July 29 officially signals that the Chicago Blackhawks are back. After a four-month break, they will be facing the St. Louis Blues in an exhibition game. This will be important as it will give fans insight as to how well the teams have bounced back.
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Hockey returning isn’t without a plethora of news. There have been developments with media engagements, award nominees, and the team’s “bubble” life in Edmonton.
Colliton Media Session
With the exhibition game, all eyes are on the Blackhawks’ roster; especially when it comes down to goaltender Corey Crawford and defenseman Connor Murphy’s status. Crawford missed most of training camp after testing positive for COVID-19, while Murphy has been dealing with a groin injury. All we got from head coach Jeremy Colliton during his media session on Jul. 28, was that the roster wasn’t decided.
However, one big highlight from Colliton is that everyone participated in practice. That should be a good sign of things to come. But for now, we won’t know the extent of the roster until game day.
Oh, Captain
It seems like Jonathan Toews has been the “center” of attention lately. From briefly missing training camp on Jul. 21, to his comments made about his vote for returning to play (from ‘Blackhawks’ Toews clears up Return to Play vote, looks forward to playoffs’, Daily Herald, 07/23/2020), he has been the talk of the town. Now, he is in the news for something very exciting. The Captain was just nominated for an NHL award: The King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
One player from all 31 teams are nominated. It is awarded “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”
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Some of his contributions this year include on Mar. 6, through the “Jonathan Toews Foundation”, Toews donated $100,000 to the Chicago COVID-19 Relief fund. On Jul. 7, Toews, alongside teammate Malcolm Subban, and other fellow Chicago athletes, put up $500,000 to help transform a liquor store into a grocery store on the city’s west side. So well deserved!
Bubble Life
With the Blackhawks and the other Western Conference teams settling into their hub city, Edmonton, there are strict mandates in which the teams must follow. Some of the rules include that masks must be worn at all times and that players can only leave their “bubble” under certain circumstances. The team posted a video to their Instagram account that gives fans a glimpse into their setup.
Looks like a pretty cozy setup that will now become their home until further notice.
Slogan Change
Lastly, as most people are aware, professional sports teams usually have a hashtag or slogan that fans can use as a means of communication through social media. Since 2008, the Blackhawks’ slogan has been “One Goal”. Now, the slogan has changed to “All for One.” For those that want to know the details of how the change came about, here is part of the statement that the team released:
The Blackhawks wanted to recognize the swell of unity we’ve seen over the last few months. Unity is deeply embedded in our core as an organization, and it has never been more important. This is a moment to galvanize the team, city and fans not only around a Summer of Hockey, but also Chicago’s excellence, resilience, and community care.
Second City Hockey
This is just a reminder to all the Blackhawks’ fans that want to keep up with everything on social media, make sure to use the #AllforOne hashtag for the time being!
What’s Next?
With the exhibition game, it looks like we will have a better picture of what the roster could look like for Chicago’s series versus the Edmonton Oilers on Aug. 1. Also, there is sure to be more behind the scenes content from the Blackhawks’ bubble, and more!