10 Best Things About 2023-24 Chicago Blackhawks – Hockey Writers – Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are still confused as they await the NHL Draft on June 28, where they held the second pick (along with seven others) and a free agency in July that will give a better idea of ​​what to expect from the team next season. . But while we wait for the Blackhawks to make more moves, here are some fun facts about the 2023-24 program because they had a lot of new faces and personalities that fans would really like to know more about!

10. Mr. Matinee

Forget the nice “Sir”. nicknames, like Justin Williams' infamous “Mr. Game 7,” as the Blackhawks have. The Blackhawks may start calling Jason Dickinson “Mr. Matinee” because he found great success in the afternoon shows. Dickinson had a career year with 22 goals, three of which came against the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 24, where he recorded his first hat-trick.

After the game, Dickinson revealed that the other time he scored a hat trick was when he was in elementary school, which was a matinee game. Moving on, remember Dickinson whenever the Hawks played an afternoon game because he thought to himself, “Matinee seems to be my time of day.”

9. Frank The… Moon?

Although Frank Nazar only played three NHL games for the Blackhawks this season, he quickly became a fan favorite, making them excited for his potential next season and wanting to know more about him.

Something that stood out to me about Frank was that in the 'Every Shift' episode from Blackhawks in May 2023, it was revealed that he may have a hidden interest: magic. He said he has a cat named Shady, after rapper Eminem's name, “Slim Shady,” but his mother Gina said Frank originally wanted to name the cat “Houdini” because “Frank likes magic.” Therefore, he can create magic on and off the ice!

8. Jones The Foodie

While we were at the World Championships, USA Hockey sent out a newsletter where they came with the team and the players and asked the players fun questions. One of them said, “One thing few people know about you,” to which defenseman Seth Jones replied, “I'm a foodie.”

When digging into this, his interest in food and cooking was discussed during his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets. She revealed that she loves to cook, and some of her favorite foods include salmon, pork chops and baked potatoes. Maybe we'll catch him appearing on the Food Network one day.

7. Korchinski, Singer

In September 2023, defenseman Kevin Korchinski revealed that he used to play piano but had recently switched to guitar while with the Seattle Thunderbirds and was teaching himself.

The Blackhawks continued their Mom Tour in November, and she and her mom, Stacey, detailed her musical background in an interview with Caley Chelios. Korchinski said her mother put her and her sister Kate in piano lessons when they were young, but she's glad she has the experience. Stacey said she thought music was important and wanted them to learn music, and Kevin liked it more than Kate. Playing the guitar is his favorite thing to do outside of hockey.

Funnily enough, in a USA Hockey newsletter that Jones did, Alex Vlasic responded that what few people know about him is that he's “very good on the guitar.” Who needs team DJs when the Blackhawks have them to provide the music?

6. Nick Foligno's Heart Will Go On

Nick Foligno talked about his love for Celine Dion's music back in 2018 during an interview over Christmas where he was asked if he would listen to her holiday songs in the car on the way home from a game (he managed the Blue Jackets at the time), and he replied, “Oh, sure. It repeats. Every day. It's the first thing I listen to in the morning and the last thing I listen to when I go to bed. It's a good thing.”

As it turns out, her love for Celine Dion came from her mother Janis, who sadly passed away in 2009 from breast cancer. Foligno said, “My love for Celine Dion came from singing that [my heart will go on] and my mother.” (from 'How Marcus and Nick Foligno's NHL paths were shaped by their late mother: 'She was a rock' – The Athletic – 05/12/2023). That is a beautiful and heartfelt gift.

5. The Vlasic Family Cause

Blackhawks fans got to know Alex Vlasic's older brother Eric a little bit as he was brought into the locker room to learn the roster for the start of March, making it one of the best moments of the season.

When Vlasic was with the Rockford IceHogs in February 2023, he talked about how he and his family connected with the team's Autism Awareness Night because Eric has autism. Vlasic shared, “Autism Awareness Night is very important to my family, and I think it's something that everyone should be aware of, you know, everyone has some things that they go through in life, even if you know it's some issues that they go through. it may be psychologically challenging. But at the end of the day, as I've said before, we're all the same people and not that different, and hockey is the one thing we can all share and have in common.” Eric also plays hockey and is a goalie.

Related: Blackhawks Sign Alex Vlasic to 6-year Contract Extension

It is well said for a reason close to many hearts.

4. The Swiss Connection Works Strongly

Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times published a story in 2022 detailing how Philipp Kurashev is good friends with Timo Meier (New Jersey Devils) and noted that they live only 10 minutes away from each other in Switzerland. They also train together during the summer. Considering Meier is a major NHL talent, that can only benefit Kurashev.

Meirer said of Kurashev, “He's got a really good shot, so if he feels comfortable getting into those spots where he can get the shot and not overthink things, [he can] just let it rip and give it a chance to enter. He has incredible talent. To him, it's just that [about] finding that ease and playing in all three positions. He has a really bright future ahead of him.”

Now, two years later, Kurashev has a career-high 54 points and hopefully just scratched the surface. It appears that Meier will continue to be a strong mentor to him, as Kurashev posted on his Instagram story on June 2 that he and Meier are enjoying the offseason sun in Spain.

3. Game, Set, Match Reichel

What you have to notice about Reichel is that she enjoys tennis. In the Blackhawks' 'Training Ground' series, he said his dad grew up playing tennis, and he thinks he picked it up from him. He started playing the game more in the summer of 2021, and he plays with Kurashev, who is said to be a very good player.

It's been noted that Kurashev and Reichel are close friends off the ice, and hey, maybe the tennis sessions can help with success on the ice, with Kurashev's successful season and Reichel's strong showing for Team Germany at the World Championships in May, where she had seven points. in six games.

2. Multiple Numbers

Defenseman Jarred Tinordi has had an interesting NHL career. The former first round pick has been on six different teams and has worn six jersey numbers. The NHL announced in March that he is one of only nine active NHL players who have worn very different jersey numbers: 5, 24, 25, 28, 42, and 84.

Related: Blackhawks Journeyman Jarred Tiordi Reaches 200-Game Mark

Tyler Pitlic (New York Rangers) holds the record with seven different numbers. I thought Taylor Hall might have been on this list because he wore four different numbers (4, 9, 71, and 91), so the fact that his teammate Tinordi has two makes this really interesting.

1. The Origin of Bedard's Superstition

My colleague, Gail Kauchak, told me when I was putting this article together that the first cool thing about the 2023-24 roster is Connor Bedard. And you are right. I could have ended the article with that fact only because he changed the entire perception of the team by being the talent of the generation and who should win the Calder Trophy, but because Bedard, we have to add some fun facts, of course!

The theme of “Don't touch Connor Bedard's stick!” he ran around the Blackhawks all season. It's one of Bedard's best-known game-day superstitions, and was even joked with players throughout the season, asking if they ever touched his hockey sticks. (from 'Blackhawks player survey: Connor Bedard's battles, fashion, music and superstitions' – The Athletic – 04/04/2024). Usually, hockey superstitions have no roots, and players do whatever they think works best for them, but you might be surprised to know that Bedard's has roots, and it comes from Sidney Crosby.

In 2023, after being asked how long he had been superstitious, Bedard said, “Since I was a little kid. I was young and a huge Sid Crosby fan. I'm sure I heard about him doing that, so I started doing that. It's just a little mental thing that I enjoy. Everyone has little superstitions. That's one of mine.”

You have a point. It works for the greats, so why not?

The Blackhawks have cooled off a bit with the addition of Bedard, and knowing the team can only get better, these fun facts will keep coming!