From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks.

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 16 talks about shutdown defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson. 

Niklas "Hammer" Hjalmarsson was born on June 6th, 1987 in Eksjo, Sweden. He began his playing career in the 2003-2004 season in the Swedish Junior league with HV 71 Jonkoping's junior team, playing in fifteen games with one goal and three assists. He was also pointless in four postseason games. He joined their U18 team for part of the 2004-2005 season, playing in three games with just two assists before rejoining the junior team for another thirty-one games, where he recorded four goals and eleven assists. He was drafted in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft as a fourth round selection of the Chicago Blackhawks. Then he received a promotion to the Elitserien squad, but he went without a point in fourteen games. Hjalmarsson was riddled with injury in 2005-2006, playing in just seven games with the junior team, scoring three goals and adding two assists, followed by four games with a single goal and two assists at the Elitserien level. He also had one assist in twelve postseason games for the parent squad. Hjalmarsson was all over the place in 2006-2007, playing for the junior team in seven games with only two assists, followed by a stint in the second-tier Swedish league for eight games with IK Oskarshamn in which he had a goal and two assists, and finally closing out the season with HV 71 for thirty-seven games, scoring only two goals. Then, he represented Sweden in the World Junior Championships, scoring at a pace of two goals and one assist in seven games. In 2007-2008, Hjalmarsson came to North America and played for the Blackhawks American Hockey League affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Here he appeared in forty-seven regular season games with four goals and nine assists to his credit, followed by twelve postseason games where he had four assists. Hjalmarsson was promoted to the NHL after the Blackhawks traded away James Wisniewski, and he played in thirteen games with just one assist. In 2008-2009, Hjalmarsson again began the season in Rockford, playing to a line of two goals and sixteen assists in fifty-two games before playing another twenty-one games with the Blackhawks, which saw him produce one goal and two assists. He became a full-time player in the 2009-2010, where his shutdown defense and occasional offense were finally put in the spotlight. He scored two goals and fifteen assists in seventy-seven regular season games, and then in the postseason, he made twenty-two appearances with one goal and seven assists, providing scoring from the blue line to help the Blackhawks win the 2010 Stanley Cup. His performance attracted the attention of the San Jose Sharks, who signed him to an offer sheet in the 2010 offseason, worth $14 million over four years. The Blackhawks matched the offer sheet to retain Hjalmarsson's rights. The move cost them goaltender Antti Niemi, a critical part of the Stanley Cup run, who went to those same Sharks that provided the offer sheet. In 2010-2011, Hjalmarsson played in eighty games and scored only three goals and seven assists in the regular season, followed by just two assists in seven postseason games. He bounced back a bit in 2011-2012, playing in just sixty-nine games but upping his production to one goal and fourteen assists during the regular season. In the playoffs, he had one assist in six games. During the lockout of 2012, Hjalmarsson took his talents to Italy, playing in their Serie A for hockey and scoring six goals and sixteen assists in sixteen games before returning to North America. He played forty-six games in the truncated season for the Blackhawks, scoring two goals and eight assists. In the postseason, Hjalmarsson was part of a smothering defense for twenty-three games, and his five assists were a modest contribution to his and the Blackhawks' second Stanley Cup victory in four years. He is the first of nine players to be profiled that were on both Cup winning teams.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 15

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 15 looks at the defenseman with the best name, Johnny Oduya.

