 3.13 GAA before returning to Binghamton. There he had a solid 3.00 GAA and 1-1 record in two games while dealing with injuries. Emery's contract was up in the 2008 offseason, but with personality questions and a drop in production, no one offered him an NHL contract. On July 9th, Atlant Mytishchi of the Kontinental Hockey League of Russia and Eastern Europe signed Emery. In the 2008-2009 season, Emery posted a 22-8 record and a 1.86 GAA with Atlant, followed by seven playoff games with a matching GAA and a 3-3 record. This earned him some NHL interest again, when he was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers on June 10th, 2009. For 2009-2010, Emery played in twenty-nine games, all starts, and he had a 16-11 record and a 2.64 GAA, with three shutouts during the season. However, Emery's season was cut short by a disease called Avascular Necrosis, which required surgery to cure, as well as hip issues. The Flyers chose not to gamble on Emery again, but the Ducks that had previously beaten Emery in the Stanley Cup came calling with a one-year contract signed on February 7th, 2011 after his rehabilitation was complete. They assigned him to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL, where he played in three games with a 2.62 GAA and a 2-1 record, followed by two later wins that brought his GAA under two. With the Ducks, he played in ten games with a 2.28 GAA and a 7-2 record as a backup to Jonas Hiller. Due to the remarkable recovery from Avascular Necrosis, Emery was nominated by the NHL for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which honors the player who shows the most dedication and perseverance to hockey, but he didn't win it. Emery signed with the Chicago Blackhawks on October 3rd, 2011 to back up Corey Crawford. Emery actually ended up starting twenty-seven of his thirty-four appearances in 2011-2012 after Crawford struggled, playing to a 2.81 GAA and a 15-9 record. He did not play in the playoffs during that postseason. Emery returned to the Blackhawks for the lockout-shortened 2013 season, playing in 21 games with a fabulous 1.94 GAA and a 17-1 record on the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season. This means that Emery and Crawford shared the William M. Jennings trophy. Crawford took the reins during the playoffs though, meaning Emery watched from the bench as the Blackhawks won the 2013 Stanley Cup. However, Emery was not brought back by the Blackhawks for 2013-2014, and will play in a platoon with Steve Mason in the Philadelphia Flyers crease.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 6

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 6 talks about journeyman defenseman Sheldon Brookbank.

Sheldon Brookbank was born on October 3rd, 1980, in Lanigan, Saskatchewan. He began his hockey career at age eighteen with the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, although his first two seasons from 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 do not have readily accessible statistics on Hockey-Reference.com. He played a third season with Humboldt, posting a line of fourteen goals and thirty-five assists in fifty-nine games, as well as 281 penalty minutes. Brookbank left the junior ranks in 2000-2001to play in the ECHL with the Mississippi Sea Wolves, where he had eight goals and twenty-one assists to go with 137 penalty minutes in sixty-two games, and then playing in another ten postseason games with the Sea Wolves, putting up one goal, four assists, and twenty-seven penalty minutes. He then joined the American Hockey League to play with the Grand Rapids Griffins for six more games. In this time, he had one assist and twenty-four penalty minutes. In 2002-2003, Brookbank remained with the Griffins, playing in sixty-nine games with two goals and eleven assists to his credit, while sitting for 136 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, he supplied one goal and three assists with twenty-eight penalty minutes. On July 21st, 2003, Brookbank was signed by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and assigned to play with their AHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks for the 2003-2004 season. Here he had two goals and nine assists in a then-career-high seventy-four games played, while serving 216 penalty minutes. In nine playoffs games with Cincinnati, Brookbank had only two assists and twenty penalty minutes. He remained in the AHL during the 2004-2005 season, where he played in another sixty games, scoring a goal and adding eleven assists and 181 penalty minutes in the regular season. The playoffs saw him bring only forty penalty minutes with no points in eleven games. On August 4th, 2005, Brookbank was signed as a free agent by the Nashville Predators, who then assigned him to the Milwaukee Admirals for the 2005-2006 season. Brookbank was much more successful with the Admirals, scoring nine goals and dishing twenty-six assists in his first season of seventy-three games, while still adding grit with 232 penalty minutes, the most since his junior career. The Admirals made the playoffs, and in twenty-one postseason games, Brookbank registered one goal and eight assists as well as forty-nine penalty minutes. Brookbank began 2006-2007 with Milwaukee as well, and played in seventy-eight games to set a new career high in appearances, as well as goals and assists with fifteen and thirty-eight, respectively. However, during the playoffs, he went without a point and only six penalty minutes in four games. Nonetheless, Brookbank made it to the NHL for three games with the Nashvile Predators, supplying one assist and twelve penalty minutes during that short time. In the offseason, Brookbank signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets but never played for them after being waived, where he was then claimed by the New Jersey Devils. He played only one game with the AHL Lowell Devils during the 2007-2008 season, and spent another forty-four with the New Jersey Devils, playing to a line of eight assists and sixty-three penalty minutes. Brookbank began 2008-2009 with the Devils, going without a point in fifteen games while accumulating twenty-five penalty minutes before being shipped out to the Anaheim Ducks organization (his second stint with that franchise) on February 3rd, 2009 in exchange for David McIntyre. He scored one goal and added three assists and fifty-one penalty minutes. The Ducks provided stability for Brookbank, as he remained with them for the next three seasons. In 2009-2010, he had nine assists with 114 penalty minutes in sixty-six games, followed by forty games without a point but with sixty-three penalty minutes in 2010-2011, and finally a career-high eighty games in 2011-2012, which saw him score three goals and chip in eleven assists while serving a modest seventy-penalty minutes. He was signed on a two-year contract by the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2013 season, and he ended up playing in twenty-six games, with only a single goal and twenty-one penalty minutes to his name. He also made one postseason appearance, which like the other seventeen before that, saw him score no points despite playing on the championship winning team.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 5

