Yesterday the Blackhawks started their 2024-25 season with a fun day — to watch. I’m sure the players were feeling the burn after skating a scrimmage right out of the gate on the morning. There were a few line combinations that got a little attention and a few goals were scored. It’s important that we all remember that, while some of these things are intriguing in the immediate moment, it was the first day of training camp. Lines will change. Roles will evolve. Guys will look both good and bad. Head coach Luke Richardson said after the captain ceremony that they plan on juggling the lines during camp to get a different look at a lot of ▨guys.
We’re still a number of days away from the Blackhawks’ first preseason game so let’s keep watching and paying attention, but not put a lot of stock into anything we saw on Day One being a permanent thing.
… with that being said, the forward lines in the scrimmage were interesting to watch. A few guys were not in the scrimmage who will certainly be on the Blackhawks’ NHL roster. I think many of us like/love the idea of putting Jason Dickinson and captain Nick Foligno back together on the third line. The big question becomes who the third forward is on that line. And there are plenty of options this year. Newcomer Ilya Mikheyev got that spot on Thursday.
One line not included in these tweets from Charlie or my write-up from yesterday is a line of Landon Slaggert — Ryan Donato — Joey Anderson.
Ben Pope shared his observations from Day One of training camp, with a few thoughts about the Blackhawks getting old this summer.
Have you tried to get tickets for a Blackhawks game yet for the coming season? I hope you have, because early preseason on Thursday tell us tickets to see the Hawks this season aren’t going to be cheap or easy to get. According to their reporting, this year’s Winter Classic (vs. the Blues at Wrigley Field) is driving 3x the sales of last year’s Winter Classic at the same time.
StubHub also reports the Blackhawks are the No. 1 hottest team on their platform, with sales up 2.5x over last season — the highest increase of any team
Harman Dayal at shared ten players he views as breakout candidates for the coming season. I’m always interested in these specific pieces because everyone’s definition of a “breakout player” is different. Last year, I would have easily pointed to Philipp Kurashev as a breakout player on the Blackhawks because he almost matched his career point total (combined over three seasons) in 75 games. Here’s how Dayal classified his “breakout” player criteria:
Age-related growth potential (most players peak in their mid-20s, so if you’re younger than that, you’ve got a natural tailwind).
A bigger role/increased ice time.
New opportunities to play with upgraded linemate(s).
So looking at age-related, a bigger role/increased ice time and upgraded linemates led my brain to… Lukas Reichel, right? But he included Connor Bedard on his list. Here’s what he said about Bedard:
We’ll keep this 🧸section sho🗹rt and sweet because I don’t think it requires a lengthy explanation.
Bedard is a once-in-a-decade type of talent. He’s an elite shooter, a tremendous puckhandler and a gifted passer. He’s an above-average skater and has the elite hockey sense to make creative, highlight-reel plays that others just don’t sꦆee. Bedard lived up to🎉 the hype in year one and yet there’s room for him to score a lot more than the 22 goals and 61 points he produced in 68 games last season.
Chicago’s upgraded pool of wingers should offer a major boost for him. Few, if any, top-line centers had less help than Bedard last year — Philipp Kurashev, Nick Foligno and Ryan Donato are the three forwards who shared the most five-on-five minutes with him, according to Natural Stat Trick. Teuvo Teräväinen and Tyler Bertuzzi could be options to play with Bedard, wiඣth either representing a significant upgra🔯de.
Bedard could easily hit 80-plus poin💃ts with natural age-related growth and improved talent around him.
All correct and ideal. Bedard should see improved quality of linemates and have better defensemen on the ice most/all of the time this season. So valid points. And exciting to consider.
ranked Bedard No. 10 on their “25 must-watch people in the NHL for 2024-25” list. Here are their comments on Bedard:
A 22-goal, 61-point rookie campaign was enough to earn Bedard the Calder Trophy, but he’s made no secret of the fact that he’s expecting much more from himself in Year 2. He won’t be lacking motivation. Bedard’s first tour around the NHL was made immeasurably more difficult by playing for a team that was out of its depth mo🍨st nights, and the Blackhawks have since added several established veterans to help steady the ship. Plus, the 19-year-old had another full summer of training under his belt and will no doubt want to do everything he can to try and garner consideration for Canada’s Four Nations entry. Add it all together and everything points to a big Bedard bounce incoming.
The Athletic also published their annual player poll on Thursday. Lots of interesting vote totals, including thoughts on expansion, changing overtime other topics. One that got my attention: “Which coach other than your own would you most like to play for?” Easily it was Jon Cooper-Paul Maurice in the top two spots. “Other” came in third. But tied for fourth was Rod Brind’Amour, Jim Montgomery and… Joel Quenneville.
Hey, wanna talk about the 2026 NHL Draft? Yeah, the one that’s two full seasons away! People are already buzzing about the likely top pick in two years… just like they did for his cousin a few years back. Gavin McKenna, who is indeed related to Bedard, is grabbing eyes and the attention of NHL scouts already. He talked to TSN about his hockey journey.
Moritz Seider got paid.
Apparently Dawson Mercer did, too.
I’m never going to be a fan of Ohio State but this is well played. Tweaking the graphic so it’s THE Stadium Series is a nice touch.
Kyle Okposo officially announced his retirement on Thursday.
The Ducks have a new captain. It’s Radko Gudas.
Finally, Shohei Ohtani became the first 50-50 player in the history of baseball last night. And he did during what I would consider the greatest individual game from a position player in the history of the game. Yes, even the “keep your hyperbole” old man (read: me) is calling what Ohtani did last night the greatest individual box score in the history of the game.