Johnny Oduya was born on October 1st, 1981, in Stockholm, Sweden. At age fifteen during the 1996-1997 season, Oduya played for the Hammarby IF Stockholm Junior level team in the Swedish junior league, going without a point in thirteen games. In 1997-1998, he remained in the same organization, and appeared in twenty-six games, while notching three goals and eleven assists, as well as establishing a tough guy reputation with seventy penalty minutes. He continued to play in the junior league in 1998-1999, and scored fourteen goals and thirty-one assists in thirty-eight games. Oduya regressed a bit in 1999-2000, scoring just three goals and passing only eighteen assists in thirty-two games in the regular season, and then he had one goal and two assists in six playoff games. He did earn a promotion to Hammarby's professional squad in the second-tier Swedish league, but was pointless in two games. Oduya made his first trip to North America for the 2000-2001 season, joining the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Moncton Wildcats for forty-four games. He scored eleven goals and thirty-eight assists before moving to the Victoriaville Tigres, playing in twenty-four games with three goals and sixteen assists in the regular season. In the playoffs, Oduya supplied another four goals and nine assists in thirteen games. He was also a seventh round draft pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. They retained his rights when he returned to Sweden in 2001-2002, rejoining Hammarby IF for forty-six games, to the tune of eleven goals and fourteen assists. In the playoffs, he had a single goal in two games. Oduya was far peskier in 2002-2003, scoring fifteen goals, dishing twenty-five assists, and accumulating 200 penalty minutes in only forty-eight games. He was promoted to play for Djurgardens IF Stockholm in the Swedish Elitserien  for the 2003-2004 season, and he struggled to produce offense with only four goals and four assists in forty-two games, followed by four pointless playoff games. His intangibles were much more valuable though, as he played shutdown defense, had good puck control, and agitated opponents to a line of 173 penalty minutes. Oduya stayed with Djurgardens in 2004-2005, and registered two goals, four assists, and 139 penalty minutes in the regular season, appearing in forty-nine games. In twelve postseason games, he had two assists. In 2005-2006, Oduya played for Frolunda HC Goteberg, appearing in forty-seven games and recording eight goals and eleven assists while cutting his penalty minutes again to ninety-five. In the playoffs, he had one goal and two assists in seventeen games. On July 24th, 2006, Oduya was signed by the New Jersey Devils to play in the 2006-2007 season, since his affiliation with the Capitals organization had expired. While expected to play in the American Hockey League or be a healthy scratch, injuries necessitated Oduya to play in the NHL, and he performed well in having two goals and nine assists in seventy-six games as a lower-pairing defenseman. He had only one assist in six playoff games that year. Oduya developed more in 2007-2008, playing in seventy-five games with six goals and twenty assists, followed by another assist in five playoff games. He also recorded a +27 on his plus/minus rating, good for ninth in the league. Oduya remained with the Devils in 2008-2009, playing to a line of seven goals and twenty-two assists while appearing in all eighty-two games, but he went without a point in seven playoff games. He was selected to represent Sweden in the 2009 World Championships, playing in five games and scoring three goals and an assist. In 2009-2010, Oduya played in forty games for New Jersey, scoring two goals and two assists in what appeared to be a down year. Then, Oduya was included in a move that shook up the hockey world. On February 4th, 2010, Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier and the Devils' first round and second round picks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft were traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Ilya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela, and the Thrashers' second round pick in a blockbuster trade. The Thrashers traded both picks they received to Chicago in a separate deal, and the Blackhawks picked Kevin Hayes with the first round choice and Justin Holl in the second round. The Devils later selected Jonathon Merrill with the pick they received. Bergfors and Salmela have busted in the NHL and gone to Russia to play in the KHL since then, while Cormier has bounced between the NHL and AHL. The centerpiece of the deal, Kovalchuk, famously had his seventeen-year contract with New Jersey terminated, which resulted in hefty penalties both financially and for play development before they agreed on a fifteen-year contract with Kovalchuk. Just days before this post, Kovalchuk nullified the remaining twelve years on his contract and later signed on with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL, making Oduya the only full-time NHL player left from the trade. Around the same time, Oduya was selected to play in the Winter Olympics for Sweden, but he went pointless in four games. In twenty-seven games with the Thrashers after the trade, Oduya recorded one goal and eight assists. He remained in Atlanta for 2010-2011, playing in the full eighty-two game season and scoring two goals and adding fifteen assists. The Thrashers were struggling with ownership during Oduya's tenure there, and on June 21st, 2011, the team was relocated to Winnipeg and rebranded as the Jets. Oduya played a partial season in Winnipeg, appearing in sixty-three games with two goals and eleven assists before being traded again, this time going to the Chicago Blackhawks for their second and third round selections in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft on February 27th, 2012. In eighteen games with Chicago, Oduya recorded one goal and four assists, followed by three assists in six playoff games. Part of the 2013 season was erased due to a lockout in 2012, and Oduya entered the shortened season at age thirty-one, but played in all forty-eight games to the tune of three goals and nine assists. He also appeared in all twenty-three postseason games for the Blackhawks, scoring three goals and adding five assists as Chicago marched to the Stanley Cup. Interestingly enough, the picks that he had been traded with from New Jersey to Atlanta ended up with the Blackhawks when they had a salary purge after their 2010 Stanley Cup victory, and Oduya too worked his way there in time to win a Stanley Cup. The prospects from the Kovalchuk deal have yet to develop as NHL players, but the veterans have made a lasting impact on the teams they have played for.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 14

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 14 talks about power forward and agitator Andrew Shaw.

