Takeaways from Jeff Blashill’s introductory press conference with Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks officially introduced Jeff Blashill as the 42nd head coach in franchise history on Tuesday at the United Center.

The press conference lasted nearly 30 minutes, so let’s get right to it and highlight the biggest takeaways from Blashill and GM Kyle Davidson.

Why Blashill chose the Blackhawks

Blashill’s opening statement lasted nearly five minutes. No script, no notes; just straight from the heart. He spoke with confidence, assertiveness, and direct eye contact. It was an impressive display and offered a glimpse of the presence he’ll bring when delivering his message to a young Blackhawks locker room.

Blashill gave a long-winded answer when explaining why he chose this Blackhawks head coaching job. And it was a good one.

“For me, this was a great opportunity,” Blashill said. “Every single coaching job in the NHL is a great job but for me, this job, at this moment, with this team, was the exact job that I wanted and for a multitude of reasons.

“No. 1, I believe in working with great people. I know the research I did going into this job and carrying out and getting to know the management group, getting to know Danny, these are the type of people I want to go to work with every day. We have a shared vision of how we’re going to get to the top and I look forward to walking that vision on a daily basis with this group.

“No. 2 is the great player pool that Kyle spoke about earlier. The scouts here have done an excellent job. We have a number of great, great young players in the system and also young players that are going to be with us to start the season in Chicago and knocking on the door in Rockford. We have an opportunity to have depth at every position and honestly, potential superstars at every position, and that’s very, very unique in this league. My job now is to help mold them, teach them, coach them, lead them to becoming great winners in this league. It’s a job I look forward to.”

“Then finally, just my own experiences. I had the opportunity at different levels to come to similar-type situations with the Indiana Ice in the USHL, Western Michigan in college, Grand Rapids in the American League, where we went in, we were able to implement a culture of accountability, create a championship standard, develop those young players and win. I’ve gone through seven years of a hard rebuild in Detroit, and I know the pain that this group’s gone through over the last couple of years and I also know the pitfalls that are potentially ahead. So we’ll work like crazy to avoid those pitfalls as we go to lead this team into a better tomorrow.

“Finally, the three years I spent in Tampa, I had a chance to see a team that had just won two Stanley Cups and been to a third final and what a championship team looks like, how they play, how they practice and what their approaches are. All those experiences for me mean this: it means on Day 1 of training camp, I can stand in front of our group and know exactly what it’s going to take for us to get to the top and not guess, not hope but know. I’m extremely excited about that and that opportunity. I don’t want to sound like it’s going to be easy because it’s not. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to take more sacrifice and more work than most people are willing to give but for those who are willing to give it, I think the reward is going to be great. In time, this great city of Chicago and our great Blackhawks fans, we can deliver a championship-level team and I look forward to getting to that moment.”

Why the Blackhawks chose Blashill

When Davidson was narrowing down his list of candidates, he was hyper-focused on finding someone who would hold players accountable, build a winning culture, and develop young talent. Blashill quickly rose to the top.

“In Jeff, we found a candidate that checked all those boxes,” Davidson said. “With his considerable head coaching experience in both the pro and amateur ranks, with championships along the way, his experience working with elite coaches, with elite players, and also the opportunity to have learned through his first tenure as an NHL head coach, I felt Jeff was uniquely positioned and qualified to grab the reins of a group brimming in potential and to start molding that into an outfit that, in time, would be ready to grow and mature into winners in the NHL.”

Blashill’s coaching philosophy

Whenever a new coach is hired in any sport, one of the first questions usually asked is about their overall philosophy because it offers insight into the identity the team might take on. Blashill has shaped his approach by respectively learning from two of the NHL’s top coaches in Mike Babcock and Jon Cooper, and he plans to implement his own version by blending the lessons he’s taken from both.

“I want to score a lot and give up a little — let’s start there,” Blashill said. “Without getting into real detail in terms of schematics, it’s the overall philosophy I just talked about: We want to make sure, when we don’t have the puck, we’re a pressure team. We want to take away other teams’ time and space. You can do that a number of ways: through your gapping and your squeezing and using your defensemen to take the puck out of the opponent’s hands as quickly as possible in our end, trying to spent as little time in our end as possible, making sure we’re aggressive on the forecheck and making it feel like the other team has to earn every inch of ice.

“When you have the puck, making sure we’re predictable to each other, and by being predictable to each other, we can play faster. As you play faster, now your talent comes through.”

Blashill’s relationship with Connor Bedard

One of the biggest draws of the Blackhawks’ head coaching job for Blashill was likely the presence of a franchise cornerstone in Connor Bedard, who is still just a teenager. It’s a luxury Blashill didn’t have during the early stages of Detroit’s rebuild, where lottery luck never quite went his way.

