The Chicago Blackhawks hired Jeff Blashill with the hope that his experience at different levels will allow him to get them going in the right direction. His time spent with great veterans and young players alike is seemingly perfect for this organization.
A lot of the players already on the team need some help around them to take their game to another level. When that happens, winning will follow them on a more consistent basis.
Three players, in particular, will take big steps under Blashill as he will set the tone for the new era.
Connor Bedard, F
The Chicago Blackhawks have their entire future being built around Connor Bedard. The first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has been great as a teenager in the NHL, but now he will be expected to take a big step as a point-producing forward.
Under Jeff Blashill, Bedard will be the focal point of the team’s offense. He has worked with superstar forwards like Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Dylan Larkin, Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point in the past. That knowledge may help him get Bedard to another tier.
Part of Blashill’s plan has to be figuring out what position Bedard will stick at in the long term. Is he a center or a winger? Once that is squared away, Bedard should be able to focus his game differently. Either way, expect him to become even more of an impact player under his new coach’s watch.
“Connor’s gonna get to another level,” Blashill said when he was first asked about Bedard. Another level means turning into one of the great offensive players in the NHL right now. "Like other superstars in this league, he has the drive, the want, to be the very, very best he can be."
Blashill already has a connection starting with Connor Bedard, which is important. He didn't take long to learn as much as he could about his young star. As Blashill is around Bedard's game more going forward, these mindsets will lead to success.
Alex Vlasic, D
Alex Vlasic had moments in 2024-25 where he was the best defenseman on the team. As Seth Jones was sent away and more young players started to come along, the pressure wasn’t as heavy on Vlasic. This was not Vlasic’s rookie year, but it was his big breakout that allowed him to stay in the NHL for the entire season.
Vlasic won a Gold Medal with Team USA this spring at the World Championships. In the role of a defensive defenseman there, his confidence in his own end has to be as high as it ever has.
A coach like Blashill will help young Vlasic go from being a solid player to a borderline star. In his new coach’s system and with some power play time, Vlasic may get himself into consideration for the Olympics in Milan 2026.
Expect Blashill to help him reach that potential by having him push the puck up the ice to an improved group of forwards while staying committed to his skills in his end.
“The scouts here have done an excellent job," Blashill said of the organization's recent success in acquiring talent. "We have a number of great young players. We have an opportunity to have depth at every position and potential superstars at every position, and that’s very unique in this league."
Vlasic is one of the young players who create the depth on defense that Blashill is referring to. With other new players ready to patrol the blue line for this team, like Sam Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov, Vlasic will be one of the guys relied on to lead that depth.
Frank Nazar, F
The Chicago Blackhawks called Frank Nazar up from the AHL's Rockford IceHogs in the middle of the 2024-25 season, and he never went back down. The offense he created, his ability on the penalty kill, and the mature game he brought to the team allowed him to stick around.
Nazar’s offense started to show towards the end of the NHL regular season. He kept it going in the IIHF World Championships with Team USA. He co-led this Gold Medal-winning team in scoring.
Like Vlasic, Nazar will benefit from this experience with Jeff Blashill leading the way. The new head coach will give young Nazar a lot of ice time in a top-six role, as long as he continues to produce and play well in all three zones.
In this new Blackhawks era led by Blashill, who will surely cater to the young guys, Nazar will thrive with the expectations placed on him. Alongside some of the other young talent on the team, great development is coming up.
"We want to score a lot and give up a little," was a half-joking answer given by Blashill when asked about his philosophy. As a head coach, he's the kind of guy who wants his most talented offensive players to be creative while respecting the defensive side of the puck. These three guys will be pillars in that quest.
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