BLOG: Richardson Excited to Get Started in First Camp as Head Coach

Head Coach Luke Richardson and General Manager Kyle Davidson walked into their first press conference of the season smiling.
"I've been waiting for this day," said the first-year head coach on Wednesday, the first day of official day of training camp for the Blackhawks ahead of the 2022-2023 season. "It'll be an exciting day tomorrow to finally get on the ice with the guys."
With both set to begin their first full year at their respective positions, Richardson and Davidson enter training camp collectively focused on team building. That philosophy starts with the players -- prospects and veteran alike -- and continues upward to include the team's coaching and leadership staff.
"Before we talk about success on the ice, we have to have success as a team," said Richardson. On the ice and during practice is where he believes the Blackhawks can start building a team to plant the seeds for future success.

Jump Start on Development

The Blackhawks got a glimpse into the future in the days before camp at the 2022 Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. Chicago split a pair of games against the Minnesota Wild's prospects at Fifth Third Arena.
"There weren't any real surprises," said Davidson. "I was really happy with the whole group, to be honest."
The team's top performers on the weekend included defenseman Kevin Korchinski, who the Blackhawks drafted with No. 7 overall pick in this year's draft, and forward Lukas Reichel, who logged 57 points (27G, 36A) for the Rockford IceHogs last season.
"Kevin was what we thought he was," Davidson said. "He's not just a one-dimensional offensive defenseman, he can bring it on both sides of the puck."
The performances of defensemen Nolan Allan and Ethan del Mastro also stood out to Davidson, as did the offensive chemistry between forwards Paul Ludwinski and Sam Savoie.
As full camp begins, the Blackhawks plan to experiment with line combinations and defensive pairings between younger and veteran players.
"I think that's a smart thing, especially the defensive position," explained Richardson, "giving young guys like Korchinski and del Mastro a chance to play with the veteran guys, make them feel comfortable that they have some security and let them do their thing."
Davidson and Richardson expressed their hopes for a competitive training camp with plenty of roster battles and are excited to see the offseason progress of Reichel as he enters his pro second season in North America.
"By all accounts, talking to him and the staff, [Reichel]'s had a really good summer. So we'll, we'll see how things go and how things shakeout in camp," Davidson said. "It's like any other player. He's fighting for a spot. We'll see how things go and weigh the opportunities here versus the benefits of potentially going to Rockford."

Veteran Core

Despite the youth movement, the Blackhawks roster continues to center around the long-time duo of captain Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Richardson, ahead of his first season behind the bench, spoke at length with both players over the summer about their roles within the rebuilding team.
"There's a lot of new young players coming in, and we want to make sure we're building something," he said, "and we talked to them about that. And they seem on on right on page and they want to be a part of this... I think that's that's all we can ask from the players. I think they look like they've come in prepared and are ready and have smiles on their faces."
"I said, 'I know you guys are Stanley Cup champions, you're Hall of Fame players,'" continued Richardson. "They've earned that right to be veterans and have an opinion and have a voice, but I still have to treat them just like any other player on the team. That's how you create a good culture, and I think they agreed with it."
Davidson said that despite offseason rumors, "there haven't been any conversations" with other teams to date about a potential trade for either veteran. "We're focused on training camp and getting into the season." He added that team plans to "see how the season goes" before opening up any discussions on contract extensions or possible player movement for Toews and Kane, who are both entering the final year of their contracts.

Coaching Staff Roles

Richardson also laid out his coaching staff's different roles and responsibilities heading into the season, his first comments since the staff was rounded out with Kevin Dean, Derek King and Derek Plante serving as assistant coaches. Dean will oversee the Blackhawks' defense and the penalty kill unit, while Plante will manage the power play.
Dean previously coached for the Boston Bruins, before that playing seven seasons himself as an NHL defenseman. "[Boston has] always been right at the top of the league [defensively]," said Richardson, "so we're really excited to have him here running the defense and the penalty kill."
"[Plante] was an offensive guy and he has been running the power play at Minnesota Duluth," Richardson continued, "so he's going to oversee the power play... he's going to spend some time with Derek King and Matt Meachem that kind of really did a lot of work on the power play the second half of last year when when they were running things but the the main guy will be there Plante."
King, who finished last season as Chicago's interim head coach, will work alongside Richardson on the 5-on-5 play and preparing the team for upcoming opponents. "We're going to really oversee some 5-on-5 game preps, pre-scouts on the other teams and preparing ourselves for certain situations, let's say 5-on-6 or 6-on-5 or, or even getting into an overtime situation."
Overall, Richardson raved about the camraderie already building amongst his staff before the start of camp.
"Everybody seems happy with the roles," he said, "We sit in a room together -- I have my own office somewhere, but I told Kyle, 'You can have it,' because I'll never be in there except to maybe change. That's what I like: to be with the guys and working on things and talking about things every day."