BY BEN MEYER-ABBOTT
bmeyer-abbott@suntimes.com
Whether it was meant as a wakeup call or not, that's how Kyle Beach interpreted being snubbed for the Black Aces during the playoffs last season by the Blackhawks.
Beach, the 11th pick of the 2008 NHL draft, was included the year before in the group of prospects called up to be with the team during the 2010 postseason.
Kyle Beach's omission from the "black aces" this postseason stood out. It could be said that by not recalling the power forward after doing so a year earlier, the Blackhawks were sending the former 11th overall pick a message.
So are the Hawks happy with the progress the temperamental Beach made in his first full year with the Rockford IceHogs?
Only 26 players remain. The Blackhawks, as expected, made more cuts Friday sending forwards Kyle Beach, Igor Makarov, Brandon Pirri and Ben Smith and defenseman Brian Connelly to the Rockford IceHogs.
Jeremy Morin and Nick Leddy both remain with the team for at least the weekend, earning a longer look from Stan Bowman and Co.
Beach and Makarov are the notable cuts. But neither should come as a surprise. They simply weren't ready. Their performances in Thursday's exhibition loss to the St. Louis Blues -- who fielded a lineup of NHL regulars -- only emboldened the Hawks' decisions to send them to Rockford for more seasoning.
Former first-round pick Kyle Beach lived up to his reputation of being a talented player that plays on the edge during this year's prospect camp.
Beach fought John Kurtz on the opening day and then got into two scraps with a much smaller Mathis Olimb.
Adam L. Jahns is a native Chicagoan hailing from the Far Northwest Side. Jahns has been with the Sun-Times for more than four years, covering the Hawks, Bears, Cubs, Sox and high schools.