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 5 looks at enforcer forward Brandon Bollig. 

Brandon Bollig was born on January 31st, 1987, in St. Charles, Missouri. He began his playing career in the United States Hockey League at the age of nineteen, playing with the Lincoln Stars in the 2005-2006 season. During the season, he recorded eight goals, eight assists, and 175 penalty minutes. Bollig remained in Lincoln for the next two seasons, and over those years he had twenty-nine goals, twenty-eight assists, and 418 penalty minutes in 115 games. Over all three seasons with the Stars, Bollig appeared in twenty-six postseason games, while potting four goals, dishing eight assists, and serving sixty-four penalty minutes. Bollig attended college after his three years with the Lincoln Stars, and played college hockey with St. Lawrence University. Between 2008 and 2010 at St. Lawrence, Bollig played in seventy-eight games, posting thirteen goals and twenty-five assists, as well as a toned-down penalty minute total of 134. On April 3rd, 2010, Bollig was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks, who then assigned him to the American Hockey League to play with the Rockford IceHogs. In three games to close out the season in Rockford, Bollig had a goal, an assist, and seven penalty minutes. Bollig played a full season with the IceHogs in 2010-2011, appearing in fifty-five games and scoring just four goals, while supplying 115 penalty minutes. Bollig also played most of the 2011-2012 season in Rockford, where he had three goals and six assists in fifty-three games, while being punished to the tune of 163 penalty minutes before being called up to the NHL to play with the Blackhawks after their trade of previous enforcer John Scott to the New York Rangers at the end of February. He did not record a point in eighteen regular season games, having only fifty-eight penalty minutes to his credit, but he appeared in four more postseason games, where he scored his first goal at the NHL level against the Phoenix Coyotes. Bollig was returned to the AHL for the beginning of the 2012-2013 campaign, as the NHL locked out the players, and in thirty-five games with Rockford, he had five goals, four assists, and 157 penalty minutes. Bollig then played twenty-five more games at the NHL level during the shortened season, going pointless but still posting a nasty fifty-one penalty minutes. He also made five postseason appearances, again without a point and this time only a minor, two-minute penalty during those games. Due to his playing in over half of the regular season games, Bollig will be able to have his name on the Stanley Cup after the Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins to cap off the shortened season.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 4

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 4 takes a look at young forward Ben Smith. 

Ben Smith was born on July 11th, 1988, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and was raised in Avon, Connecticut. Smith began his hockey career at Boston College, where he played for four years. In his freshman season of 2006-2007, Smith played in forty-two games, scoring eight goals and adding eight assists. During the next season, Smith blossomed into a higher-scoring player, recording twenty-five goals and twenty-five assists during his sophomore year. This led him to be drafted in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He failed to match that success in his junior year, playing a career-low thirty-seven games with only six goals and eleven assists to his credit. Finally, in his senior season of 2009-2010, Smith rebounded to play in forty-two games while netting sixteen goals and supplying twenty-one assists. He then joined the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League for their playoffs in the same season, scoring one goal in three games. Smith spent a majority of the 2010-2011 season in Rockford, playing in sixty-three games and scoring nineteen goals and twelve assists. He also made six appearances in the NHL, where he had one goal. Smith had three goals during the seven games in the postseason for that season. He continued with the Blackhawks in 2011-2012, but struggled with only two goals in thirteen games, and still had yet to record an assist at the NHL level, so he was sent back to Rockford. There, he played in thirty-eight games, scoring fifteen goals and passing sixteen more assists. Smith stayed with the IceHogs in 2012-2013, playing in fifty-four games to the tune of twenty-seven goals and twenty assists. This earned him a return to the NHL after the lockout, but he was often a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks, scoring just one goal in one game. The Blackhawks did return to the playoffs, but Smith was still frequently watching the game from the press box. The one exception to this came in Game 3 against the Boston Bruins in Boston, when Marian Hossa was declared too injured to play and Smith was subbed into the lineup, skating on the second line. This appearance in the 2-0 loss at the time may not have meant much, but when the Blackhawks won the next three games straight, Smith had the honor of having his name automatically engraved onto the Stanley Cup as 2013 champion.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 3

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 3 takes a look at pesky forward Dan Carcillo. 

