Cheers or Jeers for the Birthday Boy?
Born this day in 1991, this Ontario native started his NHL career as the number 12 pick by the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2009 draft. He had a fairly solid career with New York, making the playoffs twice, and playing with them until 2018. From 2018-19, he was the the Carolina Hurricanes, who also took him to the playoffs, before trading him to Chicago. His best NHL season, to date, was the 2016-17 season he spent with the Isles, scoring 5 goals and handing out 20 assists in 82 games.
His career with the Blackhawks hasn't been stellar, but it hasn't been terrible. Mostly, it's been plagued by COVID and injuries. One in particular that he didn't disclose until the start of the 2021-22 season - that'd he'd played the last half of the previous season with a broken leg. Yep. A BROKEN. LEG. So, needless to say, at the very least, he's relentless. He'll do what it takes to get the job done. And he'll never give up. Even after this year's trade deadline came and went; having fully expected to have been traded, de Haan was quoted the next day, saying, «Sorry fans, I'm still here.»
He did hit two impressive milestones this seasons - playing in his 500th game, and getting his 100th career point - not at the same time. He also scored 4 goals and had 4 assists in 69 games. Now, that doesn't seem like a lot, but we have to take into consideration all the times he was out with injury. Remember - broken leg, last year. And when he did play, he did try to make a different whether it be with hits, blocking hots, a goal or an assist. But he wanted to be noticed.
In my humble opinion, as long as he stays truly healthy, and has the consecutive practices and games to hone his skills, he could easily become an excellent asset to the team. Even with his age.
Happy Birthday, buddy! Thirty-one never looked so good!
| POLL | ||
Will Calvin de Haan still be a Blackhawk on his next birthday? | ||
| Yes | 56 | 25.6 % |
| No | 73 | 33.3 % |
| He might be... | 34 | 15.5 % |
| Where's my birthday present? | 56 | 25.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
