Blackhawks captaincy, Byram musings, training camp storylines & more

The Chicago Blackhawks are gearing up for the training camp, which will only run for 13 days this year due to the updated collective bargaining agreement. All signs point to physicals on Sept. 16 and the first on-ice practice on Sept 17 (although this is not official yet). Some hot topics include the Blackhawk’s captaincy, defenseman Bowen Byram and obviously storylines for training camp.

Recent content from Blackhawk Up

• Rhys Jones weighs in on how the Blackhawks might be underplaying the loss of defenseman Louis Crevier, who went to the Buffalo Sabres as part of the trade for Bowen Byram.

• Keeping with the theme of defensemen, Jeff Maroon details how the addition of Byram is vastly different from the Seth Jones chapter of the Blackhawks history.

• Nestor Quixtan also discusses the Byram contract, which now looks like chump change compared to the massive Cale Makar signing.

• Brooke LoFurno continues her season storylines. She feels Teuvo Teravainen is due for a rebound 2026-27 campaign.

• Training camp is almost here! Here are 5 main storylines to follow. Stay tuned; we’ll be sure to dig into the dirty details of each topic as camp unfolds.

• Ah, the Blackhawk’s captaincy controversy. Brian Germinaro tells us why he thinks the “C” should go to Patrick Kane. This is not a prevailing opinion, but there are those out there who feel Kane should have this honor. On the other side of the coin, here’s Justin Lynch’s recent argument for why Connor Bedard is ready for the captaincy.

• Finally, the Blackhawks were ranked 30th in a recent NHL power rankings. Ryan Gagne outlines why he thinks that’s too low of a ranking, and how this can motivate the Blackhawks.  

Blackhawks dog alert!

I’m a little late with this, but still thought it would be fun to share. Aug. 26 was National Dog Day, and the Blackhawks revealed a video of Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser and Artyom Levshunov’s dogs playing with them on the ice. Good stuff!

Blackhawks Opening Night countdown continues

We’re officially at Andrew Mangiapane days until Blackhawks opening night!

Sure, Mangiapane might not be a very big name for the Blackhawks. He was a salary dump by the Edmonton Oilers as part of the trade for Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach at last year’s trade deadline. And then he never really found his footing with the Blackhawks.

As a matter of fact, Mangiapane will be fighting for a spot this season now that other depth forwards such as Cole Smith and Jordan Greenway were picked up in the offseason. He could very likely be the odd man out this season.

But you never know until it’s all said and done. I’m sure the 30-year-old will come to training camp ready to go and with something to prove. Fun fact: Head coach Jeff Blashill has taken to calling him “Mango”!

That’s all for this Blackhawk Up roundup edition. Keep it here for all the latest news and updates, as the 2026-27 season is just around the corner! 

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