King City native itching to get into playoff form

May 7, 2013 · 0 Comments

Blackhawks’ Dan Carcillo, a King City native, is anxious to get into the playoff fray.
Photo by Melissa Boysen

By Jeff Doner

The NHL playoffs are in full swing and King residents have something other than the hometown Leafs to cheer for as King City native Dan Carcillo looks to make his way back on to the Chicago Blackhawks roster.
The seven-year NHL veteran has yet to suit up for a game, but that is in large part due to a knee injury that limited him to 23 games in the regular season. The fact that the Blackhawks have been firing on all cylinders this season, and so far in the playoffs, has made it all the more difficult for Carcillo to find his way back into the lineup.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” Carcillo said after Chicago’s game two win over the Minnesota Wild last week. “I’m just trying to get back to the way I used to be able to play and skate before. With the shortened season it’s been really difficult, especially with the injury at the beginning of the year, but you just have to stay focused and try to get as many reps in as you can during practice and when you get in for a game, just work as hard as you can.”
After dropping game three to the Wild on Sunday night, opportunity may come knocking for Carcillo, if the Blackhawks are looking to add a little grit and playoff experience to the lineup.
“I’m ready to go, but I don’t know if they’ll change the lineup after a win, but you never know what can happen down the stretch in the playoffs so you always need to stay ready,” he said.
With 33 games of playoff experience, including a deep run with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010, the 27-year-old knows what it takes to be successful in the playoffs.
“The intensity goes up and every game means so much and every play could either end up with a good result or a bad result and change the course of a game. With every move being so important you really need to be much more focused.”
Carcillo said his team faces stiff competition from the Wild despite the fact that they just squeaked into the playoffs in the eighth seed.
“They keep things pretty simple. They have a hardworking team and a good goalie, so we’ve got to get a lot of pucks and bodies to the net. They are also pretty physical, so we have to match their physicality,” he said of the Blackhawks first-round opponent.
Carcillo even admitted that he has started growing a playoff beard, as per usual for most NHL players in the playoffs, however, he quickly quashed the idea of cutting his locks into a playoff mullet like teammates Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad.
“Yeah, I’m not willing to do that,” he said with a laugh, “but I’ve kind of got a playoff beard going. We’ve got a little bit of a competition going, I won’t win it by any means, but it’s a fun little thing to do.”
The latest news has suggested Carcillo may yet play in the first round and said he has been receiving lots of support from his friends and family here at home.
“I’ve been getting a lot of ‘good lucks’ and ‘best wishes’ and I had some family members come down last week and it was good to see everyone. Playoffs are a little crazy, so that was good. Hopefully we get past this round and then next round have some more people down. It’s good to get the well wishes from everybody back home.”
Carcillo said he will be back home for the summer, but added that he has settled in nicely in Chicago.
“I like it a lot. It’s a really big city, but it feels kind of small because there are a lot of different neighbourhoods. The people are really nice, there are a lot of great restaurants and the best thing I like about it is that there’s a pretty good music scene.
“But yeah, I’ll be back. I like going home visiting friends and family so I’ll definitely be back.”
Hopefully for himself and the Blackhawks, that’s not until after the Stanley Cup is awarded in late