A coach with presence

Jeff Blashill carries the strongest aura of any Blackhawks coach since Joel Quenneville. He looks and sounds the part of a career NHL bench boss.

“Jeff Blashill exudes the strongest aura of any Blackhawks coach since Joel Quenneville.”

What the last four lacked

Jeremy Colliton was too nerdy, Derek King too carefree, Luke Richardson too nice, Anders Sorensen too reserved. Blashill checks the boxes with authority.

Experience explains part of it

He came to Chicago with far more NHL coaching mileage than his four predecessors. The rest is just who he is.

A messy first season

The Hawks went 29-39-14, second-worst in the league. That was also their best record in five years, which makes grading him hard.

The cultural goal

At 52, entering year two, Blashill wants his very young roster to carry an assertive edge of its own.

“One of the goals that I wanted culturally is to build back our confidence and swagger.”

Swagger shaped the summer

That goal drove the offseason. Blashill worked with GM Kyle Davidson on both trading for Bowen Byram and signing Patrick Kane.

The Kane recruiting pitch

Having coached Kane at two world championships, Blashill used that relationship to sell him on the talent and character of Chicago's kids, most of whom he never played with.

Kane's value before points

Blashill rates the locker room impact first. The example, the daily standard, the demand for excellence.

“his impact in the locker room, the example and expectation that he sets, how he approaches every single day”

And he can still play

Blashill says Kane feels as good as he has in years, skating and moving well. Players who lead with their brain tend to last.

“He feels as good as he has in a long time.”

The Byram scouting report

It came from Sabres assistant Seth Appert, a close friend of Blashill's. It matched the first impression: a poised man and a poised defenseman.

Stack enough of these guys

Blashill's theory of roster building is simple. Collect hyper-competitive players with real inner confidence and the organization turns fast.

“you're going to become a way better organization in a hurry”

Answering Byram's critics

Skeptics say his risk-taking cancels out his offense. Blashill says Byram's skating lets him attack the rush, get to the net and still recover, and compares him to Zach Werenski.

“That's a special skill. Not many guys skate like that.”

A camp with no runway

Camps open Thursday, the preseason starts Saturday in Minnesota, and the opener is Sept. 29 in Las Vegas. Installing new systems in under two weeks would have been near impossible.

Split the room early

With so few practice days, Blashill will divide the camp roster into NHL and non-NHL groups right away to maximize reps for the likely lineup.

“the group of players I think are most ready to play for the Blackhawks”

Possession is the priority

The Hawks badly lacked the puck last season. Winning battles, pressuring to get it back, and better support and decisions with it all sit above the systems work.

Fixing the gap

Blashill was open about being disappointed in the team's gapping, meaning how defensemen pressure puck carriers through the neutral zone.

“disappointed at the end of the year that we weren't a better gapping team”

Vertical versus lateral

Chicago got burned last spring gapping vertically instead of laterally. He thinks the speed is there, the reps were not.

“It's something we had in our heads last year, but maybe not something we worked on enough.”

More danger in the zone

The Hawks were better off the rush than in sustained offensive zone time. Blashill has tactical changes planned to raise the chance rate once they set up.

Surviving without Bedard

Connor Bedard is skating on his own after shoulder surgery but is out a month or more. Blashill says added depth lets the team absorb it, though the power play will look different.

“we have a belief in how we want our team to play”

The rookies and the unknowns

Anton Frondell opens at center, Roman Kantserov gets a big role on the strength of his Russian tape. Watch Ethan Del Mastro's unsigned RFA status and a possible captaincy call for Bedard.

“He can play a 200-foot game and still produce offense.”