Kyle Davidson at Training Camp | Chicago Blackhawks

Kyle Davidson at Training Camp | Chicago Blackhawks

start with just a couple uh updates, medical updates entering camp. Um Lauron Braswis went underwent offseason hip surgery. Uh so he’s going to be out long term. Uh Jack Pridam’s got a it’s a small little infection he’s dealing with, so we hope to see him back on the ice uh in the coming days. AJ Spely had a shoulder injury during rookie camp or rookie tournament, I should say. Should be back in about seven to 10 days. And then uh Ty Henry who uh took a fall during our pre uh rookie tournament. Um he’s going to be undergoing knee surgery soon and update the timeline uh when we have a better idea. So that’s all I got. Just how how tough this came here and you guys too. to stay healthy. Yeah, it’s been really tough. And, you know, I think the, you know, the the thing that’s, you know, really difficult outside of the hockey part is he’s just a great he’s a great guy. He’s a hardworking pro. Um, you know, really proud hockey player. And so, it’s really tough to see. It’s really unfortunate. It’s not what anyone envisioned. But, you know, I think when you uh we kind of like watch what he’s doing, the work he’s putting in to do everything he can to get back in the ice, you can’t ask any more from an athlete and from a um a person you’re bringing into the organization. And and you know, he’s he he does everything he needs to do to keep this going in the right direction. He just, you know, you know, things just keep popping up and it’s just unfortunate. But, you know, we’re there to fully support him and uh do everything we can to get him back on the ice and and playing again. When you say longterm, are you talking at least few months? Probably. Yeah. Um yeah, I don’t I don’t have the exact time because we’re going to kind of see how he does, but yeah, month to month. Is this like career threatening stuff? The amount of things that he’s going through. I mean, is is he expecting to play in the NHL again? I think he’s definitely expecting to play again. Yeah. And that’s that’s you know when when you’re attacking rehab you know with the uh you know the intensity and and the intent that he is you’re planning to play again and we plan to get him there too. How was the white Kaiser contract negotiation last minute? Yeah got it done and got a young player back on the ice not missing any time and so um you know happy to have Wyatt under contract. I think he’s going to be a big part of our team this year and um looking forward to see him continue to establish himself in the NHL and and grow his game. What was your thought process behind that? Um you know I you know we traded for Spencer for a reason and he was a big part of um a very big deal for us. Uh part of that is because we believe in his potential to be a top flight starter in this league. And I think, you know, getting him under contract for the next couple years gives him and us some runway to kind of fur further establish ourselves, you know, put him in a position to be uh you know, the number one guy uh and and give him some runway in that role. and uh and you know we can kind of make sure we we revisit things in a couple years and make sure he’s here for a really long time. Could end up playing at Rockford this year? Is he locked into he’s he’s NHL or or junior? Yeah. There’s no no rule change this year in terms of Yeah. No, that’s not uh available to teams this year. Y where you’re at in the rebuild, what what does success look like for you this year? What are you What are you watching for? Yeah, I think I think we’re watching for the continued development and growth of our young players, but now with that impacting the NHL roster, um, you know, I think we’ve had some young players playing outside of the NHL the last couple years, we saw, you know, at the end of last year, we saw a little peak of it, but, you know, my expectation is that we will see that on a much more consistent basis. And you know it’s our belief that you know that quality coming up into the NHL and that youth is going to start propelling us forward and you know it’s you know there’s there’s an element of growth involved in this. Um but we believe that we will see a step forward this year. Um you know both in quality of play and then hopefully in in point total as well. Last year you were talking about it was time to start taking a step in the standings. I feel like that urgency might have died down a little bit because guys are getting here and they’re showing all these flashes. Are you more patient this year than maybe you were even at this time last year? Well, I think the composition of our team is just so different from last year. My honestly my expectation was that we would have performed better than we did, especially out of the gate last year. We had a veteran laden team. We were one of the more veteran teams in the NHL, which was by design. Um, which led us to believe that we would be a little bit further ahead. uh in last year’s standings than than we were. Um you we made mid-season changes because of the you know the results, but um you know that veteran laden team didn’t necessarily translate to where we are organizationally. Um, you know, now that we’ve seen this influx of young talent at the end of the season and coming in, there will be a patience factor with young players in the NHL, but there’s also an excitement factor and and a a future impact that we should see throughout this season or for some players that will be here for a very, very long time where, you know, some of the players that started the season last year and are no longer here, you know, they were uh, you know, they served a valuable purpose, but maybe not um part of the the overall solution here. You still have a lot of veterans up front. Do you worry about almost all of them are in the last year of their contract, but do