Blackhawks Acquire Danny Richmond in Exchange for Anton Babchuk

[Cummins15]

Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon announced today that the Blackhawks have acquired defenseman Danny Richmond along with a 4th round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Anton Babchuk and a 4th round pick in 2007.

Carolina's 2006 pick is formerly Columbus' 4th round choice.

“Danny Richmond is a kid with a lot of passion for the game,” said Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon. “He is a skilled defenseman who possesses a lot of grit and toughness. He definitely is the type of player who fits in with the type of team we are trying to build in Chicago.”

Richmond, 21, stands at 6.01, weighs in at 192 pounds, and is a native of Chicago. He was originally Carolina’s 2nd round pick (31st overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft out of the University of Michigan where he was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team that season.

This season, Richmond split time between the Carolina Hurricanes and Lowell in the American Hockey League. For Carolina, Richmond appeared in 10 games and had 1 assist with 7 penalty minutes. For Lowell, he appeared in 32 games scoring 4 goals while adding 11 assists for 15 points with 60 penalty minutes. He was also named to the AHL 2006 Planet USA All-Star Team.

Richmond played for the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League in 2003-04 where he had 35 points (13g/22a) in 59 games. He also played for Team USA in the 2004 World Junior Championships winning the Gold Medal. He played in 6 games and had 4 assists including 2 assists in a 4-3 win in the championship game over Team Canada.

He played the 2004-05 season for the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League appearing in 63 games scoring 4 goals and 13 points with 139 penalty minutes.

Danny’s father, Steve Richmond, played defense for five seasons in the NHL appearing in 159 career games for the New York Rangers, Detroit, New Jersey, and Los Angeles.

Anton Babchuk, 21, was the Blackhawks 1st round pick (21st overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. The 6.05, 212 pound defenseman had split this season between the Blackhawks and the Norfolk Admirals in the AHL.

Babchuk appeared in 24 games for Norfolk in the American Hockey League this year scoring 5 goals and adding 7 assists for 12 points with 22 penalty minutes. He was recalled by the Blackhawks twice this season and played a total of 17 games scoring 2 goals while adding 3 assists for 5 points with 16 penalty minutes.

[Isles4life]

I guess that punch from Kevin Colley in last night's game knocked him to the city where he the Islanders played their previous game.

I always thought Babchuk was a good prospect but I guess chicago got bored with him.

[bengino]

i didn't think Chicago would give up on Babchuk that quick.

[OLLBLUEEYZ]

Originally Posted by bengino

i didn't think Chicago would give up on Babchuk that quick.

Niether did anyone here... Wow.

[Cardiac_Canes]

I think the canes got the better end of this one. If they give him time to develop this deal could come back to haunt the blackhawks. It might help having a fellow Ukrainian in Oleg Teverdovsky on the team. I've read that Babchuk has had problems adjusting to the north american lifestyle as well as with learning english. If you can't understand a coach how can you play his game?

[intricateproces]

so so deal. Richmond could become a very good offensive minded defensemen and help the hawks

ok, so kevin Colley got the better of him

i dont care, iu have to give credit to anyone who drops the gloves this year. at least Dany had the deceny to be a man and step up

[DaleHunter32]

Carolina has STOCKPILED all defensemen with the FA/Trades. For some reason, they think they need more depth at D with Ward out. Sooner or later, they are going to realize that Staal, Cole, and Stillman are not going to be enough fire power, down the road