Newcomer Igor Kravchuk becomes the third European on the Blackhawks, joining Czechoslovakians Dominik Hasek and Frantisek Kucera. But Coach/General Manager Mike Keenan promised that this is only the beginning.
”Every team that`s won the Stanley Cup since the early 1980s, starting with the New York Islanders, has had an impact player from Europe,” Keenan said. ”You need people who can make a difference.
”Look at Detroit`s drastic improvement in our division. It`s because of three impact players from Europe-Sergei Federov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Nicklas Lidstrom. They`ve elevated the play of the entire club.”
Kravchuk was drafted last June. The Hawks also took another player from the former Soviet Union-Andrei Andrijevski-in the 13th round. And expect the Hawks to draft more players from the Commonwealth of Independent States this June.
Keenan believes Kravchuk, who played for the Central Red Army, supplies leadership. He can speak English pretty well, but it may be a while before he becomes a vocal leader.
”He captained the former Soviet team in the Canada Cup and the one that won the gold medal last year in the World Championships in Finland,” Keenan said. ”He can be an impact player in the Blackhawk system.
”He adds a great deal of depth to our defense. He can move the puck and he has a decent shot.”
No defensemen are in danger yet of being bumped back to the minors because of Kravchuk`s arrival. However, Adam Bennett and Cam Russell face that fate once veterans Keith Brown and Rod Buskas return from injuries.
Comebacks: Dan Vincelette beat everyone else off the injured list, returning from a knee ligament problem to play Thursday night. Keenan said left wing Stephane Matteau should play this weekend after recovering from a broken foot, while Brown (ankle sprain) and right wing Brian Noonan (knee ligament)
probably are a week away from playing.