you worry about them blocking guys that might be ready to, you know, take that next step? I don’t think so. No, I think there’s a lot of opportunity for the young guys and like you still have to have veterans in this league and you still have to um have guys that are established and know the grind and know um how to lead the way for some of these young players. And um again, there’s no rush to have any every single young player that’s in pro play in the NHL. There are going to be a lot of uh availability and a lot of spots open to them to to fight amongst each other for. And and again, if if there’s an opportunity or there’s a situation where a young player is outperforming a veteran, then uh that should merit a young player playing up the lineup. But um they’ve got to earn that and they’ve got to establish that over a course of time, too. It’s not um you know, you don’t a career isn’t made in a weekend or a preseason and so we’ll give them that runway, but uh the expectation is that we will see a lot more young players and and throughout the year hopefully they establish themselves as impact players in the NHL. PT, um you know, Matt’s a really good veteran in this league. Had a had a nice year last year. um you know, we’re we’re pretty young on the back end and so it was some additional competition and um for for our young players and you know, an opportunity for for Matt to take a run at either making our team um and if it doesn’t work out with our team, then it’s a showcase for the rest of the league. And so, um but first and foremost, he’s trying out to make the Blackhawks. And, um you know, we’ve gotten some really good reports on him as a person as well. great great character, great pro. Um he’s had some experience with some of our coaching staff as well as been a teammate with some of our players and so um lots of info there and then meeting him you can see see why they’ve spoken so highly and so um again just creating competition raised the level of camp and think it’ll be good for everyone. What were your observations from camp last week? Um yeah it was it was good. you know, I think it’s it’s try not to read too much into those things because as of today or tomorrow, it’s probably going to be an obsolete evaluation, but um you know, I thought some of the guys that played pro at the end of last year showed quite well. And so that’s that’s what you want to see. And then it was nice to get a look at um some of the new draft picks and see where they’re at and just kind of better understand their game firsthand. And so I thought it was a success from that standpoint. I know it’s extremely early. Has Jeff been able to start putting his stamp on the organization? Well, you know what? I I think just having the, you know, having him around and even just um setting things up for what’s to come. I don’t necessarily know if he’s been able to put his stamp on because you haven’t been hands-on with the players, but um even just the opening uh his opening meeting with the team at, you know, the other night at training camp uh opener was extremely impressive. I think the the players got a peak into how detailed and how specific and how high he’s setting expectations and and and the standards here. And so I think that was a great first step. Now they’re going to do it on the ice. And we’ll uh we’ll see how the next couple, you know, days and weeks go. But I have I have no doubt that that he’s going to make a a uh a very very strong and positive impact with with the organization. the Japanese take away from what you seem to not really looked it looked hard. Um, you know, it’s I I I did like, you know, he he was quite vocal early on and and so I think that was good. You know, I think it’s it’s just a practice. I said I don’t I’m not going to like make player evaluations on it, but I think just uh the tone that um Blash was setting and the expectations, you can see the standards there and you know something’s not right. Stop, correct, little skate, get back at it. And so it was was nice to see. Is there anything specific that you want to see from this camp that you maybe haven’t seen previous? Um I think it’s hard to say. Every coach has their own uh style and expectation. I think Jeff’s camp is going to be difficult. It’s going to be a challenging one which um you know I think sets the tone for the rest of the season. So I’m I’m excited to to see that. How does this organization view? Mhm. I think it’s a little bit of a prove it uh camp for for Lucas. It’s been um you know an up and down couple years for him. Um, but you know, we still see Lucas as an extremely talented, high upside player that um has just as good a shot as anyone as being uh, you know, breaking camp with this team. But he’s got to he’s got to earn it just like everyone else. And he’s got to find that niche like where where are you going to find yourself? Where are you going to line up in in the in the roster? And that’s up to um him to perform in camp and then coaches to uh deliver feedback and and have that give and take to to make sure that he’s got all the information necessary to um you know make this team. And uh you know it’s honestly it’s not that different from any other player, but he has some history here that uh you know has had some highs and some lows. And so, um, hopefully with the new coaching staff and, uh, new year, it’s a fresh start for him to to reestablish himself. The offseason speed. He made that either visually or through. Uh, I think visually you can see there’s a little extra pop there in the legs. You know, again, it’s early, right? and and a lot of the work uh that’s done in the offseason is is done to sustain that level that you come into camp with. And so um but you know early indications I think he looks great. I think he uh looks really athletic, lots of pop in his legs and um I think that’s that’s great for him. It’s great for us and