SEATTLE — Not too long ago, when a Chicago Blackhawks prospect would walk into the locker room for the first time, he would be surrounded by future Hall of Famers like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith. Everyone was a star, everyone was a veteran, everyone was in their late-20s or mid-30s. After practice, they rushed out of the building to get home to their families rather than sit around and discuss stick flexes and tape jobs.
Those older guys would go out of their way to make the new guy feel welcome — Toews, for example, was always the first to invite a new guy to dinner — but there’s an unavoidable intimidation factor that comes with playing alongside living legends who are five, 10, 15 years older than you.
But when Sacha Boisvert first walked into the Blackhawks’ room, he might as well have been walking doing it at Boston University, given how many guys 24 or younger were in there.
It’s helped make his transition from the NCAA to the NHL that much easier.
“Hundred percent, it’s helped,” he said. “The guys are making it super easy. Great guys all around. Everyone’s been super nice to me.”
It’s been a whirlwind fortnight for Boisvert, who has now played five games in five cities — none of them Chicago. But he said before Saturday’s game in Seattle that he’s just now starting to feel comfortable with the NHL, the speed of the games, the relentless pace of the schedule, the physical grind of it all. And sure enough, Boisvert picked up his first goal against the Kraken — a big one late in the third period that proved to be the game-winner in a 4-2 victory.
Boisvert capped off a strong shift by the fourth line by taking a feed from fellow first-round pick Kevin Korchinski in the slot and whipping it past Philipp Grubauer to put the Blackhawks up 3-1 with less than seven minutes left in the game. Seattle got back within one, but Ilya Mikheyev sealed the win with an empty-netter. Boisvert described his emotions upon scoring his first goal as “just happy.”
“It’s my first NHL win, as well, so that made it even better,” he said.
Boisvert has been centering the fourth line since he turned pro, sitting out a couple of games, too. Unlike Anton Frondell, he faces an uphill battle in making the team out of training camp next season. This brief window is an early audition for coach Jeff Blashill and his staff, and Boisvert knows it.
“Yeah, it’s like that to a certain point,” he said. “But on the other side, I’m trying to make the most of it every day, and just soak it all in.”
This was Chicago’s first win in Seattle since its first game here back in 2021. It’s hard to describe just how poorly the Blackhawks have fared at Climate Pledge Arena the last few years. It’s been their own personal house of hockey horrors. While much of Chicago was (fortunately) sleeping, the Blackhawks were usually getting run out of the building, turning one of the most nondescript and least-exciting teams in the league into the 1970s Montreal Canadiens. They lost six in a row to the Kraken since that first win, and it usually wasn’t pretty. There was a 7-3 loss. A 7-1 loss. A 6-2 loss. Nineteen shots in a 3-1 loss.
So it wasn’t just Boisvert who felt like he got a monkey off his back Saturday night.
“It feels good to finally get one here,” said goaltender Arvid Söderblom, who made 25 saves behind a stout defensive effort. The Blackhawks allowed just three high-danger chances in the first two periods before the Kraken started pushing in the third.
The game might have been the final blow to the Kraken’s waning playoff hopes, but it meant little to the Blackhawks, at least in the standings. They started the night in 31st place, they finished the night in 31st place. It was game No. 77 in another lost season, and the finish line is mercifully in sight.
But since the promotion of Nick Lardis to the top six and the arrival of first-round picks Anton Frondell and Boisvert, it’s been dawning on the Blackhawks that, after years of veteran stopgaps, this is largely the team that will be together for the long haul if everything goes right. Up front, it’s Connor Bedard with Lardis, Anton Frondell with Tyler Bertuzzi, Frank Nazar with Ryan Donato. On the back end, it’s six guys in their early 20s, minus the injured Artyom Levshunov, all of 20 himself. In net, it’s Spencer Knight and Söderblom, both just starting out themselves, the former emerging as a true No. 1 and the latter fighting to keep his spot as a reliable No. 2.
So performances like this one matter. It’s proof of concept for a young group that’s expected to take Chicago back to the playoffs — and beyond — someday.
“I think it’s critical,” Blashill said. “We’ve talked about it for a while now: This is our group moving forward, for the most part, give or take a player or two. We need to take strides. We need to take steps forward. If we don’t do it now, we’re going to have to do it a year from now, so why not take those steps and grow and learn?”
“When we play our best game, when we’re playing smart with the puck, it’s hard for teams to keep up with our speed,” Alex Vlasic said. “And then when we’re grinding teams down, our skill can shine through. It’s pretty cool to see us have success tonight and hopefully we can continue that the last couple games here down the stretch.”
Bedard, who had two assists, giving him 71 points in 64 games this season, said that spirit has kept the mood upbeat in the face of the mounting losses.
“It’s been good,” he said. “The biggest thing is how close we are as a group and how many good people we have. It’s a lot of fun to be in the room and play for each other. That’s the most important thing. But we have a lot of great players that are going to keep getting better every year, and it’s going to be fun seeing everyone do that and see us getting better as a team.”