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Jeff Blashill delivers stern demand to Connor Bedard and his Chicago Blackhawks teammates
Photo credit: NHL.com
New Chicago Blackhawks head coach pulls no punches when it comes to what he expects of the group that he's taking over for the new season.
It's a new day in the Windy City, as the Chicago Blackhawks officially hired Jeff Blashill over the summer as their new full-time head coach.
Anders Sorenson, who replaced the fired Luke Richardson last year, is going to remain on his staff as an assistant.
Already 2 days into training camp, the Blackhawks are getting adjusted to Blashill's system of play.
One of the main aspects of how Blashill expects his teams to play is the intensity in practice, which he explained on Friday.
"I expect them to be in great shape, I expect them to have some stops and starts in them, and making sure that work ethic's in place, the compete is in place. Those things are extremely important to us, and those are easy things to talk about, but you've got to go out and do it. I'm a big believer if your practices are extremely intense, almost all the games become easy."
-Jeff Blashill
-Jeff Blashill
Will Blashill be the one to get the Blackhawks back to the playoffs for the 1st time since 2020?
Jeff Blashill already has NHL head coaching experience
This isn't the 1st time that Blashill has been behind the bench of an NHL team. He also had the same role for several years with the former Blackhawks' divisional foe, the Detroit Red Wings.
Blashill was promoted from the AHL to be Detroit's head coach after the departure of Mike Babcock to Toronto in 2015, but only led the team to the playoffs once before they started rebuilding.
He was not retained by Detroit after 2022, and went on to be an assistant coach on the Tampa Bay Lightning, a role he had held for the last 3 years.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 22 | 203 ANSWERS Jeff Blashill delivers stern demand to Connor Bedard and his Chicago Blackhawks teammates Did the Blackhawks hire the right man for the job in Jeff Blashill? | ||
| Yes | 109 | 53.7 % |
| No | 94 | 46.3 % |
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