Andrew Shaw was born on July 20th, 1991, in Belleville, Ontario. He played with the Quinte Red Devils of the Ontario Minor league at the age of fifteen in the 2006-2007 season, scoring twenty-four goals and adding twenty-seven assists in thirty-two games. With the same team in exhibition games during the same season, he had fourteen goals and eighteen assists in eighteen appearances. There is no documentation of what Shaw did during the 2007-2008 season, but in 2008-2009, he played in the Ontario Hockey League's Niagara Ice Dogs, potting eight goals and passing nine assists in fifty-six games, while tallying ninety-seven penalty minutes. He also had two goals and an assist in twelve postseason games. He stayed with the Ice Dogs in 2009-2010, scoring at a pace of eleven goals and twenty-five assists in sixty-eight games, as well as 129 penalty minutes, followed by five pointless postseason games. Shaw left Niagara for the Owen Sound Attack in 2010-2011, and blossomed to a line of twenty-two goals and thirty-two assists to go with 135 penalty minutes in sixty-six regular season games, and then ten goals and seven assists in the OHL playoffs, which resulted in a championship for the Attack. Owen Sound qualified for a spot in the Memorial Cup, which pits teams from all of the Junior hockey circuit against each other, and in four games during the Memorial Cup, Shaw had two goals and five assists, leading the tournament. Shaw was then drafted in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. They immediately promoted him to the American Hockey League to play with the Rockford IceHogs. In 2011-2012, Shaw played in thirty-eight games for Rockford, posting twelve goals, eleven assists, and ninety-nine penalty minutes. A promotion to the NHL saw Shaw have instant success in scoring twelve goals, eleven assists, and a mature fifty penalty minutes in thirty-seven games, before going pointless in three postseason games and having been suspended for three more. Shaw returned to the AHL during the NHL lockout in 2012, and played to a line of eight goals and six assists in twenty-eight games, and then played in all forty-eight regular season games for the Blackhawks, but he only tallied nine goals and six assists. He provided secondary scoring during twenty-three postseason games, which included five goals and four assists, one of which ended the triple-overtime Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. Also, during Game 6, he had taken a puck to the face in the first period, and spent intermittent parts of the final two periods getting stitched up after the wound continued to absorb stitches. At the end of the game, a slightly bloody Shaw was able to lift the Stanley Cup as a critical member of the champion Chicago Blackhawks.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 13

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 13 looks at young forward Marcus Kruger. 

Marcus Kruger was born on May 27th, 1990 in Stockholm, Sweden. He began his playing career in the Swedish U18 league, with Djurgardens IF Stockholm and played in twenty-three games, posting five goals and fourteen assists during the 2006-2007 season at the age of sixteen. He stayed with that team in 2007-2008, posting eleven goals and twenty assists in twenty-two games before being promoted to the organization's junior level team. Here, Kruger had three goals and thirteen assists in twenty-two games. Kruger began the 2008-2009 season at the junior level, and scored nine goals and thirty assists in thirty-four games, and then was promoted to the Swedish Elitserien, still playing in the Djurgardens organization. He played in fifteen games and registered two goals and two assists. He was also drafted in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fifth round. During 2009-2010, Kruger played the entire season with Djurgardens in the Elitserien, playing in thirty-eight games to the tune of eleven goals and twenty assists in the regular season, followed by three goals and seven assists in sixteen playoff games. In 2010-2011, Kruger remained with Djurgardens in fifty-two games, with six goals and twenty-nine assists, and then came to the NHL. With the Blackhawks, he played in seven games without a point, and played in five postseason games with a lone assist. In 2011-2012, Kruger remained in the NHL all year, and scored nine goals and passing seventeen assists in seventy-one games. He went pointless in six playoff games. Due to the lockout in 2012, Kruger took his first trip to the American Hockey League, playing with the Rockford IceHogs, scoring eight goals and fourteen assists in thirty-four games before the lockout ended. Then, with the Blackhawks he played in forty-seven games while posting four goals and nine assists in the regular season. Kruger also played in all twenty-three postseason games with three goals and two assists for the Blackhawks, playing a defensive forward role as Chicago marched to claim the Stanley Cup. On July 12th, 2013, Kruger was signed to a two-year contract extension.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 12

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 12 looks at young defenseman Nick Leddy. 

