Blackhawks' youth movement making life easier for Jeff Blashill

The Chicago Blackhawks seem like a night-and-day team from what they were in 2024-25. Through the first quarter of 2025-26, they're 9-5-4 with 22 points, and they appear capable of contending for a wild card spot should they stay consistent.

Nobody's benefiting more than head coach Jeff Blashill. So much, that Elliotte Friedman took notice on Monday's edition of 32 Thoughts. When asked about Blashill, Friedman said, "He's de-aging. He looks younger now than when he started. Like a youthful team that's good. A youthful team that's bad, you look older. because you're sitting there and saying, 'I don't have a chance because these guys aren't ready to win.'

"But when you have a youthful team that's starting to figure it out, like the Blackhawks do, like they still have a ways to go, but they're starting to figure it out, it makes you younger. Blashill looks younger."

Given how poorly the Blackhawks played during the 2024-25 season, taking a job as the bench boss had a "high-stress label" attached to it going into the season. It looked like a job that would age anyone quickly, given Chicago's inept play in recent years. But in hindsight, Blashill has to be happy with his decision.

Blackhawks' sudden success means job security and less stress for Jeff Blashill

When Connor Bedard started figuring things out, that was the catalyst for the Blackhawks, and the rest of the team followed. Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen, who underperformed last season, have stepped up, Andre Burakovsky looks like a steal, and Ryan Donato is living up to his contract. 

Bertuzzi, Teravainen, Burakovsky, and Donato are all seasoned veterans whose play has gone up another notch, but the youngsters the Hawks are building around have been the real story.

Bedard's 26 points and 10 goals indicate he's about ready to become a face of the league alongside players like Macklin Celebrini. With five goals and 12 points, Frank Nazar is another one living up to the billing after he signed a massive extension in the offseason.

Defensemen Artyom Levshunov and Louis Crevier are also pitching in, with 10 and nine points, respectively. And you can't forget about Spencer Knight, who posted a shutout, a 0.924 save percentage, and a 2.42 GAA in his age-24 season, a time when most goaltenders are figuring out the NHL.

Blackhawks youth is only going to get better, and are nowhere near their primes

The Blackhawks find themselves in an ideal scenario long-term. They have a 20-year-old star player, a good set of seasoned veterans in their respective primes around him, and a youthful core that's showing fans why this latest full rebuild was worth it.

Regardless of what the Blackhawks do this season, as long as they keep showing improvement from Connor Bedard's first two seasons, they're spreading optimism not only to their fanbase but to the NHL universe that had grown used to seeing the Hawks near the top of the standings. 

They aren't there yet, but neither Bedard nor anyone else 25 years old or younger on this team is near their respective peaks. For Jeff Blashill, that means life as an NHL head coach is nowhere near as stressful as it is for some of those coaches whose seats are growing warmer.