BLOG: Strome Excited to be Back in Time for Day 1 of Training Camp

It came down to the very last day, but Dylan Strome was officially a Blackhawk as training camp opened up on Monday at Fifth Third Arena.
A restricted free agent this offseason, the forward
inked a two-year contract on Sunday evening
, just 18 hours before he and the rest of the team
took the ice for the first official practice of the 2020-21 campaign
.

"I cut it pretty close, I guess," Strome said laughingly after. "You never want to miss any days of camp. You never want to be a guy that holds out or anything like that and that was never my plan. I wanted to get it done and be a Blackhawk. I love it here. I love playing here, love the fans and everyone's been so welcoming and I've had a lot of fun here."
TRAINING CAMP LINKS
RELEASE: Blackhawks Announce Training Camp Roster
NOTEBOOK: Full Coverage from Day 1 of Camp
RAW: Colliton on Youth, Camp Outlook
RAW: Kane on Toews' Absence, Schedule
RAW: DeBrincat on Excitement of First Day
For Strome, it was never really a question of if, but when a deal would be reached with Chicago.
"With the flat cap and everything's that been going on in the NHL and COVID and everything, I think the Blackhawks always wanted a little bit of a shorter term, which was fine," he said. "You've kind of got to bet on yourself a little bit and it was just figuring out the money and letting my agent do that. He was talking to Stan on pretty much a daily basis, so I knew they were pretty close to getting something done."
Despite not having a deal finalized, Strome still took part in voluntary practices with the rest of the players in preparation for camp. He returned to Chicago on Dec. 18 and, after serving his quarantine, has skated every day since Dec. 26 with the group training at Fifth Third Arena in the lead up.

"I think that was important to just get back out here and see all the guys," Strome said. "They were making some jokes, having some fun and asking when I'm going to sign and stuff. We had fun with it but I was happy to get it over with and get through it and start the camp."
The timing for the centerman's new deal became increasingly important over the last week, too, with Jonathan Toews out
indefinitely due to a medical issue
and Kirby Dach out
4-5 months after suffering a wrist fracture ahead of the 2021 World Junior Championships
last month.
"There's obviously a lot of opportunity with those two guys down, and not sure how long Tazer's going to be out for, but I'm just going to be myself, play hockey and have fun," Strome said of his likely increased role in the near term. "I love to be here, love being around the rink, love being around the guys, so I'm happy to be back and look forward to the start of the season."