Chicago Blackhawks, young and old, all in with Colliton
When Jeremy Colliton took over as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, he knew plenty about the younger players on the team.
Knew that his former Rockford IceHogs loved watching video. That they wanted 1-on-1 and group meetings. That they were extremely open to feedback.
All in the name of becoming a better hockey player.
But what about Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad? Brent Seabrook? Duncan Keith?
Would they share in this thirst for knowledge? Especially when it's being disseminated by a 33-year-old coach during his first week on the job?
Absolutely, as it turns out.
“The oldest guys, they're almost the most excited about talking hockey and how we're going to turn this around,” Colliton said after the Hawks practiced Tuesday at MB Ice Arena. “So that's been a pleasant surprise, and makes me very excited about the future.”
Said Kane: “He's had a really positive outlook and stressed to the boys that we're coming and it's going to happen soon.”
It almost happened Monday in Carolina, but the Hurricanes erased a 2-0 deficit by scoring a pair of power-play goals 66 seconds apart in the second period. The Hawks lost their eighth straight when Sebastian Aho beat Cam Ward at 1:16 of overtime.
“When you're in a losing streak, it's hard to get out of it,” said Colliton, who is 0-2-1 in his first three games as an NHL head coach. “You need to play really, really well. You need a couple breaks, but often you don't get them.
“You've got to make your own breaks. And we're close. Once we break through, that tide will turn and we can go on a run.”
Colliton believes his team is close because so many good things are popping up on video.
Against Carolina, the Hawks controlled the tempo and had multiple good looks, but they were stymied by a few impressive saves by Scott Darling.
“The Toews line in the second period alone, they could have had 4 or 5 goals,” Colliton said. “And not like half-chances. Huge chances.”
The biggest of which came during the second period when Toews fed Patrick Kane on a 2-on-1. Normally that's a slam-dunk for Kane, but he had to settle the puck down for a split second and that's all Darling needed to scamper to his left and snare the shot with his glove hand.
Colliton put the Hawks through a 30-minute practice Tuesday, then let them do as the pleased. He was particularly impressed with his veterans as they didn't leave the ice right away despite playing an away game the night before.
“Practice was over,” Colliton said. “And you've got our top guys … playing 2-on-2 in one end with a little contact there. That was on their own. That was their choice. They were just doing it for fun, so I think that says a little about the feeling in the group.”
All of these baby steps are nice, but the next one is to get a much-needed victory.
The Hawks' next chance comes against division rival St. Louis on Wednesday at the United Center. If the 6-8-4 Hawks lose again, they'll fall behind the Blues and into last place in the Central Division.
“We've got to turn it around quickly,” Kane said. “Never (during) a season do you want to go on an eight-game slide.
“If we can get some momentum and start playing the way we can, maybe we can put ourselves in a better position than we are right now.”
And, as Colliton said, he believes they're close to doing exactly that.
“It's fun coming to the rink learning every day, talking with him,” Saad said. “Obviously in the past what we were doing wasn't working. He's our new coach. We want to commit to his system and buy into his play.
“Once we get that going, we're going to have some success. Early on we had a few losses, but it's about keeping that confidence and staying positive. I think we've got good things going forward.”