Jeff Blashill on Setting the Tone | Chicago Blackhawks

What’s it like for you to be back in this role of your team, your systems running the show again? My uh my feet are killing me. I I haven’t been on the ice since April, so like uh that was a hard adjustment. Uh I don’t remember them hurting that bad, but I guess that’s what happens every training camp. Training camp’s always a lot, you know, and so um no, but it’s honestly I woke up this morning. Um I was I was pumped. I’m just pumped. Uh uh you know, you get to this point of year and you’re ready to roll. Um, but obviously in in uh you know with the new job and with the new opportunity um I’ve really really enjoyed our group as people and getting to know our guys and uh kind of where their commitment level is and uh so I’m excited about it. I you know obviously we got lots of work to do but you could see out there the guys put the work in and if we put the work in um things will the good things will happen. When how quick I have no idea but I I love the the work ethic today. Our execution has to get better um but I love the work ethic. what you hope to achieve today? Well, you know, I guess I I would make it a broader statement a little bit like out of camp, one, we want to start to build a culture here and uh two, we want to uh we want to make sure when when this camp’s over and part of culture, I would say, is fundamentals. Uh the fundamentals within the systems part the second goal would be to make sure your systems are in place. Third goal would be uh to figure out who’s in what spots. So if I go back to the culture part today was a lot of that uh culture side of it in terms of uh you know the first practice was solely focused on winning fundamentals and um stopping on pucks angling uh winning the the race uh uh on on transition your first three strides uh almost that whole that whole practice and in its entirety was focused on those things. um the the second part of practice built from that uh and we started to implement some of our track principles, but really a lot of track is is uh you know that work ethic side of it. So um culture was a big part of what we want to do every day uh within that is the winning fundamentals and that was a big focus for today. Is it speed where you thought it would be? I mean you watched a lot of tape with these guys now you’re finally seeing them together. Yeah, I mean I think um we created a little bit of a muddy track out there because uh there was a lot of stops and starts early and and but the speed will I can see on tape. I know we’re a fast team. You know, I know we have a good skating team um uh on the back end and up front. So speed is something that we want to make sure that we make important. Um we want to uh be a team that is is extremely fast in transition and ultimately uh utilize that speed to try to put other teams on their heels. The intensity for the first day seemed a bit unusual. I guess how import is that to you to I mean go right away at a certain level compared to like kind of easing this and is that kind of what we will see throughout training camp that level of intensity. Yeah, I mean yeah for sure and you know I talked to the guys through the course of the summer and I made it very aware that we were we weren’t going to ease into it. We weren’t going to dip our toes into it. We were going to we you know I expect them to be in great shape. I expect them to have some stops and starts in them and uh we were going to we were going to go right at it right away and and um you know I think making sure uh that that work ethic’s in place, the competes in place, those things are extremely important to us and and those are easy things to talk about but you got to go out and do it and and part of you know I’m a big believer if your practices are are extremely intense um almost the games become easy you know and and both from a intensity from a it can kind of show its way different or show its head different ways. One is just making sure you’re going tape to tape like if you know your execution has to be great. Um winning battles, things like that. So, um you know, that’s something, you know, as you get through the course of year, you don’t get to practice as much and obviously you got to manage your energy. Um but this is the time now where we can really set the tone. We want to set the tone. And you you you’re pretty vocal out there. Is that something you’ve always been vocal, coach, or is that something you picked up of? Did you hear my voice crack? I guaranteed to the coaches it would crack within the first uh they hit those high notes a little bit. Um uh I yeah know I’d say I’m fairly vocal. I mean you know there there’s going to be certainly times where the assistants are running more of the drills than than what they did today. um uh they’ll they’ll certainly at different times, but you know to start the camp I wanted to make sure that uh my voice was heard and and but it’s something I probably have always been. I know nothing but the first day of having Bowski with Bernard. What what do you kind of think behind that line? Um well like you said nothing’s you know we’re kind of trying out. I mean at the end of the day um you know I Connor and uh and Donado there played a lot a decent amount together last year. You know we want to get through the camp and figure out what the best lines are. So, it was a pairing that we or a threesome that we wanted to try to start camp and hopefully get him in an exhibition game at some point and see how they go. Ultimately, um, you know, uh, Andre is a guy who can who is a when he’s been at his best, uh, you know, talking to the coaches in Colorado, talking to the different coaches he’s played for, he’s really good at bringing pucks up through through the neutral zone, I think he can play off Connor. There’s a give and go component to his game. So, I think it could be a good uh, you know, good match there. Donado is a good a good scoreer. Um Connor can do do it all. He’s as good equally as good as I’ve found out on tape. He’s equally as good a passer as he is a shooter. Um so