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Blackhawks development camp must feel like a joke to the players — and that’s a good thing.
The talk all week has centered on how unconventional this camp has been compared with years past — focused on body building and bonding more than skating and scrimmages.
On Monday, the prospects tried out their improvisational chops at legendary comedy club Second City.
It wasn’t a hazing ritual, like singing a school or pop song in the locker room to gin up laughs for the veterans. There’s a method to the madness.
The prospects performed in groups, and it was an exercise in supporting each other.
“It’s kind of a ‘yes and’ mindset,” forward Paul Ludwinski said. “You’re not just shutting your teammate down and being negative. It’s like, ‘Yes, I like that idea and …’ add onto that.
“The more you get ‘yes’ in a team, the more it’s going to roll.”
Forward Colton Dach said it was “pretty entertaining.”
“It was good to see guys get out of their comfort zones,” he said. “Some guys are actually really funny, so it was enjoyable.
“Victor (Stjernborg) was one of the funnier guys. Samuel Savoie was pretty outgoing. Those two guys (stood) out the most.”
General manager Kyle Davidson credited the scouting staff for assembling players with character — as well as a few characters — and gave a nod to the development staff for coming up with programs to foster camaraderie.
“You see it when they’re playing their team games and you see the guys that are picking everyone up and bringing the team together,” Davidson said, “and also the different flavor of guys that like to throw jabs at each other and not be afraid to mix it up. We talked about Sam earlier, he’s definitely one of those guys.”
A lot went right last season for Commesso, one of the Hawks’ top goalie prospects.
He wrapped up his career at Boston University in the Frozen Four, he gained valuable experience with the U.S. team at the World Championships and he signed a three-year deal with the Hawks ($925,000 salary-cap hit), paving the way to his first pro season with the Rockford IceHogs this fall.
But he had a hiccup during his final college season.
“I had mono earlier in the year; not a lot of people knew that,” Commesso said. “It takes a while to get back from that. I really just focused on my nutrition, sleep, things outside of the rink.”
Commesso said he contracted the illness around Christmas, and fortunately the Terriers went on a holiday break.
“It was really good timing because we had a two- or three-week span when we weren’t playing games,” he said. “Allowed me to recharge and focus on getting healthy again.
“The biggest thing for me was I lost so much weight. Goalies lose a lot of weight on the ice. I was focusing on eating as much as I could, drinking as much as I could. There’s just as much work off the ice as there was on the ice at that point.”
He declined to say how much weight he lost, only that it was “a significant amount.”
Commesso said he felt back to normal in about three weeks.
“Honestly, I was in pretty rough shape for a while, and I give a lot of credit to our trainers at Boston University, helping me get back as quick as I could,” he said. “I really found my game after that, felt comfortable, was playing confident and I really enjoyed the way we finished the season and the way I finished the season personally.”
Johnny Oduya, a veteran of two Hawks Stanley Cup teams, has been helping out at camp, instructing the prospects on breathing techniques.
“It’s like an in-out — it will send a message to your brain to calm you right down,” said forward Paul Ludwinski, a 2022 second-round pick. “That one we practiced a bit (on the bench). We also did five seconds in, five seconds out to slow things down after. We still have to practice for in-game or when you’re working out.”
Forward Ryan Greene added: “It wasn’t something I really did much of before coming here, but after listening to Johnny for a few days now … it’s been really helpful.”
Commesso said mental performance coach Brett Gilmour worked with him at Boston University on “breathing before the games and just staying as relaxed as possible.”
“That’s something I’ve been doing in the off-ice training as well,” he said, “focusing on breathing, whether it’s working out or on the ice. It helps me stay relaxed, stay calm.”
A lingering left ankle sprain sustained while playing with the Kingston Frontenacs put Ludwinski out of commission in late March.
He agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Hawks ($931,667 cap hit) on March 25, but the injury prevented him from playing for the IceHogs.
His pro career stalled before it really started, so it took a mental toll.
“Any injury is obviously tough for a player because you’re sidelined — and I’ve been sidelined for three months, not able to skate — so that kind of made me feel a bit down,” Ludwinski said. “But I’ve been working on the physical side of my game, getting stronger upper-body-wise, so I feel like when I hit the ice again I’ll be right back to normal.”
Rookie camp gave him an opportunity to have the Hawks medical staff check out his ankle, and he got the thumbs up.
“I just played spike ball — like full on,” Ludwinski said. “They cleared me, so now I’m going to go home and skate. It’s been like 3 1/2 months, so I’m feeling way better now.”
Several Hawks prospects have built-in connections through their junior teams or colleges.
Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel will be roommates at Minnesota, and Ryan Greene and Commesso played together last season at Boston University, though Commesso has since turned pro.
“We got really close,” Greene said. ”He’s a really good buddy of mine. It’s awesome that I get to come here with him.”
Camp also has become fertile ground for some intercollegiate rivalries.
“You get to play against a lot of different guys,” Greene said. “There’s two Notre Dame guys (Ryder Rolston, Landon Slaggert), a few Providence kids (Taige Harding, Connor Kelley) I got to play against all year.
“It’s friendly competition when you play them in the year and throw them a few chirps here and there.”
Dach enjoyed a lot of success with the Seattle Thunderbirds: He, Kevin Korchinski and Nolan Allan rode a wave through a Western Hockey League championship all the way to the Memorial Cup final, which they lost to the Quebec Remparts.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Dach had to deal with some injuries.
In particular, a shoulder injury during Canada’s game against Sweden knocked him out of the World Juniors in early January.
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“That was a lot of adversity,” he said. “(I) never really went through something like that before during an entire season. But obviously the shoulder one was the most significant one and that took me a few months to get back into it.”
After the Kelowna Rockets traded him to the T-Birds in January, Dach returned to game action Feb. 18.
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“First few games going back was rough as well,” he said. “Trying to be that big guy out there and play physical, play hard and fast, kind of had to rethink what I was going to do the first few games back.
“But all in all I’m happy with how it’s healed and how the rehab’s been going.”
The 20-year-old will be focused on making a strong impression with consistent play in Hawks training camp.
“In the playoff run, watching the games, I really noticed myself protecting the puck and exploding when I had it,” Dach said. “Those are the biggest things I work on with Brian Keane in the summer when I come down here, getting that speed out of turns, especially in the corners, trying to drive the net, drive the play.
“That’s something if I can keep improving on, it’ll give me a good chance” to make the Hawks roster.
