Blackhawks Bytes: Bedard, Foligno, Soderblom & Hockey Is Fun!

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Welcome to the November edition of Blackhawks Bytes, a series featuring quotes and comments from players, coaches, management, journalists and fans alike concerning everything Chicago Blackhawks. The purpose of this ongoing column is to capture a slice of the existing outlook, attitudes and culture surrounding the team. Please join me as we have some fun with the everyday, albeit fascinating aspect of human nature; the power of words.

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The month of October is in the books, as well as the first nine games of the Blackhawks’ 2023-24 season. Their 3-6-0 record is commendable for a rebuilding team with a brutal start to their schedule, including seven road games and matchups against six legitimate Stanley Cup contending teams. But Chicago’s most recent contest (Oct. 30) was an embarrassing 8-1 loss at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes, a team they were supposed to compete better against. The even worse news is that they have five days off before facing another opponent, the Florida Panthers on Saturday, Nov. 4. Five whole days to dwell on a bad loss.

Related – Blackhawks Bytes: Bedard, Reichel, Soderblom & More

But wait a second. Hockey is supposed to be fun! Sure, there’s a lot of pressure and so much at stake. But at the end of the day, it should be about enjoying yourself while doing the thing you love. With that in mind, let’s incorporate some fun and light-hearted quotes into our November installment of Blackhawks Bytes.

Bedard and the Old Guys

Connor Bedard is 18 years old, currently the youngest age in which a player can participate in the NHL. Corey Perry, on the other hand, is the eldest member of the Blackhawks at the ripe old age of 38. That’s the definition of one extreme to another. There’s 20 years between these two; meaning Perry could technically be Bedard’s father. Yeah, it’s a little weird. But hey, they all have this hockey thing in common. Which leads to the following humorous quote by Bedard.

Well, all is fair in love and hockey. It’s true, the old guys were brought in to help the young guys along. So I guess Bedard is calling a spade a spade here. It’s true that Perry, Nick Foligno (age 36), Tyler Johnson (33) and Taylor Hall (31) are much more “experienced”, to use a more polite term, than their younger counterparts. But they’re all a part of the same team, with everyone having their purpose.

Foligno Is One Big Sound Byte

Seriously, I could do one of these articles every week with just Foligno quotes. He always has something to say, and it never fails to be something noteworthy. Here’s just a few quips from the man who’s already cemented himself as one of the biggest leaders of this Blackhawks’ squad. We’ll start with a fun little tidbit from Foligno after teammate Hall welcomed his first child.

I can tell you as a wife and mother that it takes two to parent, and father’s are a awesome! But when it’s a baby that you’ve JUST given birth to, the wife is the one who should get some extra credit. Not to mention it’s usually the mom getting up to feed the baby in the middle of the night, and handling all those tiny details to welcome their little one into the world.

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I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be the wife of a hockey player who’s gone most of the time. Hall himself was back to work on a road trip the day after his wife gave birth. Needless to say, Foligno gives some sage advice.

Ok, back to hockey. Foligno defied father-time in the recent tilt against the Vegas Golden Knights (Oct. 27), where the Blackhawks won 4-3 in overtime. Foligno registered an assist on Bedard’s third goal of the season, playing on the top line. But man, if he had only scored on this spin-o-rama!

Said Foligno after the game, “Ten years ago, maybe I’d put that one in. Son of a bitch!”

Nobody really had this “old” man playing on the top line, or contributing like he is with one goal and four points through nine games. But they did expect him to be a leader for this young squad. Which is embodied by his quote after the Blackhawks’ horrific 8-1 loss to the Coyotes.

Well said, and a learning point moving forward. This young team might want to throw that game in the toilet. But maybe they need to “chew” on it to build some character, and learn what NOT to do in the future.

Richardson Retorts

From what we know so far of head coach Luke Richardson, he’s forever calm, cool and collected. This man is the level-headed overseer of the team, always in control of his emotions. But being an NHL coach can try anyone’s patience, as it did with Richardson in their tilt against the Coyotes. He was particularly not happy when Foligno (oh my, not him again!) was lured into a fight with Coyotes’ Liam O’Brien. Richardson wanted an instigator penalty on O’Brien, and let the referees know his displeasure.

Richardson tells the referee to go away, and gives him a shooing motion with his hand. If you’re good at reading lips you can make out a few other derogatory comments the coach had to say. Hey, we all have our moments.

Jones Tells It Like It Is

Another player that should get some leadership credit is defenseman Seth Jones. This is his third season in Chicago, after signing a mega-contract that has him with the Blackhawks through the 2029-30 season. Jones is a workhorse for the team, currently averaging 25:25 minutes of ice time per night. At 29 years of age and with 11 NHL seasons under his belt, the Arlington, TX native qualifies as one of the “old guys” and leaders for the Blackhawks.

Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks
Seth Jones is one of the leaders on the team for the Chicago Blackhawks. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

When the Blackhawks were trounced 8-1 by the Coyotes, goaltender Arvid Soderblom was pulled late in the second frame after allowing seven goals on 22 shots for a horrific .682 save percentage. As a young netminder, it would be easy to be discouraged with those results. But Jones had some words of wisdom for Soderblom. “That’s our bad. We played like sh&t.”

Jones is referring to the entire team in front of Soderblom, especially the defense, who didn’t do Soderblom any favors with lots of miscues and blown coverages. Hopefully the young netminder can bounce back for the next one.

Related – Blackhawks’ 3 Up, 3 Down: Bedard, Reichel, Vlasic & More

The defensive corps is definitely filled with some youngsters that will have their growing pains, with the Coyotes’ loss being a prime example. But there is hope, as Jones discussed before the season started.

Our ‘D’ core is very young, but there’s a lot of potential there. Not just [Alex] Vlasic but [Isaak] Phillips and [Wyatt] Kaiser and some other guys. It’s going to be a very bright future for the Hawks. And hopefully it doesn’t take too long — I’m getting old.

Here we go with the old guys and the young guys again! Time will tell how soon the Blackhawks can put all the pieces together. Although Jones is one of the veterans most likely to still be around.

Handing off the Chain

Let’s end with something that also comes at the end of games; winning games that is! Most teams have a tradition of handing off some sort of trinket in the locker room to the player deemed the most valuable for that particular contest, as determined by the previous recipient.

The Blackhawks handed off a replica of a boxing award belt until this season. But the belt somehow got “lost”. Now they use a rather obnoxious chain, with an oversized Blackhawks’ hockey puck attached. Let’s take a look at the last handoff of the chain.

It turns out Soderblom was previously gifted the belt for his performance in net during the Blackhawks’ 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 16. In this contest, Soderblom stopped 35-of-36 shots for a .972 SV%. The next win came on Oct. 27, a feel-good 4-3 overtime triumph over the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights.

Here Jason Dickinson was deemed the warrior by his counterparts, playing a game of three’s. He recorded three shots on goal, three hits, and won 3-of-3 faceoffs. He also played 3:13 minutes on the penalty kill. But the play that probably sealed the deal was a blocked shot off the inside of his knee. Dickinson went to the locker room in a lot of pain. But of course, he returned to finish the game.

When will Dickinson get to hand off the chain? Well hopefully it will be sooner rather than later; ideally this Saturday (Nov. 4) when the Blackhawks host the Panthers at the United Center.

Related – Connor Bedard’s Undervalued Physicality Key to His Development

The Blackhawks record might not show it, but overall they can call the first month of their season a success. They weathered their rough schedule and came out with three big wins. They’re bonding and coming together as a group. Most importantly, they really do seem to be having fun.

Here’s to much more of all of the above!