Following in the tire tracks of Jack Skille, Bryan Bickell is the latest Blackhawks forward hitting the open road.
For much of the beginning of the season, Skille huffled from Rockford of the American Hockey League to the Hawks for game days and then returned to the minor-league affiliate. The moves saved the Hawks money under the salary cap, as each day a player isn't on the active roster his salary doesn't count against the NHL's salary cap.
These days, it's Bickell making the roundtrip drive to and from Rockford. The left winger was recalled Wednesday for the fourth time this season and practiced with the team.
"It's kind of a long drive when you get sent down, but when you get called up it goes by pretty quick," Bickell said.
"Anytime you get called up, it's always a great honor just to be up here," Bickell said. "(The Hawks) are (going) on a long road trip. Ten days is a lot of games in a short period of time. They're happy with the games I've been up. Hopefully,they give me an opportunity to play and I'll just go from there."
Kris Versteeg practiced for the second consecutive day after missing Sunday night's 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks with an upper-body injury. The forward is expected to play against the Flames.
Veteran winger Marian Hossa reiterated that he expects to make his Hawks debut during the trip, with the likely date being either Nov. 25 in San Jose or Nov. 27 in Anaheim. Hossa has been sidelined since undergoing shoulder surgery during the summer.
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I like Bickell, he's a physical kid who's got a lot of hustle when he's on the ice. It's a stark improvement over Ebbett. He'll be a fixture of the Hawks when they move guys to free up cap space.