I got into a conversation the other day with a gentleman at a local purveyor of fine cigars about the Blackhawks that I think merits bringing here because it comes up frequently. The individual said in a somewhat disgruntled manner that he “doesn’t want to hear about the Blackhawks establishing culture” any more because they keep losing. Which I can appreciate.
But then he posed a question: who is actually establishing what culture in the room / with the organization?
My response wandered a bit through a conversation. But the reality is that the current version of the Blackhawks are supposed to play an important role in establishing the culture of the Blackhawks — but they aren’t how we should expect the future to look.
The culture that will ultimately matter has always been waiting to be taken up by the next generation of Blackhawks.
That’s been painfully obvious since the organ-I-zation made clear why they were allowing Jonathan Toews to move on and traded Patrick Kane. General manager Kyle Davidson has been telling us for more than two years that he wants the next generation of Blackhawks to be able to establish their culture the way Toews and Kane’s Blackhawks did back in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
That should, again, be obvious. We’ve known that for two years. It isn’t rocket science.
But how does the present impact the whole “waiting for the next generation” part of the equation?


Coming Soon: Leaders and Winners
A few times since the middle of June this year I’ve written something along the lines of “the Blackhawks have a type,” identifying some of the core attributes the front office has clearly circled as important. Obviously skating/speed on the ice is a priority when you look at the three draft classes with Davidson as the general manager.
But another area that’s been important is leadership. I’ve written multiple times about how many players in the Blackhawks’ pipeline have been a captain or an assistant/alternate captain somewhere before turning pro. The most recent addition to the ever-increasing list of letter-wearing by Blackhawks prospects is Oliver Moore serving as an assistant captain at the World Junior Championship — where he helped make history as the US won their second straight gold medal.
That’s another thing the Blackhawks have a lot of in the room: winning. I’ve brought this up to a few of the younger guys. Frank Nazar joked with me during the WJC that he was chirping Kevin Korchinski about the USA-Canada game.
Keep in mind that, in the group of under-23 players who are viewed as potentially being part of the Blackhawks’ growth curve and future core in the coming seasons, the following players/prospects have won at least one gold medal at the World Juniors:
- Connor Bedard
- Frank Nazar
- Nolan Allan
- Colton Dach
- Oliver Moore (A)
- Sam Rinzel
- Ethan Del Mastro (A)
- Gavin Hayes
- Landon Slaggert
Yeah, that’s nine players with a gold medal. Gold. And I noted that both Moore and Del Mastro wore a letter when they won gold.
I’ve talked to players like Nazar and Bedard and Slaggert about how they can think the things they did in those championship moments when things get hard in the NHL and the mindset of trying to win never changes. The opponents just get bigger, stronger, faster and older. But knowing where to dig deep inside to find that extra ounce of want to win a game is in there for many of these players. They’ve done it before. And they want to do it again.
The Blackhawks are stockpiling kids who can fly, and can hit, and can score goals. That’s great. They’re also hoarding players who have been captains, assistant captains and — importantly — champions.
What you don’t want to do as an organization is break the habits that made these young men leaders and champions in previous places. Which is why the Blackhawks are at a tipping point now with the way the NHL roster is losing.


Patience for Placeholders
The reason the Blackhawks didn’t just hand the captaincy to Bedard after his rookie season is because there’s a lot that goes into playing in the NHL that he is still learning. And I’m not limiting that idea to styles of play and how teams defend him. There are work habits and regimen ideas that he can take away from older players on the team.
That’s why the Blackhawks brought in guys with impressive postseason resumes. The expectation was that they would show the young guys how to do it. Unfortunately, injuries to players like Alec Martinez and Craig Smith and Pat Maroon‘s limited fourth line role have limited their ability to make much of a positive impact consistently.
And, frankly, knowing how to win in a seven-game series in May or June means jack **** in the middle of December when you’re sitting in last place.
This season hasn’t been anywhere close to what anyone hoped or expected. Which is why the Blackhawks are still in dead last place and on a second head coach already. That doesn’t mean there aren’t veterans setting a standard in the room, though.
Every time I talk to one of the young guys, they point out how Jason Dickinson set the tone with a physical shift or how Ryan Donato‘s motor never quits. Nick Foligno wears the C for very good reasons, and there are other guys in the room who are leading more by example than their voice as well.
It’s abundantly clear right now that there are some guys in the room who aren’t pulling their weight. For the first time in a while, Foligno referenced “guys who want to be here” when discussing the steps that need to be taken to get this season headed in any kind of a positive direction for more than 2-3 periods at a time. Bedard was legitimately despondent after the game, which is tough to watch/see/speak to.
The good news we need to keep in mind: most of the veterans who have been brought in are only on one- or two-year deals. The goal is for the next wave of players to push them out as soon as possible. Hopefully some of the veterans like Dickinson will be around long enough to take part in the corner turning as the future arrives.
The bad news for the organization: last night’s game was the first time in almost two calendar years that the Blackhawks had under 16,000 butts in the seats. I’m sure their media (TV/steaming/whatever you can do with CHSN) audience numbers are atrocious because the rollout of their network has been an unmitigated disaster. They’re losing fans.
Please don’t lose or break the next generation of players, too.