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Former Elburn resident Sweatt ready to start career outside of Chicago
Bill Sweatt has an agent, but the former Elburn resident doesn’t need much help knowing where he stands with the Chicago Blackhawks.
After all, Sweatt, a recent Colorado College graduate, earned a degree in mathematical economics. He understands better than most that the newly crowned Stanley Cup champions have a financial headache on their hands in retaining several current players, let alone bringing in high-priced new talent.
The upshot: Sweatt, still Blackhawks property until Aug. 15, will likely have to launch his professional hockey career outside Chicago.
“I get it,” said Sweatt, a second-round draft choice of the Hawks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. “It makes sense so when all that stuff is talked about, it’s not like it’s over my head or I’m not getting it. I know exactly what’s going on, what they have there, what their problems are. It’s not like it’s going over my head.”
Naturally, Sweatt would have relished being part of the Hawks’ rebirth in his former pseudo-hometown. But following negotiations between Sweatt’s Chicago-based agent, Scott Norton, and Hawks general manager Stan Bowman, it became likely that Sweatt’s best chances for the kind of contract Norton and Sweatt are looking for will come elsewhere.
“All the stars aren’t going to align all the time,” Sweatt said. “I know what I can do. I know what I bring to the table. I know I have something a lot of other people don’t have that I can really helps teams with.”
A left winger, Sweatt is known for his speed. He racked up 109 career points during his Colorado College career, including a team-high 33 points as a senior (15 goals, 18 assists).
Sweatt called it “a really great year for me personally,” while acknowledging disappointment in his team’s struggles. He’s spending the summer training in Colorado while waiting until he is eligible to negotiate with other NHL teams when the Hawks’ ownership of his rights expires.
“I would have the feeling that Bill is going to be in high demand come August 16,” Norton said. “The best thing for Bill could be for the Blackhawks [winning the Stanley Cup] because a lot of their game is based on speed and I think that puts the value even higher on a player like Bill who can play the game at a speed higher than a lot of guys are able to play at.”
Sweatt followed the Stanley Cup Finals closely, downplaying the odd backdrop of his clouded future with the Hawks. Sweatt, who wasn’t a huge Hawks fan growing up because of the team’s woes at the time, said he didn’t have a strong rooting interest.
“Even if I don’t really like the two teams in the Stanley Cup Finals I always just want to see good hockey and it’s been a great series,” Sweatt said. “I find myself rooting for both teams. It’s kind of like the Flyers make a nice goal or the Hawks make a nice goal, it’s just great hockey the two teams have been playing. It’s kind of just almost just rooting for hockey at this point because it’s been such a nice series.”
Sweatt lived in Elburn from kindergarten through his freshman year at Kaneland before moving to
Lombard. His older brother, Lee, also attended Kaneland, before playing his college hockey at Colorado College – the two were teammates there for a year. Lee, a 24-year-old defenseman, has a jump-start on a pro hockey career, having recently signed with the Vancouver Canucks after a few years playing in Europe.
Like big brother Lee, Bill Sweatt, 21, might end up starting in the American Hockey League, though he’s not ruling out busting into the NHL if he has a strong fall.
“I guess the only question would be how high his offensive side is going to be,” Norton said. “I don’t think anyone expected him to be an Alex Ovechkin and score 55 goals but I think he’s shown during his career he scores big goals more than necessarily the amount of goals.”
Leaving college early to begin his pro career was a consideration for Sweatt each of the past couple offseasons, but he said his family emphasized the value of a college degree.
“Believe it or not, one day hockey is going to come to an end,” Sweatt said. “It’s not an everlasting thing. Most guys I think average 3-to-4 seasons, if that, in the NHL, so it’s kind of a gamble. That’s why I wanted to be certain if things don’t work out in hockey, if things don’t go my way and I don’t get an opportunity or I just don’t make it, I have something to fall back on.
“I have a great degree from a great, private school and maybe even a chance to get further in school with a master’s.”
And enough business sense to have a firm handle on his hockey alternatives.
