With football behind him, Blackhawks prospect Mason West ready for hockey career to flourish

For years, Mason West trained himself to focus on preparing for two sports.

There were stretches when one would take precedence over the other — when his state football championship run pushed hockey to the back seat, for example. But West’s mind and body were often divided between the ice and gridiron during high school in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina. Sometimes he would split his days between the two sports.

But now, more than a year after the Chicago Blackhawks traded up to take him with 29th overall pick of the 2025 draft, he’s a full-time hockey player. West, a three-star recruit as a quarterback, tied a final bow on his football career with a Minnesota state championship in November. Since, he lifts, trains, rests and practices with only one sport in mind.

Although July is typically a downtime for both sports, West’s summer travel plans reflected his new reality. He attended the Blackhawks’ recent development camp, then left directly for Michigan State, where he will be an incoming freshman.

This fall will be the first time in years where he won’t be throwing footballs on Friday nights. Instead, his weekends will be spent playing college hockey in East Lansing, Mich., and beyond.

West already knew he would miss the camaraderie of playing football with his high school classmates, but he signed on to this plan before the 2025 NHL Draft — play one final football season, then commit to hockey.

West’s post-football potential was what enticed the Blackhawks to trade up to take the a 6-foot-6, 216-pounder. His strength and athleticism, solely focused on hockey, make his ceiling seem limitless.

West shares that excitement.

“I love working on hockey because I feel like I’m getting so much better just because it’s all I do now,” said West, who will turn 19 in August. “I work out, skate, and you just keep thinking hockey over and over and over. I’m just getting way better. It’s cool that now I get to focus on one sport because now I can really (hone) in on things I need to work on and polish up everything for next year.”

West began that journey last season. After his football season ended, he transitioned to playing for the Fargo Force in the USHL. It took him some time to catch up to the level of competition, but he eventually got comfortable and started making a difference.

One of the decisions Fargo coach Brett Skinner made with West was to move him to center. By the end of the season, West was playing on the top line and thriving. In the playoffs, he had two goals, four assists, 33 shots on net and was a plus-four in nine games over two series.

“I would say the biggest adjustment was probably moving him to center,” Skinner said. “You’re not as loose for the offense. It probably brings your production down a little bit because you’re going to be back low in the D zone. I thought it was great for his development to go to the middle. I thought that helped out his defensive game a ton. There might be a path for him to play center in the NHL someday.”

Skinner sought to prioritize West’s development, often putting him at a net-front position on the power play because Skinner believed that’s where he would fit long term at college and beyond. Like others, Skinner is confident West can reach new levels now that he is singularly focused on hockey.

“He’s honestly just kind of scratching the surface of what he’s capable of,” Skinner said. “He’s a great athlete, and he’s a good hockey player. He had a great season for us, but learning how to use his body, learning how to protect pucks. … We had another player on our team that was 6-foot-6, so for doing one-on-one drills, he can go against that guy. He’s never had that before. He’s never really had to work on protecting pucks because he wasn’t going against guys that could really take it from him anyway.

“So I think as he moves on in college and then into pro, just being challenged physically by other guys that are in that same category as him. What will separate him is not only his size, but then he has the puck skills. He has the brain to go with it.”

Chicago concentrated on puck protection with West during his on-ice time at development camp. Mark Eaton, the team’s assistant general manager of player development, wants his next step to be making better use of his size and skill.

The Blackhawks traded up to draft West, knowing his timetable could be longer than the ordinary first-round pick. Last season was split between football and hockey. This season he’ll be joining a talented Michigan State team full of NHL prospects. Spartans coach Adam Nightingale, like Skinner and Eaton, wants West to learn how to play within his frame.

That’ll be the focus with him when we can get on the ice with him,” Nightingale said. “Right now, he’s just in the weight room with our team, and I think getting stronger, faster, more mobile. There’s a ton of positives, but he’s a really good athlete, right? So I think his ceiling is really high. But the biggest thing is really zeroed in what it means to be a power forward.”

West chose Michigan State because he liked how the program has developed players and he bought into the team’s vision for him. He isn’t in a rush. He knows it’s going to take time

“I just think how they look at the game of hockey and how they develop players,” West said of Michigan State.” If you see some guys like (MSU center) Charlie Stramel and a couple other guys, I mean, really every guy that goes there, you can see the jump they made in their games, and that’s a big thing for me. I have a lot of development ahead of me. If I put the work in and really tone in on things I need to work on, I can do good.”

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