Today is Day Two of the Blackhawks’ sold-out training camp at Fifth Third Arena. As is Saturday. As was Thursday. 250 tickets per day have been secured, which is awesome! I’m interested to see if any of the line combinations or defensive pairs that worked out in a defensive-oriented practice on Thursday stay together today or if there’s some mixing and matching from head coach Luke Richardson and his staff. I’m more interested to see if Taylor Hall (and Colin Blackwell, but he was here last year) can join the team on the ice.
This made the Blackhawks smile… and it should make fans smile too. Connor Bedard has talked about his relationship with Nick Foligno a lot early in his professional career. The veteran forward texts back and forth with Bedard frequently and has invited him over for a meal or two since the draft. On the ice on Thursday morning, the two spent a lot of time talking. Foligno is a great leader and bringing him in with the Blackhawks going captain-less this season is going to help the room a ton. So yeah, this made me smile, too.
Speaking of leaders in the room, Connor Murphy was asked about playing with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and what made them special. He’s not only the longest tenured player in the room but I’ve always appreciated his thoughtfulness and candor when asked questions like this. And last year Murphy was one of the few guys who most frequently answered the bell after the team had a bad night. If the Blackhawks had named a captain — and I wholeheartedly agree with not having one — I would have put the C on Murphy. There’s a 0.0 percent chance he’d ever ask for it, but I think he’s a guy who’s earned the respect of his peers in the room.
Connor Murphy breaks down the transition of the #Blackhawks becoming a team without Toews & Kane.
Richardson compared Bedard’s Hockey Sense to Mark Stone’s on Thursday. Richardson coached Stone in Binghamton (Ottawa’s AHL affiliate) between 2012-14. Richardson noted that Stone isn’t the best skater in the world but he anticipates the play so well that he can make plays and rack up takeaways/steal the puck as well as anyone in the league because of his vision and understanding of the game. That’s a really nice compliment/comparison for Bedard if you’ve ever watched Stone play.
Richardson also talked about the group of young defensemen he has potentially making a push for an NHL roster spot this season — Wyatt Kaiser, Kevin Korchinski, Alex Vlasic, Isaak Phillips, Filip Roos being at the top of the list. Richardson also pointed out Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan, who will be turning pro this season (both likely headed to Rockford). For Richardson, it continues to be all about putting players in positions to succeed. It sounds like the Chicago Bears might be able to take something away from the Hawks’ coaches not wanting to overwhelm their young players with information and letting them feel the game, but educating them throughout the process.
“You can’t just rely on your one skill or two skill skills, you have to become a complete player,” Richardson said on Thursday. “That’s a big job for a young defenseman in this league. It’s tough and the rules make it even tougher now for defending. So we have to make sure that we give them all the insight and information that we can and spend some time and work with them and make sure they’re feeling confident and not playing risky and taking chances but playing the game.”
It sounds like Richardson saw something in the chemistry with Lukas Reichel, Philipp Kurashev and Andreas Athanasiou last year that he’d like to recapture — if possible — to start this season. That line skated together and Richardson said he liked what he saw from them when they were together last year. Natural Stat Trick‘s numbers don’t like that trio; they skated 111:49 of even-strength time together in 15 games and allowed as many goals (4) as they scored while getting out-chanced 65-36. But as is the case with any evolving line, numbers on the surface can be deceiving. Remember: Kurashev was banged up down the stretch and that line was getting a lot/most of the attention from opponents as guys departed via trade. With Bedard now in Chicago, Reichel’s line could benefit from getting more favorable matchups.
How about 2023 second-rounder Adam Gajan getting ready to make his season debut in the USHL?
On Thursday afternoon the sale of the Ottawa Senators became officially official. Michael Andlauer assumed control of the team last night and will be formally introduced soon, but shared some encouraging words with the Sens’ fanbase last night. This is great for the Senators — they’re staying in Ottawa — and fantastic for the game.
Finally, let this be my first moment of formally, officially encouraging the Rockford IceHogs to go get themselves a ‘chip this season. Success at minor league levels is great experience. It doesn’t always lead to success at the top level, but it sure doesn’t hurt. And one of the Cubs’ minor league affiliates clinched a championship series berth last night. Love to see it! Go Smokies!
Tab is the Lead Blackhawks voice for BN. He is the author of two books about the Blackhawks, most recently "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter at @The1Tab
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