Dan "Carbomb" Carcillo was born on January 28th, 1985, in King City, Ontario, Canada. At the age of seventeen, Carcillo began playing junior hockey with the Milton Merchants of the Ontario Junior B league, posting fifteen goals and sixteen assists in forty-seven games during the 2001-2002 season. He also had 162 penalty minutes. Carcillo jumped into the spotlight more in his second season, playing in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sarnia Sting, where he potted twenty-nine goals and supplied thirty-seven assists in sixty-eight games, as well as 157 penalty minutes, during 2002-2003. His season culminated in a nomination to the Canadian World Junior squad in 2003, where he scored two goals and two assists in seven games, as well as adding a gritty thirty-three penalty minutes. Later that year, he was drafted in the third round, 73rd overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The next season, Carcillo remained with the Sting, putting up thirty goals and twenty-nine assists in sixty-one games, in addition to 148 penalty minutes. During the 2004-2005 season, Carcillo played with the Sting in twelve games, with only two goals and seven assists to go with forty penalty minutes, before being traded to Mississauga IceDogs, where he recorded eight goals and ten assists while sitting seventy-five minutes in the penalty box. Carcillo officially joined the Penguins organization at the American Hockey League level with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, producing eleven goals, thirteen assists, and a massive 311 penalty minutes over fifty-one games. Carcillo also spent time in the ECHL, where in six games, he had three goals, two assists, and thirty-two penalty minutes. Carcillo spent the bulk of the the 2006-2007 season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, playing in fifty-two games with a surprising twenty-one goals, nine assists, and a usual hefty load of penalty minutes coming in at 183 for the season. On February 27th, 2007, Carcillo was traded with the Penguins' third round choice in the 2008 draft to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Georges Laraque. The Coyotes traded that pick in a separate deal to the New York Rangers, who selected Tomas Kundratek, most recently of the Washington Capitals. Carcillo closed out 2007 with the Coyotes in the NHL, playing in eighteen games while scoring four goals, three assists, and sitting in the sin bin for seventy-four minutes. Carcillo returned to the AHL in 2007-2008, playing in five games with the Coyotes' affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, with two goals and an assist to match with sixteen penalty minutes before returning to the NHL. There, he had thirteen goals and eleven assists in fifty-seven games, as well as a 324 penalty minutes. This established his reputation as primarily a pest with surprising offensive upside. Also during the season, Carcillo recorded his first hat trick, on April 4th, 2008. During 2008-2009, Carcillo made fifty-four appearances with the Coyotes, putting up only three goals and ten assists to go with 174 penalty minutes, before being traded on March 4th, 2009. The trade saw Carcillo headed to the Philadelphia Flyers (considered a good fit for his style of play) in exchange for Scottie Upshall and the Flyers' second round pick in 2011, used by the Coyotes on Lucas Lessio. In the final twenty games of the season, Carcillo had only four assists and eighty penalty minutes. The Flyers did make the Stanley Cup playoffs though, allowing Carcillo his first chance in the postseason, where he had a goal and an assist in five games during the first round exit by the Flyers. Carcillo had a much better season in 2009-2010, staying with the Flyers all year and playing in seventy-six games. He recorded twelve goals and ten assists, while serving 207 penalty minutes, and dishing out 194 hits in the first year of tracking for that statistic. Five of the penalty minutes Carcillo had occurred during the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, where he fought Shawn Thornton of the host Boston Bruins. The Flyers again returned to the playoffs that season, and Carcillo played in seventeen postseason games, with two goals, four assists, and thirty-four penalty minutes, although the Flyers fell short to the Chicago Blackhawks after the infamous Game 6 goal by Patrick Kane. Carcillo fell out of favor with the Flyers in 2010-2011, posting only four goals and two assists in fifty seven games, while also watching his penalty minutes and hits tumble to 127 and 80, respectively. During the offseason in 2011, Carcillo signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks at the opening of free agency. For the 2011-2012 season, Carcillo played in only twenty-eight games, with two goals, nine assists, eighty-two penalty minutes, and seventy-six hits to his credit. Interestingly enough, it was one of those hits that spelled the end of his season, as during a game against the Edmonton Oilers, Carcillo dished out a malicious hit on defenseman Tom Gilbert. Both players were injured, and Carcillo incurred a seven-game suspension from the Department of Player Safety. This was the least of his problems though, as his season was over when his injury was revealed as a torn ACL in his left leg. While sitting out, the Blackhawks resigned Carcillo for two years. With the help of the lockout, Carcillo was able to play for the Blackhawks in 23 games for the shortened 2013 season, posting two goals and an assist as well as a shockingly low eleven penalty minutes and thirty-seven hits. Most likely, Carcillo has changed his style of play to avoid becoming a repeat offender with the Department of Player Safety. During the playoffs, Carcillo was frequently a healthy scratch, playing in only four games, with just one assist. Nonetheless, he is considered a part of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks and can say that he has been on both ends of a Stanley Cup clinching game.