The Chicago Blackhawks sent eight players packing from training camp on Friday, and one name in particular stood out:
Marko Dano.
Dano, a prized prospect acquired from Columbus as part of the Brandon Saad trade, was shipped off to AHL Rockford along with Ryan Hartman, Vincent Hinostroza, Brandon Mashinter, Dennis Rasmussen, Garret Ross, Erik Gustafsson and Ville Pokka.
Reactions on social media were mostly shocked:
A week ago, Marko Dano was lighting it up on the #Blackhawks top line. Today, he was cut from camp. Wow.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) October 2, 2015
The Blackhawks just announced that Marko Dano is among their training camp cuts. He's going to Rockford. That's shocking.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) October 2, 2015
Marko Dano the surprise cut by #Blackhawks. Did not see that coming.
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) October 2, 2015
Dano, 20, was the 27th overall pick in ’13 and enjoyed a fine rookie campaign with the Jackets last year, scoring 19 points in 39 games. He split the year between Columbus and AHL Springfield, but was a regular contributor for the Jackets by season’s end.
At this year at ‘Hawks camp, he was -- at one point -- skating on a line with Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews.
With Dano down, it appears as though Kyle Baun, an undrafted free agent signed out of Colgate last season, has made the team at forward.
On defense, the Pokka and Gustafsson demotions suggest that 6-foot-8, 238-pounder Viktor Svedberg has made the team, though that’s based on the assumption Kyle Cumiskey and Michal Rozsival will start the year on injured reserve.
UPDATE: There was some thought that, after Bryan Bickell was placed on waivers, Dano’s demotion would only be temporary. But that doesn’t seem to be the case -- today, ‘Hawks head coach Joel Quenneville said he didn’t expect any changes to the roster.