I’ve written a lot over the past few years about the vibes in the room. During the first half of the 2024-25 season, walking into the room after practice felt like lots of the guys were at work. Taking off knee braces, shoulder braces, packing ice on limbs, un-taping body parts… some of the veterans who were brought in as placeholders were clearly playing the final few holes of their career (the end of the back nine, if you will).
This year was different from the jump. The relationships that have been built between the young players in the organization, starting with the off-ice development camps, have made this group incredibly close. And the energy in the room on a daily basis has totally shifted. It feels more like a college dorm now than a retirement village. And that energy and camaraderie is where a lot of the hope for the team taking a big step forward comes as we look to the future.
I wanted to grab one specific comment from Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson‘s end-of-year media that stood out to me. He was asked about the optimism we heard from a lot of the young players when they spoke with us, and their expectations to be playing for a postseason berth at this time next year.
“We’ve gone through [exit interviews] the last number of years where it’s been a little more skeptical. This felt different. This felt a lot more excitement and positivity and we can’t wait to get back next year and get back to it and rectify some of the … maybe the stretches we weren’t as good and we know we can be better. And honestly, I think there’s so much opportunity for positive momentum and positive growth next year, just on the improvement of our young players. We have so many of them that you get a collective group improving at the same time that there’s possibility for a big step forward and that’s before you ever consider any other roster additions.
“I’m just really excited about what the future’s going to bring for this group. They’re so tightly knit, they really, really like being around each other. They really want to go to battle with each other and you hear some of these plans in the off season, they’re going to be around each other a lot. And I think that’s really exciting for them moving forward because they’re going to push each other to get better because they want to win and they want to take steps. And so that’s just really exciting. They’re motivated group.”
One thing I’ve thought of over the past couple days regarding the Blackhawks’ blue line. When we consider the big steps taken by guys like Wyatt Kaiser and Louis Crevier this season, those should serve as indications the Blackhawks’ coaches are doing a good job at development. Obviously a lot of that is put on the player himself, but we’ve seen some really good, positive steps from young players this year — which should also point to the coaches. If we can see similar progress from Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel and more from Kevin Korchinski, that would help the Blackhawks next year a great deal. I asked Davidson if any of his prospects who weren’t in the NHL or AHL this season surprised him. He replied that the one guy he hadn’t seen much of before the draft last summer was Václav Nestrašil, and his freshman season at UMass was fantastic. I’ve been high on him from the get-go and he was very good in a tough Hockey East conference this year. Davidson also said he would still like to re-sign forward Ilya Mikheyev, and he’ll talk to his agent in the coming weeks. As I’ve said before, term is going to likely be the hang-up here. Mikheyev can likely get a deal with some good term on it, and should at 31 years old (he turns 32 in early October). Anton Frondell threw out the first pitch before the Cubs game on Friday.A post shared by cubs (@cubs)
How about an overtime game — and series — winning goal from Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov on Friday! Metallurg moves on to the KHL semifinals.OT-winner Series-winner Roman Kantserov sends Metallurg to the semifinals!#GagarinCup pic.twitter.com/ELsCo1sp8A
— KHL (@khl_eng) April 17, 2026 Hey, Connor Bedard was No. 1 in jersey sales in the NHL this season! As Ben Pope wrote, the Blackhawks had another strong year of butts in seats at the United Center. The players talked about the crowd being behind them all year. After the season finale, Crevier that he can’t wait to see what Chicago is like when the team plays like they did against San Jose more frequently.The Blackhawks finished 5th in the NHL in attendance this season (18,949 per game) despite finishing 31st in the standings."This is unbelievable."But come next season, it's time the Hawks start rewarding their fans for their loyalty. New story: t.co/eiiD00HmY5
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 17, 2026 Patrick Kane spoke with the media as the Red Wings cleaned out their lockers after a disappointing season.Patrick Kane on his future with Red Wings: “Everything’s so fresh right now. I thought we’d be playing right now. You think you’d be in the playoffs.”“I’d love to be part of the solution that helps us get over the hump. I think there is mutual interest.” pic.twitter.com/XSFaelZHPw
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) April 17, 2026 Elliotte Friedman reported on Friday that Maple Leafs ownership will meet with the the clubs’ all-time leading scorer, Mats Sundin, as soon as Friday about a role in the hockey department. The St. Louis Blues announced assistant coaches Claude Julien and Mike Weber won’t be back. The Canucks, owners of the No. 1 pick (at least the odds of winning it in the lottery) in the 2026 NHL Draft, will have a new decision maker. They fired their GM on Friday morning.Jim Rutherford, President, Hockey Operations, announced today that Patrik Allvin has been relieved of his duties as General Manager.
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 17, 2026 Finally, Jonathan Toews met with the media as Winnipeg cleaned out their lockers on Friday morning. He wouldn’t commit to playing next year, but he did say he enjoyed playing for his hometown Jets."If I decide to play next year, I’d love to be a part of this group."Jonathan Toews isn’t sure if he’ll return for another season. pic.twitter.com/TCPVOampq8
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 17, 2026BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
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