CAMP AT A GLANCE
	Tony Amonte needs more help on offense.
	Coach: Alpo Suhonen '99-00 record: 33-39-10 Camp location: The Edge (Bensonville, Ill.) Report date: Sept. 8 Preseason schedule: Sept. 15: at St. Louis Sept. 17: Buffalo Sept. 20: at Buffalo Sept. 22: St. Louis Sept. 23: at Nashville Sept. 24: Minnesota Sept. 29: Nashville Oct. 1: at Minnesota

In '99-00, the Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season. That hasn't happened in the Windy City since the '50s. Chicago also has the dubious distinction of having the longest current drought in the NHL since its last Cup title. Want more? The Hawks have had four different coaches since the start of the '97-98 season -- Craig Hartsburg, Dirk Graham, Lorne Molleken and new guy Alpo Suhonen. ... get the first bad joke out of the way: Let's hope Alpo doesn't end up dog food like the rest of 'em.

When Suhonen was hired on May 22, he became coach No. 33 in Blackhawks history. He also makes history by joining Ivan Hlinka (Pittsburgh) as the first European born-and-bred individuals to become head coaches in the NHL. Unfortunately, Suhonen inherits a below-average group of NHLers. The Hawks did add several bodies over the summer, but perhaps only Valeri Zelepukin will make an impact.

Here's a look at the rest of Chicago's training camp.

Biggest question: Where to start?
The Hawks have plenty of question marks. Defense is the first major problem area. Only six teams allowed more shots than Chicago's average of 29.2 last season. Though Jocelyn Thibault is a better-than-average goaltender, he's not a miracle worker. The Blackhawks have some solid offensive-minded defensemen in Boris Mironov, Anders Eriksson and Bryan McCabe, but their stay-at-home defensemen should do just that. Hopefully, there will be some surprises back there during camp.

Can the Hawks find a balanced scoring attack? If Eric Daze and Alexei Zhamnov can produce more consistently, perhaps. The two are chronic underachievers and once again, Chicago will have to rely heavily on one player -- Tony Amonte -- to provide the bulk of the offense if those two fail to deliver.

Biggest position battle: Defense
Mironov and McCabe would be second-line defensemen for most clubs, but since this is Chicago, the duo can be found most times with the top unit. Who will round out Chicago's defense corps this season? After Mironov, McCabe and Eriksson, it will be a free-for-all in training camp for the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh slots on the blueline.

Steve McCarthy will be given a good crack at winning a job, along with newcomers Nolan Baumgartner, Steve Poapst and Chris McAlpine. Jamie Allison, Brad Brown and Doug Zmolek round out the defensemen who will battle for jobs this September.

Future watch
Here, ESPN.com looks at one or two young players who could make an impact, either now or in the future.

Steve McCarthy (Defense)
The Blackhawks have not had a true two-way defenseman since the days of Gary Suter. The Hawks hope McCarty, a '99 first-round pick (23rd overall), fits the bill. The 19-year-old reached the double-digit mark in goals each of his first three seasons in the WHL, in addition to averaging nearly a point-per-game.

Dmitri Levinsky (Right wing):
Levinksy is a strong skater who is still working on his offensive skills. He doesn't drive though traffic well right now, due in large part to his 6-foot-1, 183-pound frame. But he does possess a powerful wrist shot. The '99 second-round draft pick (46th overall) will probably spend at least one more season playing in his native Russia before he's given an opportunity to crack the Blackhawks lineup.

Training camp roster
Goaltenders: Michel Larocque, Jeff Maund, Erasmo Saltarelli, Rob Tallas, Jocelyn Thibault.

Defensemen: Jamie Allison, Nolan Baumgartner, Brad Brown, Kevin Dean, Anders Eriksson, Chris Feil, Jason Hamilton, Chris McAlpine, Bryan McCabe, Steve McCarthy, Boris Mironov, Jeff Paul, Steve Poapst, Arne Ramholt, Dmitri Tolkunov, Marty Wilford, Andrei Yershov, Doug Zmolek.

Forwards: Tony Amonte, Blair Atcheynum, Mark Bell, Kyle Calder, Eric Daze, Aaron Downey, Michal Grosek, Casey Hankinson, Chris Herperger, Mark Janssens, Ty Jones, Steve Larouche, Patrick Lebeau, Jean-Yves Leroux, Josef Marha, Dean McAmmond, Brian McCullough, Michael Nylander, Colin Pepperall, Nathan Perrott, Geoff Peters, Bob Probert, Mike Souza, Steve Sullivan, Ryan Vandenbussche, Reto Von Arx, Valeri Zelepukin, Alexei Zhamnov.

Charles Avellino is a lead NHL researcher at ESPN.