Nick Leddy was born on March 20th, 1991 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He began his hockey career with his high school team, the Eden Prairie High School Eagles, scoring two goals and adding sixteen assists in twenty-eight games during his sophomore season of 2006-2007. In his junior season (2007-2008), Leddy scored six goals and twenty-two assists in twenty-seven games. That same season, he played in four games with the United States National Team Development Program, registering two assists. Leddy stepped it up a notch in his senior year after turning down the Development Program's offer in Ann Arbor, Michigan, scoring at a pace of twelve goals and thirty-three assists in thirty-one games during 2008-2009. This earned him Minnesota's Mr. Hockey award, as well as Minneapolis Metro Player of the Year, first team all-state from the Associated Press, and a position on the Class AA all-state tournament team. During twenty-four games with Team Southwest in the UMHSEL, Leddy scored nine goals and eleven assists as well. He was drafted by local NHL team, the Minnesota Wild in the first round, 16th overall, during the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Leddy played college hockey in his freshman season of 2009-2010, posting three goals and eight assists in thirty games for the University of Minnesota. During the season, his rights in the NHL were traded with Kim Johnsson from the Minnesota Wild to the Chicago Blackhawks in February, in exchange for Cam Barker in what has proven to be a largely imbalanced trade. For 2010-2011, Leddy split time between the American Hockey League Rockford IceHogs and the NHL's Blackhawks. With Rockford, he had two goals and eight assists in twenty-two games, while he had four goals and three assists in forty-six regular season games in Chicago. He also went pointless in seven postseason games that year. Leddy also represented the United States in the World Junior Championships, playing in six games and scoring three assists as the United States won the bronze medal. In 2011-2012, Leddy was with the Blackhawks all season, posting a line of three goals and thirty-four assists in his star-making season, appearing in all eighty-two games. Due to the NHL lockout in 2012, Leddy played in Rockford to begin the season, scoring three goals and thirteen assists in thirty-one games, and then played in every game of the truncated NHL season to the tune of six goals and twelve assists over forty-eight games. The Blackhawks also had a deep postseason run, and Leddy played in all twenty-three games, with only two assists but strong defense to help the Blackhawks capture the Stanley Cup. He was resigned by the Blackhawks to a two-year contract on July 3rd, 2013, likely a bridge deal that will lead to many more seasons in Chicago.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 11

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 11 will look at young winger Viktor Stalberg.

Viktor Stalberg was born on January 17th, 1986, in Gothenburg, Sweden. His playing career began at the age of eighteen with IF Molndal Hockey's U18 team in the Swedish U18 league, where he played in thirteen games and scored fourteen goals while adding thirteen assists during the 2003-2004 season. He finished the year with the Junior squad of the same organization, playing in eighteen games while potting twenty-five goals and ten assists. Stalberg stayed with that team to begin 2004-2005, appearing in eleven games while registering sixteen goals and seven assists before a promotion to the third-tier league team in the same organization. Here he played in twenty-nine games and had six goals and nine assists. Stalberg returned to the Junior U20 league in 2005-2006, playing for his hometown team, Frolunda HC Goteberg Junior, where he had twenty-seven goals and twenty-six assists in forty-one games, followed by six goals and five assists in seven postseason games. In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Stalberg was a sixth round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He came to North America in 2006-2007 to play college hockey at the University of Vermont, scoring seven goals and passing eight assists in a full thirty-nine game season. Stalberg improved in his sophomore season at Vermont, posting ten goals and thirteen assists in thirty-nine games. The development continued in his junior year, where he had twenty-four goals and twenty-two assists in thirty-nine games during the 2008-2009 season. At the end of that season, which saw him pick up multiple individual awards and a Hobey Baker nomination while helping guide the team to the Frozen Four, Stalberg joined the Toronto Marlies, American Hockey League affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, for two playoff games, in which he had one assist. He remained with the Marlies to begin the 2009-2010 season, playing in thirty-nine games while scoring twelve goals and supplying twenty-one assists before a promotion to the NHL. In forty games with the Maple Leafs, Stalberg scored nine goals and five assists. On June 30th, 2010, Stalberg's Maple Leafs career ended when he was traded with Chris Didomenico and Phillipe Paradis to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Kris Versteeg and Bill Sweatt as part of the Blackhawks' 2010 post-Stanley Cup-winning sell-off. In 2010-2011, Stalberg showed growth again by playing in seventy-seven games and posting twelve goals and twelve assists in the regular season, followed by one goal in seven postseason games. His development continued in 2011-2012 as he had twenty-two goals and twenty-one assists in seventy-nine games in the regular season and two assists in six playoff games. Stalberg returned to Sweden at first during the NHL lockout of 2012, playing in eleven games with Frolunda of the Swedish Elitserien, to the tune of seven goals and five assists. He headed east to wrap up the lockout while playing with Atlant Mytishchi of the Kontinental Hockey League of Russia and Eastern Europe. During fourteen games with Atlant, Stalberg had three goals and seven assists. After the lockout, Stalberg played in forty-seven games for the Blackhawks during the 2013 season, posting nine goals and fourteen assists. During the playoffs, he occasionally saw top line minutes and in nineteen games had three assists, playing a minor role in helping the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup just three years after he was brought in because of their previous championship.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 10

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 10 means we have passed one-third done, and to celebrate we will talk about penalty killing specialist Michael Frolik.

