o;s got great determination. He is very focused for a young kid, which you don’t always see. Very serious. I can’t stress how intelligent he is,Henrik Sedin Authentic White jersey, as far as hockey goes. He has tremendous instincts out there. We look at Brandon Saad as very mature for being so young, but so is Marcus.Come back for Part 2 coming soon!
Q&A with VP/GM Stan Bowman: Part 3 Monday, 06.24.2013 / 11:11 AM/ The VerdictBy Bob Verdi-Blackhawks Team Historian Print E-mail XShare with your Friends VP/GM Stan Bowman stuck with Corey Crawford after a tough 2012 postseason, and has been rewarded this year (Getty Images). Stan Bowman, the Blackhawks' vice president/general manager, was named for the Stanley Cup. Now, with his team in the Final for the second time in four seasons, he reflects on the decisions and moves that have created what many National Hockey League experts consider the sport's deepest roster. Here's the third and final installment of a visit he recently had with chicagoblackhawks.com. Click here to read part one | part two.After the Blackhawks were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round for a second consecutive time last April, you retained virtually the entire roster. Did you hear criticism about that?I was aware of it. But in this business, you have to take emotion out of the equation and look at facts. We had a good team last year. We had 101 points. That isn’t luck. We played five overtimes in six games against Phoenix,Henrik Lundqvist Authentic Blue Jersey, so it’s not like we got swept or weren’t in the games. When things settled down, we felt that we had most of the right people in place. We needed some guys to step up to another level,Shea Weber Jersey, and we needed a few changes. As it turned out, our guys showed at training camp in January ready to go,Marian Hossa Jersey, and we started the season with that amazing streak.Corey Crawford?There’s a guy who stepped up. He had a fantastic season for us and has played well in the playoffs. People questioned him after he let in a couple of bad goals against Phoenix. But go back a year, when he was so good, basically got us into the playoffs and then almost won that series against Vancouver. That’s not a fluke. He became the No. 1 goaltender and played like it. It’s a process for goalies. He’s been with our organization since we drafted him and he’s progressed nicely. The fluke to me is the two goals he let in against Phoenix that everybody was talking about. That’s a very small sample size against a greater body of work. You can’t react to what people are saying on the outside about you or the moves you make. You have to do what you think is right.After the second period of Game 6 in Detroit a few weeks ago, you didn’t look like a very happy man. Now, you’re in the Final.We were down 3-2 in the series and 2-1 in that game. Core