While many players described the difficult emotions of enduring some losses throughout the year, some still found that they can build off some of the things they learned in thoses contets.
For Caleb Jones, one of the big focuses they created this year was creating a no quit mentality. Even with some tough losses through different stretches, the team continued to bring a hard, tough battle to ever matchup no matter who their opponent was.
"I think the culture that we set this year with never quitting, you saw it last night, we push that game to overtime," Jones said. "We had a chance at a pretty cool moment for a guy who was special to the city, and unfortunately, couldn't win. But I think that culture of never quit is in there and we'll keep building on that."
Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson echoed a similar statement during his end of season press conference on Thursday morning. Whether fans came to the United Center or watched a Blackhawks game on television, they could see that the team kept competing up until the final whistle.
"I think the professionalism that we saw from our players this season was really special, especially in the second half when playoffs may have been a little bit of a distant memory and that was out of the picture, they never stopped competing," Davidson said. "It shows the character and the professionalism that's in that locker room. I really appreciate everything that they've done."
Even with some big losses, the team also came out on top against strong teams like the Boston Bruins and held some winning streaks from time to time. But for head coach Luke Richardson, this allowed the players to get a taste of what they can build off going into next season as they continue to dream.
In his first season as head coach, Richardson wanted to build a foundation for his players of never backing down from a challenge. The players listened and proved it up until the last game of the season.
"I think we're probably finishing kind of where we probably thought we would and that's just the nature of the beast," Richardson said. "I just liked the first block of foundation that we wanted to put in as coaching staff and have the commitment from the players and we have, right up to the last game as you see them work right to the last buzzer of the game."
While the season ended on an overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, MacKenzie Entwistle still feels there could be light at the end of the tunnel as players continue to grow within the system and join the lineup over the next few seasons.
With players like Lukas Reichel and Alex Vlasic finishing up their season with the Rockford IceHogs, they can continue to develop and expand their playing styles. Entwistle understands the benefits of honing your skills within the AHL team that helped him to become a better player and join the Blackhawks roster for the last two seasons.
"Being a part of it and wanting to be a part of it is something that I take pride in," Entwistle said. "I think, using this year as maybe a steppingstone and a stepping block in order to get better and take a couple takeaways from this year and bring them into next year is something that I'm going to look forward to [while having] a good summer and come back ready to work."
