How the Blackhawks are fighting adversity; "you have to embrace the grind"

The Chicago Blackhawks have been the talk of the town lately…for all the wrong reasons. They have a dismal 5-13-2 record through the first 20 games, having lost 10 of the last 12 contests. But the show must go on. No major changes have been made, despite the hockey world calling for the heads of general manager Kyle Davisdon and head coach Jeff Blashill.

But inside the locker room, the mood is surprisingly upbeat. The players have energy and appear to be there for each other. It’s a tightknit group that seems committed to remaining positive. Sure, they’re not doing so hot right now, but there is a belief that they’re going to get there.

So how exactly do these guys face this adversity? And what have they learned from it? I asked a few players just how they’ve been dealing with all the heat.

Looking in the mirror, not pointing fingers

One of the first clues that teams are not in a good place is when they start pointing fingers. Instead of taking responsibility and accountability for themselves, it’s easier to blame someone else. But the Blackhawks aren’t doing that. Said Ryan Greene of the team’s current funk,

"I think it just forces you to take a bit of a look in the mirror. Obviously, we're not good enough right now, at all. Oftentimes in a situation like this, people want to make excuses and point fingers, and I think it's important that everybody kind of takes a look in the mirror and demands better of themselves. So, for me, that's something that I've done. I know that I have better, and I'm sure all of us in here know that we have better.”

This is very similar to what defenseman Ian Cole stated earlier in the week (Nov. 9). “The reality is we are here right now (in this situation), and the only way out of this is with the guys in this room and making sure that we take a hard look at ourselves in the mirror and be better individually, so we can get better as a collective.”

Supporting each other

It all starts internally, but the players know they have to lean on each other as well. They need to support each other along the way. I asked Oliver Moore what he’d learned about himself from all the adversity the team has been going through.

“There's going to be times when things are going great, and times when things aren't going your way. I think the big thing is you can't sink into your own shell. You gotta kind of be around people and work through things together. Hockey is a five-man sport, and if you were to try to go out there alone, it'd be really hard. So I think just relying on each other in here and letting everything else take care of itself, hopefully.”

It’s true that it’s awfully easy to retreat into a shell when you’re down on yourself. Sometimes it’s hard to ask for help, because then you’re being vulnerable and admitting there’s a problem. But this is where the comradery of the group comes in. The majority of them are coming up and entering the NHL at the same time, encountering the same problems and frustrations. Why wouldn’t they lean on each other for support?!  

29-year-old Jordan Greenway isn’t a fresh player just coming into the league. He’s a veteran with 10 years of NHL experience. But this is just his first season with the Blackhawks, so one might think he’s a little bit on the outside looking in. Not so.

Greenway sat in his stall next to Greene after practice, listening with a bemused smile on his face while I put the younger “Greener” on the spot. I asked him what he’d picked up from having two veterans (Greenway and Cole Smith) on the same line with him. Said Greene,

“I would say I think they're both obviously guys who've been in the league for a long time and know how everything works, know how to play the right way. So I've taken a lot away from them, just forechecking-wise, and not only that, but off the ice. I mean, I've become super close with Greener and Smitty (pats Greenway on the leg), obviously two great guys. But no, it's just been good to pick their brains and have conversations with them, and they've always been there with a helping hand, for sure. So it's been awesome.”

Greenway himself is a pretty straightforward guy. He explained how he’s doing his part to keep the positive vibes going. “It's very easy to be negative and lose confidence and all these different things. But that's not going to help us in any way. So in practice or whatever the case is, I like to try and keep the energy high. Have guys smiling and even through the shi**y parts of it. Because there's no need to sit here and be pissed off and sad. We just got to go out there and beat Buffalo (which they did!) and the snowball goes from there.”

Believing in themselves

You may have seen Wyatt Kaiser on TV in between periods, dissecting plays with longtime broadcaster Darren Pang. If the defenseman doesn’t become a commentator himself after his playing days, perhaps he’ll become a philosopher. An introspective Kaiser discussed the mentality it takes to believe in yourself, no matter what the outside world may be thinking.

"I mean, to be honest, it's not the first time. This game is a game of failures. Like, you do a lot of good things; nobody really talks about that. You do one or two bad things, that's all people see, right? So the entire game that you played from college to now, it's all about making mistakes and being able to continue to move on with your game."

"I know every time you go through the adversity, you sit there, you kind of have a gut check. Where it's like, do I believe in myself enough to get through this, or am I going to let this collapse my identity as a player? So that's kind of where we're at right now. It's like, am I still a good player? Can I still play hockey? Am I going to have all these self-doubts? Am I going to be like, maybe I shouldn't be here? Imposter syndrome. Do I have all these things that go on? And so that's kind of everybody, right? I believe in myself. I know I'm a good player, so just keep playing.”

Frank Nazar reiterated something similar when I asked him what his mindset was moving forward, despite the hole they’re currently in.

"Well, I mean that's professional sports, right? You got to figure that out. Show up the next day like nothing happened. But, with that memory of we got to do better and we got to do something…just gotta keep coming in each day with that mindset, that blue collar mindset of, we gotta get going, work hard, be a little gritty, and get better.”

Embracing the grind

This group seems committed to each other and to putting in the hard work. Head coach Jeff Blashill described what he sees from this team, and for the future.

"One of the most satisfying things you do in life is, when you’re in tough situations is grind your way out of it. And then get to it better tomorrow. And that’s what we’re trying to do right now. We put ourselves in this spot. We're not going to allow ourselves to feel sorry for ourselves. We're not going to allow any of that. We're going to do everything we can to try to grind our way through this, get incrementally better, find our way to wins. And man, if we can do that, the satisfaction you get from doing that is awesome.”

Can these Blackhawks do this? Will all this losing somehow make them better in the long run? You know the old saying, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’.

Captain Connor Bedard, at just a ripe 21 years of age, expressed what he’s learned about this adversity.

“I think honestly trying to come to the rink the same person every day. I think that's been a bit of a message with a lot of guys. I think we did a really good job of that. Whether you win or lose, the next day of practice you want to just be present and try to get better, trying to enjoy and advance. Everybody's still living the dream. We want to take advantage of that fully every day.”

This is true. These Blackhawks are all living the dream, getting to play hockey in the National Hockey League. And to be truly successful at this level, one has to excel in both the physical AND mental aspects of the game. The Blackhawks appear to be on the right track with the latter.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow