Jeff Blashill Excited to Build, Teach, and Coach Blackhawks

Jeff Blashill was officially named the 42^nd head coach in the storied history of the Chicago Blackhawks. The injected youth into the locker room at the end of last season made it feel like this team was about to turn a corner. They are far from Stanley Cup contenders, but they played like a group that is sick and tired of being at the bottom of the standings. Blashill echoed that sentiment.

“For me, this job, at this moment, with this team, was the exact job I wanted.”

General manager Kyle Davidson began the press conference by giving us some insight into the coach search and why he believes hiring Blashill is the right move for future success.

“Going back several months, we crafted what we were looking for in the next head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. We wanted someone who would grow with this team. Someone who would teach and hold our players accountable to the fundamental habits required to win in the NHL. Someone would embrace the challenge of working with and developing a young group of players. And also, someone who shared the same vision that we have for the players and prospects we’ve accumulated and built to this point.

“In Jeff, we found a candidate that checks all those boxes. With his considerable head coaching experience at both the pro and amateur ranks, with championships along the way, his experience with elite coaches and players, and also the opportunity to learn in his first opportunity as an NHL head coach – I felt Jeff was uniquely positioned to grab the reigns of a group brimming with potential.”

Blashill’s Time in Tampa Bay Led Him to Chicago

One of the first things Blashill did today was to thank the Tampa Bay Lightning for his three years as an assistant coach. While he admitted he is good friends with head coach Jon Cooper, it was easy to tell how valuable his time under him was and how it made him a better coach.

“I had a chance to see a team that had just won two Stanley Cups and went to a third Final, and what a championship team looks like, how they play, how they practice, and what their approaches are,” he said.” All those experiences mean that on day one of training camp, I can stand in front of our group and know exactly what it’s going to take for us to get to the top. Not guess, not hope, but know.”

Blashill’s record in Detroit doesn’t exactly inspire greatness. However, having three years to learn and grow under one of the game’s best coaches while working with some of the top players in the NHL made him an attractive candidate. Had he been hired immediately after being let go in Detroit, the chances for success would not be as high.

“The three years couldn’t have worked out better for my experience,” he said. “If this opportunity had come along after year one, I’m not sure. I’ve had a long time down there to see the inner workings. Certainly, Coop is considered one of the best coaches in the NHL. And then you get a chance to work with elite players. Every elite player I’ve worked with is unique. You get to learn from coaching a Nikita Kucherov, a Steven Stamkos, a Victor Hedman, and an Andrei Vasilevskiy. They all take different approaches. The key is learning to connect with them, so that you’re working towards the same goal.”

Blashill’s Daunting Task

Blashill is a smart man. He knows what lies ahead of him. He isn’t going to walk in on day one, write down a lineup on the whiteboard, and watch the wins roll in. He knows there is a lot of hard work to be done. Undoubtedly, he wants to be here, and he’s excited about what is being built.

“The scouts here have done an excellent job,” he said. “We have a number of great young players in the system, and who will be with us to start the season to start the season in Chicago and knocking at the door in Rockford. We have an opportunity to have depth at every position and, honestly, potential superstars at every position. That’s very unique in this league. My job now is to help mold them, teach them, coach them, and lead them to become great winners in this league. It’s a job I look forward to.”

The new coach praised the veterans in the locker room, like Connor Murphy and captain Nick Foligno, who were present today. He will look to them to be “Papa Bears” to the young core that is forming. He knows there is a fine line between winning games and developing players, and it’s hard to do both at the same time.

“I’ve always felt they’ve gone hand in hand,” he revealed. “Once you have your team, the best way to increase your ceiling is for those individual players to get better. And that’s not just the young players. That’s asking Nick Foligno to make sure he continues to improve his game. Ultimately, when you have a group of young and talented players, if you find a way to keep developing those guys, your ceiling goes up.”

Blashill confirmed that his coaching staff is nearly complete. Anders Sorensen will stay on board as an assistant, with Michael Peca coming from the New York Rangers. He added that he is close to bringing his last assistant, who will have coaching experience at different levels. The rumored Mike Vellucci sure fits that bill. Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite will remain with the team.

Now that the staff is nearly complete, Blashill can implement his culture. He’s won championships in the USHL and AHL and has those years in Tampa to fall back on. When he has a winning roster, he wins.

“We went in and were able to implement a culture of accountability, create a championship standard, develop those young players, and win,” he said of his time with the Grand Rapids Griffins. “Then I went through seven years of a hard rebuild in Detroit, so I know the pain this group has gone through. I also know the pitfalls that are potentially ahead, and I’ll work like crazy to avoid those pitfalls as we go forward to lead this team to a better tomorrow.”

Success is Playing to Your Strengths

Blashill is a coach who wants his players to learn winning habits, be responsible two-way players, and work hard at repeating those habits every time they take the ice. He also knows that you must put players into positions to succeed and not try to force round pegs into square holes.

“You have to work to your team’s strengths,” he declared. “If there is one thing about this group that stands out to me, it is speed and skating. This team has a group, not only in the team that will start here in the fall, but also some of the players coming, they all can skate and be a weapon. So, how do we utilize that? I have certain beliefs in hockey that aren’t going to change, but they actually play into the strengths this team has. When we don’t have the puck, we want to pressure and give the other team no space. If you can skate, you can do that. When we do have the puck, we want to play as fast as we can and be relentless in our attack. If you can skate, you can do that.”

He mentioned the young defensive corps, full of big players who can all skate. One of his first jobs is to work with his coaching staff to devise a breakout plan that takes advantage of their skating and speed.

Of course, we wouldn’t have a press conference without talking about Connor Bedard. He is the key to this rebuild, and getting him to the next level needs to be the top priority for the new coaching staff. Blashill is very confident in his young star’s abilities and where he’s heading.

“Connor is going to get to another level,” he confidently said. “I don’t think there is any question. Like other superstars in this league, he has the drive to be the best he can be. There is zero doubt in the ability he has. Working towards Connor’s strengths will be important.”

Blashill once again mentioned the winning habits when it came to Bedard. He was already planting the seeds of accountability when saying those habits include stopping on pucks, taking shorter shifts, and making good line changes. Those are the things that lead to developing a winner. He also said Bedard is most dangerous with space, they will work on creating more space for him, either with his brain or getting a little bit quicker. Bedard can be a superstar in this league, and having a coach who will be hard on him when the situation calls for it will be helpful in his development.

Let’s face it, outside of David Carle or Mike Sullivan, no hire would win over this fanbase instantly. Even those two guys would have to draw criticism from the people who are never happy on social media. But if you can listen to what Blashill had to say today, and see that not a single respected hockey person has said a bad thing about the hire, and still think Blashill is a horrible hire, there’s nothing I’m going to write to change your mind. His experience serves this franchise well, and his confidence in himself is impressive. Neither guarantees success in Chicago, but they are a good start.