Oct. 24--There were times Thursday night when the personnel Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville had on the ice puzzled him in the Hawks' first game without injured defenseman Duncan Keith.
"You're seeing guys at certain times you're not accustomed to seeing, and you're wondering, 'Why is he out there?'" Quenneville said. "And you're (thinking), 'Where's Duncan right now?'"
Keith was at the United Center for Thursday's 3-2 victory over the Panthers, but he was in a suit and walked the halls afterward with a slight limp. On the ice, one of the people Quenneville called upon to produce in situations he had not previously was 24-year-old Trevor van Riemsdyk, who answered the call in a career-high 22 minutes, 34 seconds of ice time.
On Saturday, the Lightning, the Hawks vanquished opponent in last season's Stanley Cup Final come to town, but the Hawks will resemble a much different team than the one that took the ice in June. Not only are there several new players, but van Riemsdyk now has assumed one of the top roles on the blue line, a far cry from the ice time he was getting in June.
In four games in last season's Stanley Cup Final, van Riemsdyk did not play more than 9:01. But expect more nights like Thursday for van Riemsdyk, at least until Keith returns.
"Not having (Keith) is sad because he's such a great guy, such a great player," van Riemsdyk said. "Obviously that means other guys have to step up. It has to be a collective effort because not one human can do all the things he does."
The Hawks aren't asking van Riemsdyk to be superhuman, just to play as he has so far this season -- for more minutes per game. Through seven games, van Riemsdyk's Corsi For percentage, which measures how often a team shoots while a player is on the ice, is at 56.6 -- third best overall on the Hawks and tops among their defensemen.
"You see him in situations that you feel he can take on a little bit more responsibility, not only big minutes but in matchups ... as well," Quenneville said. "We're comfortable with him against top guys."
Quenneville has van Riemsdyk paired with Niklas Hjalmarsson, one of the top defensive defensemen in the league, after he began the season playing with Trevor Daley. Van Riemsdyk also hasn't been shy about joining the Hawks offensive attack.
"Hammer just makes it really easy," van Riemsdyk said. "He's always in the right position, always breaking up plays, getting you the puck with a lot of time. ... You just have to know (his style) and then read off the situations."
The Hawks have thrown a lot at van Riemsdyk since he came back from multiple injuries last season to contribute in the playoffs. So far, he has delivered -- and will need to keep delivering.
"For a young guy, he seems like he has a ton of patience," goaltender Corey Crawford said. "He sees the ice really well and he has a lot of skill. He moves the puck quickly, especially with our group of forwards. ... The name of our game is fast pace and 'Riems' looks like he's fitting in well right now."
chine@tribpub.com
