Chicago Blackhawks Flashback: Cooking Time

By Colin Likas |

It’s Wednesday, meaning some Blackhawk Up readers are about halfway through their work week. So I’m going to provide a blast to the past each Hump Day to give you all a little extra oomph and help you get to the weekend. The Chicago Blackhawks have done a lot of funny or endearing video spots since the organization emerged from its dark days. Those spots will be the topic of these flashback posts.

This week, we’re discussing food. I’m sure hockey players enjoy their eats when they get off the ice, especially after a tough game (or after a practice, as we saw in last week’s flashback; view it and others below). How about some Swedish meatballs and pasta? Current Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and former Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo got to display their cooking chops with those two dishes back in the day.

Hjalmarsson and his wife Elina visited Meijer in early 2011 to show Blackhawks fans and others how to make Swedish meatballs. Hjalmarsson still looks pretty baby-faced in this video, certainly without the strain of two additional Stanley Cup runs (yet).

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Hjalmarsson looked very tentative mixing the ingredients, and his wife shareed that he’s not a terribly good cook. But apparently, another stunt done in the name of getting the Blackhawks better brand recognition caused Hjalmarsson to be associated with cooking meatballs.

Hjalmarsson’s 2009 commercial for Ikea saw the Swedish blueliner saying the name of various pieces of furniture in Swedish, capping the fun with a plate a meatballs while saying “meatball.”

Hjalmarsson said the commercial made people associate him with meatballs, and that’s how he and his wife ended up cooking them at Meijer. But Hjalmarsson said the most common things he eats before games are rice and salmon, not meatballs. It’s so disappointing when players don’t live up to stereotypes.

But the Blackhawks weren’t done with their cooking fun. Carcillo stopped by in late 2014 to share his grandfather’s pasta recipe.

While Carcillo certainly looked more comfortable making food, he did seem a little taken back, initially, by the support of the fans in attendance. Admittedly, he’s not a superstar hockey player, but Blackhawks fans certainly showed their appreciation for the grinder on this night.

Carcillo talked about his Italian heritage and how his grandparents would essentially spend entire Sundays in the kitchen, allowing him to learn a bit about cooking.

Carcillo’s finished product honestly looks really good (we never got to see Hjalmarsson’s cooked meatballs), with some chicken, mushrooms and tomatoes hanging out in the creamy pasty. I’d love to talk about these clips more, but I’m suddenly hungry for some reason.

Previous flashbacks

Fun With Kris And Andrew

Anything’s Possible

Ice Bucket Challenge

Exercise Your Right

Joey the Junior Reporter

Next: Panarin Unlikely To Play In Preseason

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