Head coach Jeff Blashill explained that they wanted to get the players going, highlighting puck touches, conditioning, and getting the systems in place so they can play games without thinking.<\/p>\n
![\"Jeff](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jeff-Blashill-Blackhawks-1200x800.jpg\")
Jeff Blashill, head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
When it came to the first mandatory practice, Blashill was happy with what he saw from the players in a lengthy practice on Feb. 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cI liked it. I thought, you know, a number of our guys skated yesterday, and I was impressed, actually, with how they did. You know, today we did a lot of puck touch stuff early, and it wasn\u2019t the cleanest puck touches ever, but I certainly had patience for that- guys have been off for quite a bit of time. But I thought our energy was good. I thought our attention to detail was good. So those are the two things that\u2026 you know, our work ethic was good. Those are important things.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a lot the Blackhawks will look to improve on as they enter the final stretch of the regular season, such as the power play and offense. But, as popularly said, to get desired results, you first have to have the right mindset and attitude. That seems to be evident in the locker room.<\/p>\n
Frank Nazar<\/a> told me regarding the team\u2019s eagerness to be back on Feb. 18, \u201cYeah, I\u2019d agree with you. I think that there\u2019s a lot of eagerness to get back playing. You know, we want to take steps as a team. So I, think\u2026 literally exactly what [Foligno] just said. [Author\u2019s Note: Folgino was talking in an interview next to us]. I think we want to be great, and we got to take steps at that. So I think these days of practice coming up with 16 games this next month, we really need to take advantage of it. So I think we\u2019re all going to be eager to learn our systems better and build some chemistry as a team, and go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n This mini training can serve as a \u201cfresh start\u201d, and that in itself is something to look forward to.<\/p>\n Foligno said, \u201cI think just fine-tuning our game, right? Finding a way to make sure that we come into\u2026 the the last third of the season, where we find our rhythm, find our game, and get to it more consistently than maybe we did going into the break, right? And that\u2019s something I\u2019m looking forward to. A little reset here for our group, and you know, finding a way to push and become the really good team that we want to be, and have the whole lineup carry us through, and, you know, we\u2019ll see where things go\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n How the team will look against the Nashville Predators when games resume on Feb. 26 is yet to be seen. They sit 10 points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, and the trade deadline looms on March 6. However, the focus first is simply on regaining form.<\/p>\n Related: Blackhawks News & Rumors: Kaiser, Korchinski, Rinzel, Bedard, More<\/a><\/p>\n Foligno continued, \u201cYou know, I understand what position we\u2019re in in the standings, but I\u2019m not really worried about that. I\u2019m just trying to find our game consistently, where we had it going early in the season. We kind of dipped a little bit. So, I\u2019m looking forward to finding that more (consistently) here. I think it\u2019s the challenge of going into this training camp.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe this break will serve them well when games resume, but for now, the intention is there. The work ethic is there, and if they return showing signs of a winning team, then that will be paramount. It\u2019s a concept that they have been stressing all season.<\/p>\n When I asked Foligno about the mini training camp being a fresh start, \u201cYeah, fresh start, and like what we\u2019re trying to become, right? And understanding how it\u2019s an all-the-time league. I would say that, like so does Blash (Blashill), and every team that you play on, like it doesn\u2019t matter what you did yesterday. It\u2019s, \u2018What are you coming in here to do to get better at today?\u2019 And I think that\u2019s the mindset that we have to have.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cAnd knowing that if we have that mindset, then our games will start taking care of themselves, where every night, we know what to expect of each other. We know what kind of performance we have to have, and then all of a sudden, you start getting to that identity every time. Then it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, here\u2019s the Blackhawks. This is what they are. This is their team,\u2019 and then you fine-tune that even more, and hopefully you put yourself in a good position to be a winning team all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a>![\"SUBSCRIBE](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blackhawks_Banner-1200x122.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n