hopefully it’s a good uh a good threesome. All of these young guys in camp. What can they do to separate themselves in your rest of that group to stay here? Yeah, I mean I think you got to be great at what you’re great at and and you know I don’t I I wouldn’t say it’s a blanket statement that one guy at the end of the day. Um you know I I’ve said to people as we’ve talked individually like what separates you? What are the things that separate you? What how can you make yourself a commodity on this hockey team or in the NHL? And I think there’s a there’s a self-reflection that goes on with young players as they come into this league because they might have been one thing in junior college and they have to kind of you know there’s only two spots on the top power play unit on the flanks and so you might have been not in college but you might not get there enough. So then what can you do that separates yourself? So to me it’s more of a case by case basis ultimately uh playing great hockey is how you separate yourself and and this is a league where the the cream uh the best are the ones that end up at the top. It’s going to be a very young blue line this year, but there a lot of good core pieces in classic left. How excited are you to work with them individually and see their growth as they kind of evolve into NHL players? It’ll definitely be the youngest, you know, decor that I’ve uh been a part of in the NHL. Um, but it’s a very talented group and uh talented in a way that I think translates to success uh in a sense that uh they’re they’re extremely big, extremely long, extremely good skating. Um, they’re not like a bunch of guys that just beat people one-on-one. They they they do that. They’re efficient in their games, which the best defenseman to me are efficient. Um, so they’re not flashy talented. They’re legit talented. Um, you know, I think part of defense is is experience and learning, you know, where to stand in the right spot. You know, that was an old coaching saying he just knows where to stand. And there’s some reality to that. Um, so you know, although young, we’re going to have growing pains at times, but I’ll take our chances with uh with talent the way that we have it on the back end. Any other impressions? Well, I I got a chance to watch him play up in Minnesota. Um, I’ve got a chance to see him here today or, you know, actually, I guess before the games, even watch him in practice. Uh, he’s definitely somebody when he gets in the scoring area, looks like he can score. You don’t score 70 or or what whatever he had last year without being a really good goal scorer. Um the key at this level or you know at the professional level will be getting in those spots and and and having the puck enough to to have those opportunities to shoot it in the net. Um he had some good chances up uh in Minnesota. He they didn’t go in but I think they will go in you know so um he’s a guy that looks like a hockey player. Um again just you know eager to see his progress. How unique is it in your experience to have so many players first or second year pros and how critical does it make that with you and Jared Nightingale and Rockford and kind of set those habits with young guys starting their pro journey? Yeah. And I you know I think that’s a it’s a extremely important thing is that you’re setting and it’s kind of like what we talked about about setting the tone in practice today. It’s hard to it’s hard to you can always loosen the leash later but you can’t pull it back a lot of times. So, you got to make sure early you’re you’re setting the right habits, you’re setting the right fundamentals, um so that they’re their their games grow the right way. Um it’s one thing in this, you know, you can be a guy who gets points but doesn’t play both sides of the puck, doesn’t do those things, you’re not winning at that point. So, like you want to make sure they learn how to produce offense while doing it in winning hockey ways. And I think that’s a real critical thing. Um you know, it’s a young group. Uh there in some ways there’s there’s comparables to when I was in Grand Rapids in the American League. You know, you have a young group of talented guys and you have a group of uh you know guys in their you know whatever early 30s for the most part and and they’re kind of papa bears and help the young guys along. That’s kind of there’s real comparisons to my experiences that that I had in the American League. So, but in the end, um I think you know coach said this to me a long time ago. He was a former player said his best coaches made them do it right and we’re going to make our guys do it right. One thing about practice, there’s intensity in the drill, but it seems like you also um move them along really quickly like get in the circle the next drill and stuff like that. How much is tempo, you know, aside from intensity, how much is tempo important to you and what kind of message that says in terms of how you value the players time basically? Well, the one thing I’ve I learned a long time ago is don’t uh waste guys time. We don’t want to waste guys time in meetings. We don’t want to waste guys time uh when they’re out doing media stuff, whatever it might be. I think it should be efficient and so our practices should be efficient. We should be organized. Our coaches should know where the pucks are going. Um we should be able to move from one to the other. I’ve learned a ton watching like football, NFL uh practices, stuff like that. No, seriously, it’s unbelievable. They’re they’re they’re they’re they’re down to the second. And so I learned a ton having spent different times in those things. We’re going to be efficient. We’re going to move from one to the next. We’re going to go at a high pace. If we want our guys to play at a high pace in a game, we got to practice at a high pace. Thanks, guys. Thanks. See you tomorrow. See them.

Head Coach Jeff Blashill discusses the importance of work ethic and culture, highlighting the team’s focus on fundamentals, speed and transition play during training camp

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