Michael Frolik was born on February 17th, 1988, in Kladno, Czechoslovakia. He began his playing career at the very young age of fourteen with HC Kladno's U17 team in 2002-2003, scoring thirty-seven goals and twenty-one assists during the regular season in forty-six games, followed by nine goals and an assist in ten playoff games. Frolik played only one game with the U17 team in 2003-2004, registering an assist before joining Kladno's Junior level team, where he had twenty-one goals and twenty-three assists in fifty-three games, followed by three goals and an assist in seven playoff games. He then represented the Czech Republic in the World Junior Classic's U18 tournament, playing in two games but failing to record a point. Frolik began the 2004-2005 team at the junior level, posting nine goals and eleven assists in fifteen games before a promotion to the Czech Extraliga Kladno team. He scored only three goals and an assist in twenty-seven games. Frolik also completed a rare accomplishment in the postseason, playing in games with the U17 squad (he was still only sixteen), the junior team, and the parent team in the same season. He had a total of two goals in seven postseason games. Continuing with the heavy workload, Frolik also played in both the World Junior U18 tournament in 2005 as well as the regular World Junior Championships, posting lines of three goals, one assist, and seven games played in both categories and winning the bronze medal in the World Juniors. He continued to split time over many teams in 2005-2006, playing in three games with Kladno's Junior team, with one goal and two assists, followed by two goals and seven assists in forty-eight games with the parent team. He only played with the Junior team in the playoffs, scoring three goals and dishing nine assists in six games. Frolik again did double duty at the World Juniors, playing to two goals and three assists in seven games at the U18 tournament, winning his second bronze medal in that tournament, followed by one assist in six games at the World Junior Championship. His extensive international record caught the eye of the Florida Panthers, who drafted him tenth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, bringing him to North America. It must have seemed like a calm season in 2006-2007, playing only for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Rimouski Oceanic in fifty-two games, with a line of thirty-one goals and forty-two assists. Frolik again represented the Czech Republic in the World Junior Championships in 2007, scoring four goals and passing two assists in six games. He stayed with Rimouski in 2007-2008, playing in forty-five games while recording twenty-four goals and forty-one assists, followed by nine postseason games with two goals and four assists. He also made his final appearance in the World Junior Championships, scoring five goals in six games. Frolik made his NHL debut, skipping the American Hockey League altogether, in 2008-2009, where he had twenty-one goals and twenty-four assists in seventy-nine games. He put up similar numbers in 2009-2010, playing in all eighty-two games with the Panthers and scoring twenty-one goals and dishing twenty-two assists. The stability Frolik had grown accustomed to was broken in 2010-2011, where he began with the Panthers to the tune of eight goals and twenty-one assists in fifty-two games, in line with his normal production. Florida was done with him though, and traded him and goaltender Alexander Salak to the Chicago Blackhawks for Jack Skille, the "Huge Specimen" Hugh Jessiman, and David Pacan. The change of scenery was not good for Frolik, as he had only three goals and six assists in a reduced role in twenty-eight games. He added two goals and three assists in seven playoff games, his first playoff experience in the NHL. One of the goals was his first postseason penalty shot goal. He finally got his first opportunity to represent the Czech Republic in the 2011 World Championships, scoring three goals and two assists in nine games as the Czechs won the bronze medal. Frolik's numbers failed to rebound in 2011-2012, as he had only five goals and ten assists in sixty-three games, and two more goals and one assist in four playoff games. When the NHL locked out the players in 2012, Frolik took his game back to the Czech Republic to play for Pirati Chomutov in thirty-two games, with fourteen goals and ten assists. He returned for the second year of his three-year contract with the Blackhawks after the lockout ended, but he only had three goals and seven assists in forty-five games played. He matched those totals in the playoffs in only twenty-three games, including his second postseason penalty shot goal against the Detroit Red Wings, making him the first player in NHL history to have two penalty shot goals in the postseason. His strong defensive play and penalty killing abilities made him a vital part of the Stanley Cup-winning Blackhawks team, but he was not heroic and was traded at the NHL Entry Draft to the Winnipeg Jets for a third round and fifth round pick to play out the last year of his contract.