In his second stint with the Blackhawks, Brian Campbell has done a little of everything. He has played both sides, and coach Joel Quenneville has paired him with almost every other defenseman on the roster.
That means Campbell has played with established veterans Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook at times and 20-year-old rookie Gustav Forsling at others. The same goes for Niklas Hjalmarsson, who can rotate sides and partners, sometimes within games.
They will tell you playing with a veteran is not much different from playing with a younger defenseman. However, they do have to account for differences on the ice, specifically when it comes to communication.
"You have to be a little more assertive (with younger defensemen)," Campbell said. "Seabrook talks a lot, and he expects you to talk a lot on the ice. Some guys are a little bit quieter. Young guys coming into the league are a little intimidated, but you need them to help you out as much as you're hopefully helping them out."
Hjalmarsson said his on-ice interactions with younger defensemen are different from the ones he has with Keith, with whom he has played a lot.
Hjalmarsson said he and Keith aren't afraid to air their frustrations with one another in a constructive way, and he hopes that sort of interaction can rub off on the rest of the team.
"Every now and then, you can get a little frustrated on yourself and at each other too," Hjalmarsson said. "You've been playing a lot of years, so you know what each other's standards are, what the levels are.
"That's how it should be too. It's a healthy thing and a healthy competition. He tells me stuff that I can do differently, and I tell him sometimes too. It's a two-way street."
Hjalmarsson said the more experienced defensemen try to carry over the constructive dialogue to younger players such as Forsling and Michal Kempny, 26. Those players have the license to offer their thoughts about certain plays, situations and the Hawks' system.
"(Keith and I) kind of know exactly what we get from each other night in and night out," Hjalmarsson said. "It's not too often we get on each other's case, but we rely on each other to bring our best every night.
"That's the standard for how it should be, and if you play with a first-year guy, you want to be talking more and be more active that way and help him out on the ice."
Quenneville said when he is considering his pairings, matching veterans with younger players doesn't factor much into the decision. That has been true over the last few games, when Quenneville has paired Hjalmarsson with Keith, Campbell with Seabrook and Forsling with second-year defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, 25.
"You like to have a left and a right, and a balance where there's some puck movement and defending," Quenneville said. "That's the perfect balance. ... But everybody's going to have a different partner over the course of a game. It's not so much experience as it is left and right and balance."
That means communication is paramount, as is getting comfortable with everyone's tendencies.
"That's the good thing about 'Q.' He says, 'This is the way we're playing,' and you play that way," Campbell said. "Obviously you can be creative from there. Definitely some guys are a little more lively. Some guys aren't as lively. Sometimes you get yelled at by a guy."
And it doesn't matter whether you're young or old.
