Dietz: Going outside the box to explain the Hawks’ strong start

Stumping professional athletes with outside-the-box questions is always fun.

You want to see their wheels turning, all the while appreciating the fact that they're not answering the same, dull daily queries.

Such was the case when I spoke with Jason Dickinson before the Hawks’ 1-0 loss to Colorado on Nov. 23 at the United Center. A large media contingent had just dispersed from Dickinson's locker as the veteran forward prepared to return from a shoulder injury that cost him 10 games.

After re-introducing myself, I hit him with this: “What are the three biggest reasons this team is ascending? Because I didn't expect to see you guys start this way. I expected you to be better, but I didn't see a 10-3-3 stretch coming at any time.”

After a lengthy pause — which included a “that's a good one” comment — Dickinson checked off these three boxes:

• The young players having a tremendous impact.

• Coaches implementing a plan, sticking to it and holding everyone to a high standard.

• The timing of Reasons 1 and 2 coming together at the perfect time.

There's no doubt the Hawks' start — which was slowed by a five-game losing streak that finally ended Sunday — came about first and foremost because of Connor Bedard's lights-out play. The third-year forward scored a whopping 11 goals and added 15 assists during that 16-game stretch. He had 2 goals and 2 assists in Sunday’s 5-3 win over Anaheim.

Forwards Frank Nazar (5 goals, 12 assists), Ryan Greene (4G, 4A), defensemen Artyom Levshunov (12 assists), Sam Rinzel (7 assists) and Louis Crevier (2G, 8A) have all excelled as well. And let's not forget about goalie Spencer Knight, who sports a .918 save percentage and 2.51 goals-against average.

All of those players are 24 or younger.

“(Bedard) hitting his stride and is making tremendous plays,” Dickinson said. “He's looking as dynamic as everybody thought he would. … You (also) get Frank coming into a role right away and taking control of it. You've got (Levshunov) doing a good job. You've got Crevier, who was a seventh-round pick that nobody was talking about.

“It's the timing of all of these guys hitting their stride at the same time.”

It's also about getting the right coach at the right time. Jeff Blashill has a down-to-earth style that connects with any player.

He's demanding when he needs to be, but also isn't afraid to flash his sense of humor. Two weeks ago, for instance, the song “Come On Eileen” started blaring from a locker room during one of his media sessions. Blashill stopped mid-sentence and with a huge smile said: “I used to dance to this in college. I would jump up and down, so this is bringing back unreal memories. Star Shooter's in Grand Rapids, Michigan!”

A week later he walked right into the dreaded “SIX-SEVEN!” phenomenon when answering a question about the decision to go with seven D-men during many games: “Whether it's six or seven, to me it's not … oh, did I just do that? I didn't even do that on purpose.”

He then waved his hands back and forth, cracking up the media contingent inside the UC.

Those are small things, but they add up.

Let's pause here for a moment and not ignore that five-game losing streak because it definitely stung. Now the hope for the Hawks (11-9-5) is to use the momentum from Sunday's impressive win and use it to springboard forward against some tough teams on their West coast road trip.

As for that 10-3-3 stretch, it was the first time the Hawks won 10 times in 16 games in nine years. It was great for the players, the coaches, the organization and the fans — and it showed what this team is capable of becoming in the years to come.

Dickinson admitted his third reason for the Hawks' hot start — which was the timing of his first two reasons colliding — might sound like a cop out. But when you think about it, it's really not.

“You can have a coach that implements a plan and holds guys accountable, but you don't have guys producing,” Dickinson said. “Now it's all for naught. …

“If you make this move in (Bedard's) first year, do we see this kind of change? Possibly not. But we'll never know. It really does just come down to the timing of things.”

John Dietz, a sports writer at the Daily Herald from 1998-2024, covered the Blackhawks from 2014-24. You can reach him at jdietz6917@hotmail.com.