I know he put a lot of work in and changed some things in the offseason and uh you know early indications off the ice and then you know again don’t want to make too many uh reading too much of a quick session but um I think he looks fantastic. We’ve got a few deals done this season for future but I think a lot of eyes are on what is going to do where do you have a sense of whether you guys negotiate during the season or have, you know, something he wants to wait after the year to finalize. Yeah, it’s, you know, it’s nothing we’re actively working on right now, but we I’ve Connor’s uh mention it. I’ll say it. I have zero concern about where that’s headed. He wants to be here for a long time. We want him here for a long time and we’re going to make that happen. regards to the young players in camp. What are some of the things you and your staff are kind of looking for to have one of these guys separate themselves from the rest? Um, it’s a good question. I think it’s it’s there’s probably a consistency that that’s going to be um required for a young player to separate themselves from the group. Again, we have a lot of young players and they all they’re not all going to play up to start. Um, but there’s a consistency that’s required to performing in this league and excelling in this league and so you want to see them get off to a good start in camp and and continue that through. But, uh, you know, I think there’s going to be a lot of evaluation throughout. Um, you don’t want to take too much into uh um, you know, into account early on and, you know, as guys get their feet under them. But, you know, I think those preseason games and and the the latter part of of camp will be very important as we push into actually getting down to numbers and and, you know, building out this roster for the season. I think it’s it’s going to be that consistency, you know, as we go once guys get their feet under them. And Kevin, third year pro, where do you kind of see him and where I guess where you hoping that he goes this season? Yeah, I think Kevin took a really nice step, I think, in the second half last year. Um, you know, I thought he had a nice playoffs for Rockford as well, and I’d like to see him continue that. Um, you know, again, he’s he’s he’s got an opportunity to make this team. Um, but he’s still very young, and if he doesn’t, then Rockford’s a great option. Uh, you know, he’s he’s still he’s still very young. We’ve known the name and he’s been on the scene. He started early. Um, but there’s there’s still a growth for all young players to to undergo uh to make sure they stick and are impact players in the NHL. And um I think something with a player like Kevin um confidence and and that uh willingness to go out and make plays is going to be a very big part of his success in in pro hockey in the NHL. And so we want to make sure that that’s there. want to make sure that he’s doing everything he can to play to his strengths and and uh and so um you know he’s still very much in the developmental stage of his career and so um if he shows that he’s ready for the NHL then he’ll be here. If if there’s some things that we feel he needs to work on and and continue to grow and play really big minutes and and in every situation then Rockford’s available to us and that’s again it’s it’s it’s not a step back. You know, you we go back and and look at all the players that have established themselves. You Duncan Keith is going to go on the Hall of Fame this this fall and he wasn’t a full-time NHL until he was 22 and it’s one of the best defenseman we’ve seen in in the last couple decades. Um, you know, it’s it’s a different it’s a different world now than when Duncan broke in and expectations are different, but we can’t lose sight of these are still young hockey players. We don’t um we don’t want to rush them. We want them to be the best players they can be and uh luckily we’ve got numbers. So if it’s Kevin or any other player that ends up in in Rockford or in the NHL, it’s going to be a situation that’s best for their development long term. How do you view the differences between junior and college from a development perspective? Seems like the last few years you’ve had college guys come in not ready but maybe closer to being the difference. Yeah, it I would attribute that perhaps more to um the age of the players coming out of college than you know than junior. Um but there are there are certainly differences and and advantages to each one. you know, there’s a bit of a heavier playing schedule and more games in in junior. There’s you know, more practice time and off ice workout opportunity in uh you know, perhaps in in college and you’re playing against older, stronger players, which um you know, there’s there’s a a uniqueness to playing against, you know, guys that are closer to being men. And so, um but we don’t we don’t um prefer one or the other. Every case is situational and a lot of times, most of the time, we take the lead of the player. Where do you think your development is best served? Um, you know, the last thing we want is to say, you know, player A, you’re going to go here because we think that’s best. They’re not fully invested. It doesn’t really go great and then all of a sudden it’s on us. And not to, you know, avoid blame in a situation, but we want them to have skin in the game. You know, it’s their career. it’s their development and a lot of times there isn’t a a clear best path and so if if they feel college is the best for them we support that. If they feel that junior is the best for them we support that. Of course we’re an input into that but um we don’t push one way or the other. There’s there’s just benefits to both.

General Manager Kyle Davidson discusses medical updates, contract negotiations and developing young talent on the first day of 2025 Blackhawks Training Camp

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