SEATTLE — Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has spent more in-person time with the team early this season than he did in past years.
That’s partly to help head coach Jeff Blashill’s new staff get settled and establish communication patterns, partly because there are more young players on the NHL roster now to capture his attention and partly because the trade deadline and draft remain months away.
Regardless, Davidson has been very present, and he told the Sun-Times on Monday he’s “really pleased” about what he has seen. The Hawks have fallen to 5-5-3 after losing the first three games of this road trip, but they’ve still cumulatively outscored opponents 39-37 so far this season.
“It is very early, but I’ve been really encouraged,” Davidson said. “We’re certainly competitive in every single game. And as we go on in the season, my hope is the young guys keep developing.”
Connor Bedard leads the list of positives, considering he has played arguably the best hockey of his career in the last couple of weeks.
“He’s been fantastic,” Davidson said. “[In] his season this year, you can take almost all those games, and those might be the best games he’s played in the NHL.
“It’s a young player growing into the league. You’re going to see those growth points naturally, but he’s a very motivated person. He puts in the work to get better. He’s thorough in his process and how he wants to grow his game, and we’re seeing the fruits of that.”
It doesn’t sound as though there have been many contract negotiations with Bedard’s camp yet — Davidson said they’re “just letting things play” out — but that’s not a concern for anyone. Davidson also has seen Bedard show his personality more publicly this season, which he applauds.
“It’s easy to forget with all the attention he’s gotten, having to deal with the media and everything from a young age…that it was a new league and new situation for him,” Davidson said. “There was a lot that he had to experience to get used to it. You’re just seeing how comfortable in his surroundings [he is now], based on living it and being in it more and more.”
GOAL: Andre Burakovsky finally gets the Blackhawks on the board. Great effort from Bedard to set it up pic.twitter.com/Jld5olLNk5
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) November 4, 2025
Davidson’s positive appraisals extend to Blashill, too. He knew his new hire would prioritize “preparation, attention to detail and relationship-building,” but he said actually seeing those traits in action has been “that much more impressive.”
Blashill’s aggressive and relatively complex systems seem to be working, and Davidson appreciates how ambitious they are.
“We have really talented players,” Davidson said. “In a lot of cases, they’re very young and green to the NHL and new to this whole thing, but they’re very talented. It’s something I believe they can handle. I do see the benefit of playing a certain system and learning within that, rather than playing one way that maybe has training wheels on it.
“You just [say], ‘You know what? You guys are NHL players, and you’re going to play like the NHL-level team we want to be.’ I like that process.”
It’s worth noting that Davidson talked with the Sun-Times on Nov. 3 last year and praised ex-coach Luke Richardson’s work and the Hawks’ progress at the time, only to watch it all derail in the next month.
Things are always subject to change quickly, and the Hawks might be due for some regression again this November based on publicly available analytics.
Davidson knows that’s true statistically, but he’s also optimistic the young players’ improvement over time might counterbalance that.
“There is a method there,” he said. “Maybe we are giving up zone time, but it’s not like we’re hemorrhaging Grade-A chances that just aren’t going in.
“That’s a little bit [of a symptom] of a young ‘D’ corps. Sometimes stopping a play and moving a play up ice is difficult, so that’s probably part of the development aspect that’s to come. Hopefully over time, some of that development ends us more in the offensive zone. But that’s why you have goalies, too. They’ve certainly played well.”
Prospect notes
Davidson confirmed the timing of Oliver Moore’s call-up was influenced by Jason Dickinson’s injury. But it’s not guaranteed that Moore will return to Rockford once Dickinson returns to health; that will be determined by his play during this stint.
Fellow Rockford forward star Nick Lardis might have to wait slightly longer for his NHL opportunity, but Davidson is equally excited about his play so far.
“[Lardis has] carried through some of that production that he had in junior into pro,” Davidson said. “He’s in a good spot right now, just playing a ton of minutes and getting a ton of opportunity. You can’t really say there’s too much he needs to fix right now. He just needs to keep playing.”
Davidson has also been watching recordings of many of Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov’s games in Sweden and Russia, respectively, but he’s letting assistant GM Mark Eaton handle the communication with them in order to “streamline the message” and not overwhelm them with feedback.
And, as has become something of a ritual over the last 15 months, Davidson had no update on injured goalie Laurent Brossoit.