When 2023 first overall pick Connor Bedard scored his first goal at the United Center during the Oct. 21 home opener, the building rocked with an electricity that has been mostly nonexistent since the Blackhawks’ glory days of 2010 to 2015. 18-year-old Bedard is a 5’10’’, 185-pound center who previously served as the captain of the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. Years before he was even eligible for the draft, scouts raved about Bedard’s shot, puck handling, hockey IQ, and overall creativity in his game. This led to massive hype which surrounded him and his ability to potentially propel a rebuilding franchise like the Blackhawks into playoff contention. In addition to the “Bedard-mania” that has been sweeping Chicago since he was drafted in June, plenty of other young talent has caught the eyes of Blackhawks fans and contributed to a sense of excitement for the 2023-24 season. With this newfound enthusiasm from fans, ticket sales have skyrocketed, benefiting the team financially. Regardless of where the Blackhawks end up in the standings, there is much reason to be optimistic about the team this year.
From 2017 through last season, things had been bleak for the Blackhawks, who were coming down from one of the most incredible highs in sports: three championship wins in six years. Since their first-round playoff exit against the Nashville Predators in 2017, the Blackhawks only made the playoffs once, facing off against the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2020 COVID “bubble,” where they were quickly defeated in five games. To make matters exponentially worse, the team was slammed with outside criticism when a major sexual assault lawsuit came to light in the fall of 2021. This led to the resignation of former general manager Stan Bowman and the naming of Kyle Davidson as interim GM. Many fans renounced their support for the Blackhawks altogether, and those that stayed watched loss after loss with no clear indication from the front office of the direction in which the team was headed. Head coach Jeremy Colliton, who had replaced longtime coach Joel Quenneville in 2018, was fired in November 2021 after the team started with an abysmal 1-9-2 record.
When Davidson assumed the role of permanent GM in March 2022, he began to plant seeds of optimism around the team. He announced a full rebuild, hired current head coach Luke Richardson, and began trading for draft picks, many of whom turned out to be promising young players such as Kevin Korchinski and Frank Nazar. Unfortunately, with many of the Blackhawks’ rising stars — Alex DeBrincat, Brandon Hagel, and Kirby Dach, to name a few — traded away to acquire this draft capital, the 2022-23 season was perhaps the most painful yet. The Blackhawks finished third-to-last in the standings, and, after 16 seasons with the team, franchise legend Patrick Kane was sent to the New York Rangers for a 2023 conditional second-round pick and a fourth-round pick. Saint Ignatius senior and hockey goaltender Ethan Laughlin believes this trade should have occurred earlier. “I honestly think if [the Blackhawks] had traded [Kane] a couple of years back, they would be way better off because they wouldn’t have been dragging out this rebuild until now. If they traded him back in like, 2018 when his value was really high, they could have gotten a lot of picks and good players, and they could have started the rebuild earlier. So the team could have been competitive now,” he said. However, on May 8, exhausted fans like Laughlin were rewarded for putting up with the team’s mediocrity when a lucky draw in the draft lottery landed the Blackhawks the first overall pick.
Bedard and other young players have brought back a certain excitement that Blackhawks fans have been missing. When asked who they are most excited to watch this season, the first player that typically comes to fans’ minds is Connor Bedard, but there are numerous other players they are excited about. Thanks mainly to Davidson’s skill for drafting, the Blackhawks’ prospect pool is one of the deepest in the league. According to Corey Pronman, a senior NHL prospects writer for The Athletic, the Chicago Blackhawks rank number two in the NHL pipeline rankings for 2023, with names such as Korchinski, Lukas Reichel, and Oliver Moore topping the list of players to watch. Ignatius senior and avid Blackhawks fan Amy Skolozynski sees these young players as incredibly beneficial for the energy surrounding the team. “I think it’s great that we’re starting a new chapter, and it’s clear that the whole city’s excited,” she said. “[No matter] if they win or lose, the energy of the Blackhawks fandom is back to what it was in 2010, 2013, [and] 2015, and I think that’s really going to take the team far.” Laughlin echoed this sentiment, but is careful not to be too hopeful that the Blackhawks will make the playoffs this season. He said, “The team has a lot of good, young talent. They’re [probably] a year away from being a year away [from being competitive]. They’re close, but they just need some more time to figure themselves out.” At this point, most fans aren’t necessarily concerned about the results of individual games or the team making the playoffs; instead, they want to see the young players develop into superstars. Fans also know that Bedard has likely shortened the rebuild timeline by a few years, leaving them much to look forward to.
In addition to bringing excitement back to Chicago, Bedard’s presence is already impacting the team financially. Prior to the draft, tickets were the cheapest they had been in years, and fans did not exactly flock to the United Center the way they did throughout much of the 2010s. On weeknights, the United Center was often quiet enough that TV spectators could hear the players’ shouts and skates on the ice. At times, those who chose to attend became so disappointed and bored that they took it upon themselves to chant things like “Fire Colliton” and even “Fire Nagy” (former Bears head coach). The Blackhawks’ sellout streak of 535 games even ended in October 2021.
Now, though, fans are incredibly eager to have a chance to watch this Blackhawks team live. A report from ESPN said that ticket sales nearly doubled after the draft in June, and the Blackhawks sold $5.2 million in new season-ticket packages within 12 hours. While the team averaged only 17,167 tickets sold for each of the 41 home games last season, attendance for this season’s home opener was 19,717. The front office is prepared to take on the challenge of higher demand for tickets. On NBC Sports Chicago’s Blackhawks Talk Podcast, Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said, “What’s more work for us means more opportunity for our fans, and I think that’s what it’s about, especially this next era. We’re in growth mode, we want to welcome more people into the Blackhawks family, and we’re happy to do the extra work and get a little technology to help boost it along.” It is evident there has been a major positive shift in the energy surrounding the Blackhawks this season, and this shift is already leading to a tangible economic benefit for the team.
Undoubtedly, many Blackhawks fans are feeling hopeful as the season gets underway. The team’s record may not be anywhere near perfect — they are currently 4-7-0 — but many young players have already shown flashes of talent that will make the games more exciting to watch and attend. In the long run, this increase in attendance and overall hype around the team will continue contributing to its economic success. Ultimately, the changes underway will make for a happier front office, fans, and players.
