«Чикаго Блэкхаукс» во второй раз в этом году отослало 23-летнего Павла Воробьева в АХЛ, в фарм-клуб, но на этот раз не на пару игр, а на более длительный срок, по крайней мере до конца олимпийского перерыва, во время которого Воробьеву теперь не удастся отдохнуть. 

Начав сезон с шестью голами в первых 13 матчах, Павел сделал одну точную передачу 29 января во встрече против «Калгари», но до этого не набрал ни одного очка в 14 (!) играх кряду. 

«Трудно забивать, когда нет достаточно игрового времени,» - сказал Павел в середине января в интервью «Советскому Спорту». «К тому же сказалась травма ноги в конце прошлого года. Целый месяц я с трудом натягивал конек, играл через боль и лишь на повторной проверке врачи нашли перелом кости голеностопа». 

1 февраля 2006 года. 
Hawks’ Vorobiev to spend Olympic break in minors // Chicago Daily Herald 

By Tim Sassone
 
There was a time earlier in the season when Blackhawks winger Pavel Vorobiev was being mentioned in the same breath with the top rookies in the NHL.

Vorobiev broke out of the gate quickly, scoring 6 goals in the first 13 games and was up to 8 after 21.

But since the middle of December, Vorobiev has scored only 1 goal in 18 games and Tuesday was assigned to Norfolk of the American Hockey League.

The deadline was Tuesday for players not on injury recall to be eligible to play in the minors through the 16-day Olympic break that begins Feb. 13. The Hawks felt Norfolk was the best place for Vorobiev to be during that time.

Because he still is playing under his entry-level rookie contract, Vorobiev did not need to clear waivers.

“We’re basically sending him to Norfolk because I don’t want him sitting around for nine days during the Olympic break when he could be playing hockey,” Hawks coach Trent Yawney said.

Unlike what has happened with center Mikhail Yakubov, defenseman Anton Babchuk and goalie Craig Anderson in the past few weeks, the Hawks aren’t giving up on Vorobiev just yet. But they want to see more intensity in his game and more determination to keep from getting knocked off the puck so easily.

“I think Pav’s still going to be a fine player, but he has to go down there and dominate the American League,” Yawney said. “Pav will be as good as he wants to be. If he wants to dominate that league, he’ll dominate that league because he has the skills. If he goes down there feeling sorry for himself, that won’t equate into anything in terms of his development.”

Yawney believes Vorobiev has the ability to be a top-six forward for the Hawks, who would like it to be as soon as next season.

“We’re hoping that he will, but not at 9 goals he’s not, when guys like (Washington’s Alexander) Ovechkin and those guys have 30 goals,” Yawney said. “That’s a bad comparable, but when you talk about top-six forwards, those guys around the league have 20 goals.”

Vorobiev’s situation differs from Yakubov’s in that this is only his third year as a pro. Yakubov, who was waived Friday and claimed by the Florida Panthers, was a fourth-year pro.

Yakubov and Vorobiev were drafted back to back by the Hawks, 10th and 11th overall in the first round in 2000.

“Yak just didn’t show the passion that was needed for a young guy that was getting basically a gift,” Yawney said. “We brought him over here (back from Russia) to get an opportunity, and you would think players would relish that chance. I saw a lot of the old Yak.”

The Hawks continue to use what’s left of another disappointing season to evaluate many of their younger players going forward.

They have decided Yakubov, Babchuk and Anderson didn’t fit into the future, and now the focus is being shifted to players such as Vorobiev, forwards Andy Hilbert and Patrick Sharp, defensemen Danny Richmond and James Wisniewski and goaltender Adam Munro.

“I want them to understand that they’re never, ever going to get another opportunity as a young player like they are now with the number of injuries we’ve had,” Yawney said.