Blashill has already spoken with Bedard over the phone, and it’s safe to assume his development will be high on the priority list as the Blackhawks work to shape him into a true superstar.

“First of all, I think Connor’s going to get to another level,” Blashill said. “I don’t think there’s any question because, like other superstars in this league, he has the drive and want to be the very, very best he can be. There’s zero doubt of the ability that he has. When you watch him with the puck on his stick, both his ability to shoot pucks and create plays and make passes is really elite — there’s zero doubt about that. 

“Working toward Connor’s strengths will be important. And then part of the process of any young player that I’ve ever coached … is helping them become the great winning-type players that you have to be in order to compete, like the four teams that are left right now. That means all those winning habits: making sure you’re stopping on pucks, making sure your changes are great, making sure you’re [taking] short shifts. All those things lead to the development side of a winner.

“And then there’s also the development side of finding ways to separate yourself in Connor’s case. How can he separate himself with the puck to create a little more space? Because when he has space in the offensive zone, he’s excellent as we stand here today. All those little ways — whether it’s with your brain, getting a little bit quicker — those things are in place to help him create that type of separation, and then also guide him into becoming that winning-type hockey player that we’ll need him to be.”

Blashill’s timeline for success

There hasn’t been much winning across Chicago sports over the past several years, and Blashill was reminded of that during his introductory press conference, especially when asked about the short shelf life of recent coaches.

“Is that my welcome to Chicago moment?” Blashill quipped with a smile.

The fanbase is eager to watch winning hockey again, and who could blame them? But the Blackhawks didn’t hire Blashill to take the team from 0 to 100 overnight. It’s still a process, and Blashill embraces that, which is why he was careful not to put a timeline on when he expects the team to be competing for the playoffs or Stanley Cups again.

“I’ll never put a timeline on that,” Blashill said. “I can’t. I have no way of knowing how long or how quick. I didn’t know when I went to Indy if it would take us multiple years; honestly I didn’t know if I was going to make it to Christmas. That was my first head coaching job, two of my kids were 1 and 3 and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But we ended up winning a championship, and we won it faster than people thought we would. 

“I didn’t know when I went to Western [Michigan] how long it would take to get that program back to a level of relevance; in that year we ended up going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in however [long]. 

“I didn’t know when I went to Grand Rapids how long, and we ended up winning a championship and had success after that. You just don’t know for sure. I know what it’s going to take, and I know process is the most important piece of that.

“What I will say is I won’t rush the process for a timeline. I believe in the process. I was able actually to see a pretty unique [example] in a different sport when I was in Detroit and watched Dan Campbell, his first year, have very very little success, but I watched him continue and stay strong and build a culture. When you see those types of experiences, it’s a good reminder to you as a coach: You have to make sure you get that culture in place. Once you get that culture in place, the winning takes care of itself. I don’t have an answer how long, and to be honest, that’s not really what my worry is. My worry is making sure we do it right from Day One, and we continue to do it right on a day-by-day basis.””

Rounding out the coaching staff

Blashill said he’s “close to finalizing” the entire coaching staff but confirmed that Anders Sorensen, who served as the interim head coach last season, will remain on the NHL staff as an assistant. The decision wasn’t forced by the Blackhawks, who have long held Sorensen in high regard, but rather a mutual one. Blashill wanted to keep Sorensen on board.

“I’ve known Anders for a long, long time,” Blashill said. “I have tons of belief in him as a coach and person. I think he’s a great fit to help guide our young players. He has relationships with a number of guys, which I think is important because it keeps some continuity on the staff. He’s very smart, very calm and I’ve learned a lot from him over the years in different coaching settings.”

It sounds like Sorensen will be in charge of the defensemen group, which was previously Kevin Dean’s responsibilities. Dean is not expected to be retained.

Blackhawks goaltending coach Jimmy Waite and video coaches Matt Meacham and Adam Gill will also remain on the staff. The three of them are some of the best in the business, so no surprise there.

Michael Peca, who had been an assistant with the New York Rangers, will join Blashill’s staff in Chicago in a similar role. Blashill thinks highly of Peca, who was a respected two-way centerman.

“He had an unbelievable playing career; he won two Selkes as a forward in this league — which means you’re an elite winning hockey player,” Blashill said of Peca. “Both from his coaching experience and playing experience, he can really help mold all our players, but particularly our forwards, and help them find their best games as we try to guide them to being the best winners they can be.”

The final assistant coach remains to be determined but is expected to be finalized soon.