Bowman will see what the next two weeks bring.
"We're prepared for a few different things," Bowman said. "The most important thing is you've seen the confidence in our group start to build and when that happens, good things happen for the team. It's good to see the life in our team. Even the fans can pick up on the fact that this is a fun team to watch and they believe in each other. Let's just see where it goes."
Bowman took a closer look at the Blackhawks in an interview with NHL.com:
On reports the Blackhawks will ask defenseman Duncan Keith before the trade deadline if he wants to stay in Chicago or waive his no-move clause and accept a trade to a contending team:
"I've been asked that since the report came out. What I say is the same thing: whenever we've had those types of discussions, I wouldn't comment. It puts the player in a tough spot. I'm not going to get into whether we have or haven't, will or won't. The fair thing to say is, both of those guys (Keith and defenseman Brent Seabrook), we've played our best hockey in the last stretch when they've been playing together. I think Keith and Seabrook] have been a pair for this last stretch when we've played well, and they're playing well. That's what we need from them right now."
**On the report that the Blackhawks asked Seabrook to waive his no-move clause, something Seabrook said isn't true:**
"Same answer. The hard part is if I say, well that's true, the next time you have to keep doing it. You shoot a few [reports]
On assigning 19-year-old defenseman Henri Jokiharju to Rockford of the American Hockey League:
"Sometimes guys get sent down because they aren't playing well, and sometimes they get sent down because of circumstances. In Henri's case, it was more circumstantial. He's played over 20 minutes every game in Rockford and that's what we're looking for. Our defense has evolved over the course of a year. We didn't have [Gustav] Forsling and [Connor] Murphy at the start of the year. If they had been here, Henri may have been in Rockford the whole time. It's not because he's not deserving of the NHL; it's a hard League to play as a teenage defenseman. I think there are only two teenage defensemen in the league (Rasmus Dahlin, 18, of the Buffalo Sabres and Miro Heiskanen, 19, of the Dallas Stars). When you get to be 20, 21, you see those guys filter their way in. They've gained experience at the AHL level, they've finished college, whatever they do. It's a lot of pressure to put on a kid, and he's not far away. We can bring him back at any point. It's not disappointment; far from it. He's exceeded my expectations with how well he's played."
On the progress of key Blackhawks prospects:*
"Our defense is our strong suit right now with Henri, with Adam Boqvist having a great year in London (OHL), Nicholas Baudin in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Ian Mitchell (at the University of Denver). There are four young defensemen who are all going to be impact players when they get here, whether it's next year or the year after. I think they all have bright futures. Up front, the one player who's come on, who had a great World Junior, is Philipp Kurashev (Quebec of the QMJHL). He always had the skill and he put it together around Christmas time. Evan Barrett has stepped up and a guy we just signed out of Red Deer, Brandon Hagel, is in the top five in scoring in the Western Hockey League. Those are guys who are filtering to the top in performance this year, and some aren't too far away from being pros. I would expect a number of those guys to be in our system next year."
