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player ready...Vinnie Hinostroza hasn’t wandered far from his roots.
A resident of suburban Bartlett, the Blackhawks prospect attended high school in his hometown before finishing in Iowa.
He played college hockey for Notre Dame and has appeared in 56 games for the Hawks in the previous two seasons.
Now he wears an IceHogs uniform in the AHL.
When that trail leads back Chicago remains to be seen.
“We’ve been in touch over the course of the year, some stretches where it’s not an option the way things are going,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “It’s not like we’re disappointed with anyone up there. You don’t like talking about things like that.”
“Things like that” being a potential injury to a player on the Blackhawks, which would open the door for Hinostroza to possibly return.
The 23-year-old has seven goals and eight assists in 14 games for Rockford, which adds up to a team-best 15 points and what could be, in the future, another opportunity with the Blackhawks.
“All of a sudden the picture can change and it’s a whole different thing,” Quenneville said. “We’ll see how that plays out.”
Flying high again: Al Secord hopped a United Airlines flight to be in Chicago for “One More Shift.”
His mode of travel was noteworthy only because Secord is a pilot for American Airlines, for whom he’s been a captain for two years.
Secord became the second former Hawk honored this season, after Bryan Bickell. Secord, who spent part of eight years with the Hawks, took the ice in full team gear after the starting lineups were announced Sunday.
Secord is one of three Hawks to score 50 or more goals in a season. He had 54 in 1982-83, tied for second in team history behind Bobby Hull’s 58 in 1968-69.
He said he has many memories with the Blackhawks, but not many that are up there with joining Hull (five times) and Jeremy Roenick (twice) as the only others to reach the milestone.
“Scoring 50 goals was a big deal,” Secord said. “I never scored 50 goals in practice before. I had some pretty good linemates with (Denis) Savard and Steve Larmer.
“Another thing is, my son was born Feb. 5, 1985 and I scored a goal. I got to keep the puck for him.”