Friday, Sept. 16, 2011Posted: 3:25 p.m.
By Tracey Myers
CSNChicago.com Blackhawks InsiderFollow @TraMyersCSNMarian Hossa will miss the first few days of Blackhawks training camp, as he attended the memorial of good friend Pavol Demitra, who was killed in the Lokomotiv plane crash last week.It was a bittersweet week for Hossa. He and his wife Jana welcomed their first child, a girl, on Friday; daughter Mias birth was two days after the Lokomotiv tragedy.Marians gone through a tough time; its a tough situation for him to deal with (Demitras death). We certainly want to give him the time to be ready and our thoughts are with him, general manager Stan Bowman said. Its tough losing a close friend. It was a terrible tragedy. Its not an easy time for him but hell be here soon.Sharp mendingPatrick Sharp will miss training camp after having that emergency appendectomy on Monday, and Bowman didnt want to put a date on when Sharp will play his first game.But Bowman isnt worried about Sharp being ready when hes healed.Its better to get it out of the way now. I wouldnt say it impacts training camp or the season, Bowman said. In the scheme of things, its minor.Coach Joel Quenneville concurred.We saw last year how quickly he got back at a critical time of year, said Quenneville, referring to Sharps return off a late-season knee injury. Well give him the necessary time. But at the same time, once hes ready to go hell be a big part of our team.Another ToewsJonathan Toews was understandably excited to have brother David, acquired last week, in the Blackhawks fold.Hes got a lot of talent and hes been through a few tough years with injuries, especially those important years where you develop. Hes just looking for an opportunity, Jonathan said. We worked out and skated a lot this summer, and he was pushing me as much as I was him. Who knows where he ends up, but its nice to have him close by and talk him through some things.Bowman said its important to let David develop and be himself, not Toews younger brother.In fairness to him he has to be judged on his own; he has the same last name but its not really fair to make comparisons, Bowman said. (Davids) here to earn a job. Hes still young, still in that group of players; we have a lot in that age category trying to establish themselves in that process.He said itJonathan Toews on hitting a kid in a youth camp last week: Hes OK, just so you know. He shook it off. But it took a while. I thought it was funny because I had a million texts, more than from anything (else) my buddies have seen on the internet. Like Wow, did you learn how to hit in the offseason?Tracey Myers is CSNChicago.com's Blackhawks Insider. Follow Tracey on Twitter @TramyersCSN for up-to-the-minute Hawks information.