Sage advice from Chicago Blackhawks veterans could accelerate rebuild
Of all the NHL players, not many eat, breath and drink hockey the way Duncan Keith does.
Long off-seasons are not particularly his cup of tea.
It's bad enough when the Blackhawks don't make the playoffs and there are no games from mid-April to mid-September.
So imagine how difficult the last 10 months must have been for Keith as the coronavirus wreaked havoc across the sports world.
Sure, he got to appear in eight playoff games last summer. But after that, it was right back to training and waiting.
And more training. And more waiting.
Until finally the 37-year-old defenseman was able to join his teammates for training camp this week as the Hawks prepare for the upcoming 56-game campaign.
“It's been a long wait,” Keith said after Tuesday's practice. “Not a lot of hockey since last March. ... For the most part, it hasn't been like we were accustomed to. It's been a lot of fun seeing the guys and meeting a lot of new faces.”
Keith, who has said he wants to play until he's 45, is about to embark on a unique journey in his 16th season. Never before has he seen a roster so young, so raw and so inexperienced.
The youth movement hasn't surprised him much, and he talked Tuesday about how every team in the league needs hardworking, fresh talent to help a franchise mature into a consistent winner.
“You need young guys to play and be a big part of your team to have success,” said Keith, who had 3 goals and 24 assists while averaging nearly 24½ minutes of ice time last season. “You see that with other organizations that are successful. Young guys step in and play important roles. ...
“We only have a few old guys. We need to play young guys and they have to be good players and important parts of our team. I'll try to help them out as much as I can.”
And don't underestimate just how important veterans' voices will be inside that locker room.
Getting sage advice from Keith, Connor Murphy, Calvin de Haan and Patrick Kane can accelerate a player's growth in myriad ways. Even Ryan Carpenter, Mattias Janmark, Brandon Pirri, Alex DeBrincat and Nikita Zadorov shouldn't be afraid to chime in.
What's nice for the Hawks is that Keith and Kane are always yearning to grow their game and to perfect their craft.
“He's a curious guy,” coach Jeremy Colliton said of Keith. “He asks questions. ... Why are we doing this? What do you think about this situation? ...
“That's part of our advantage, is having that guys like that around. The young guys, of course, they look up to those players and any type of feedback they get is like gold. Probably those veteran guys underestimate the effect that they have when they do speak (up).”
There's little doubt that it will be trial by fire for some this season. Ian Mitchell, Adam Boqvist, Pius Suter and plenty of others will have a few good games, then regress, then rebound. That's the nature of the beast when you're trying to bring along talented yet inexperienced forwards, defensemen and goalies.
“Just building relationships with those guys is important,” Murphy said. “(Make) sure that they know they can reach out to you for anything and don't feel like they have to go around lost at any point.”
Keith agreed and even talked about how he helped his son and brother during the off-season.
When it comes to the Hawks having success, it always boils down to one thing for Keith, and that's outworking the other guy.
“The (team) dynamic has definitely changed over the years, but the one constant is you have to be a hardworking team and have to be good defensively,” Keith said. “Look around at some of the teams. Maybe they have a little more skill on paper.
“But if we can outwork teams and be good defensively and play as a team, that'll give us a chance to win.”
Slap shots: Patrick Kane, Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat mostly struggled as a line during the Hawks' two-period scrimmage Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena. Strome did score a goal in his team's 4-2 loss. Forwards Brandon Pirri, Cam Morrison and defensemen Nikita Zadorov, Nick Seeler and Ian Mitchell were among those who impressed. ... Coach Jeremy Colliton put Pius Suter at center during the scrimmage and said the free-agent addition could open the season at that position. ... Forward Zack Smith cleared waivers.