See, they’re excited about Blackhawks Thursday

(*) Because no day of the week starts with a “B.”

More than anything else, people ask why Outside the Clubhouse doesn’t cover hockey. By people, I mean my friends and family who make up about two-thirds of this blog’s readership. And by hockey, I mean the Blackhawks.

Still, they ask why I would ignore Chicago’s most successful team at the moment.

The answer is simple: I don’t know much about hockey. I like watching it. I really enjoy going to games. However, the 12 men on the ice may as well be performing a ritual intending to get John Madden’s shirt back on his body.

OK, I’m not that bad. The basics, I get. But analysis of a game or a player — analysis that would be interesting or informative — is beyond me.

My friends tell me they don’t care, and that I need to write at least one thing they consider useful. To that, I say touche.

And, I begin Blackhawks Thursday. Every Thursday there will be a fresh collection of links about Blackhawks hockey: previous game recaps, trade analysis, player scouting, whatever. Anything I read that teaches me something about hockey, I’ll post here.

Ideally, each link will provide the insight of someone else on the strategy of the game, and maybe, lead you to a Blackhawks Web site that you begin following on a regular basis.

Courtesy of IndianHeadNation

Starting now, every Thursday, I’ll just put up the links, and get the hell out of the way. Hopefully, this provides you enough knowledge to avoid being thrown down a flight of stairs.

Over time, as I keep reading and learning about each Blackhawks blog (there are a lot of them), I expect this weekly segment to get better. Still I can use help. So, if you have any comments, links you’d like to pass along, or blogs to recommend, please do so. You can comment below, send an email to erickward@outsidetheclubhouse.com or message me on Twitter at OTCChicago23.

Two links to start out with:

• Dave Bolland (recovering from a November back surgery) returned on Wednesday night. Windy City Hockey explains how the Blackhawks are a much better team with Bolland back: “(T)he Hawk poised to gain the most is Marian Hoosa. Giving him a set-up man like Bolly is like putting a scope on a rifle.”
• The NHL trade deadline is coming up, and Cam Barker has become the most popular player in imaginary Blackhawks trades. Fifth Feather breaks down Barker’s poor year: “His inability this season to stand out for positive contributions in any zone, however, has pinned Barker in NHL Neverland; not only has he become expendable and perhaps duplicative, but downright injurious at times.”