In Wednesday’s edition of Hawks Headlines, we take a look at Patrick Sharp’s newborn daughter Sadie (spoiler alert: she’s adorable), how Bryan Bickell is focusing on re-engaging his physicality on the ice, and how the Blackhawks are bringing in a ton of new fans in a key demographic.
- The Chicago Blackhawks’ successes over the past six years or so have seen them draw record attendance to the United Center, given massive boosts to their televisions ratings, and made them a force once again on the national sports landscape. Nina Falcone has an interesting report on how the team is growing in another key demographic: among female sports fans. [CSN Chicago]
- With the Hawks’ successes in recent years, another intriguing situation is developing. With the explosion of youth hockey in the Windy City, there aren’t enough rinks to keep up with demand. [Chicago Tribune]
- After scoring a goal on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, this article is slightly out of date, but it’s still interesting to hear Marian Hossa talk about being worried about his timing on the ice and not his recovery from a back injury that hampered him at the end of last season. [Daily Herald]
- Bryan Bickell hasn’t exactly looked comfortable in the early going this season (something we will discuss later Wednesday), and part of his issue is that he hasn’t been using his physicality in games. He is looking to change that. [ESPN Chicago]
- One of the weird quirks about the Blackhawks’ early schedule this season is that they are playing a ton of games against the Eastern Conference. In fact, the Hawks play a grand total of four games out of 13 this month against Western Conference foes, but they need to make hay even while playing outside of their conference. [Chicago Sun-Times]
- As promised, here is the first picture of Patrick Sharp’s new daughter Sadie. [Blackhawks.com]
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- Finally, one player that the Hawks may not be seeing on Thursday night when the St. Louis Blues travel to the United Center is Maxim Lapierre, who may be suspended for this hit on San Jose Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle. If we were betting, he’ll get hit with a suspension from Brendan Shanahan:
