Every Shift Season 2 Episode 8: Leveling Up | Chicago Blackhawks

Every Shift Season 2 Episode 8: Leveling Up | Chicago Blackhawks

(mellow synth music) – [Announcer] This is the 2024 NHL draft. – [Announcer] Next on the clock, the Chicago Blackhawks. All sorts of intrigue here because they’re second this year. Last year, they were first with Connor Bedard. Are they gonna get ’em a running mate? Someone up front with him maybe. – How long before you want me to put it in? – You can put it in, yeah. – Put it in. – Yeah, yeah. – Last name- – Yeah, put it in. – It’s in? – With the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft, the Chicago Blackhawks are proud to select Artyom Levshunov. (crowd cheering) – [Producer] How are you feeling right now? – I’m feeling amazing, guys. So nothing could be better then, yeah, be drafted and yeah, be in NHL. (mellow synth music) (people exclaiming) – Let’s go, let’s go. (mellow synth music) (crowd cheering) – You know what, we’re gonna do it again tomorrow. (mellow synth music) You got ’em. – That’s you, below here. (indistinct) – [Player] Hey, let’s go. (crowd cheering) (mellow synth music) – [Narrator] The hockey calendar can differ depending on a person’s role within an organization. With a draft lottery in the rear view mirror, the Blackhawks amateur scouting department is now able to narrow their focus. – Ladies, gentlemen, welcome to the pre-final meeting of the year before the draft. Tomorrow morning, we’re gonna start at 9:00 AM and we will build out our overall list. Whether you have one or two guys in your area or 20, doesn’t matter, it’s important. We need to know where those guys are gonna be placed. This is the last time prior to the meetings in Vegas where you really get to make your case for players, good, bad, on the ice, off the ice, who we wanna add to our prospect pool. (mellow synth music) – These are extremely important times for us as we continue to build our prospect pool and towards what we want our team to look like down the road. With respect to today, let’s try and remember what we’re looking at and what we’re looking for. It’s exciting because we got to get into a lot of great discussions, some debates really drilled down on what we want to do, how we want to build things, and how each of the potential options could help in that. – What was this frame like? Nick, is this guy in this grouping? Has he scored from net front? What’s he gonna be? – In the NHL, I think he’s probably a second, third line player. – Smaller, but his hockey sense is great. – [Mike] How’s he looking in person? You met with him? – Yeah, he is a pro. – Doesn’t want work to get back. He cheats for offense a little bit. – Anywhere in the lineup ’cause he’s got enough skill and enough brains to do it. – I see him in up more as a two-way guy than a guy that’s gonna carry the offense. – He’s a little light on his skates, but he was very, very smart. – Put it this way, we wouldn’t get excited as a group if we walked out there with that. – [Mike] Okay. – I’m not saying he’s not a good player, I just, I like the player. – Just worry about how long is it gonna take to put the weight on, right. – What is his ceiling, third line center? – Yeah, I think so, I agree. – [Person] Second line center on a bad team. – We’re hoping to be good, so- – [Person] That’s what I’m saying. That’s why I thought (indistinct) with the cut. (indistinct) – [Narrator] Information on potential prospects is constantly being gathered throughout the year. Scouts scatter around the world to hunt down the next big thing. But every June, the world’s best gather in Buffalo at the NHL Combine. – Our scouts do an excellent job in doing background and knowing the players as people before we get here. But at the management level, it’s our first time in most cases to meet them in person, get a look at them, chat with them, and so there’s, there’s value in that. There’s definitely a comfort in seeing them, talking to them and getting to know them a little bit better. – I think my skating is my number one strength. – Sign in AHL back to PG Europe. – We definitely lean on all of our staff, but Mike Doneghey, who runs the amateur staff for us, he’s so thorough in his work, his understanding of the group, his understanding of the personalities and how he manages his own staff, you know, it makes things so easy on myself that I can just come in, observe, because I know they’re gonna be run smoothly and all the information is gonna be there for us to make the right decision come draft day. – Why at Hlinka did you play your best hockey? I’m the one who gets to run the interviews and ask the questions and be the focal point, but the sheets that I’m reading off of, all the information is provided by the people in their roles. So I lean on everybody. We’ve kind of have a plan in mind. We constantly are talking about it myself, Kyle, and Norm on what we think the plan should be. And that’s why this week is so important for us, is just to get in front of these kids and validate the decision one way or another. – [Narrator] In the desert heat, the Blackhawks are ready to welcome a new crop of prospects. Last year’s number one pick, Connor Bedard, will be in attendance and has one last box to check on his rookie season. – [Producer] How nervous are you for tonight, if at all? – Not at all, really. I mean, you know, out my hands now, I think I’m just gonna go and kind of enjoy the experience and you know, it’s pretty cool for myself and my family to be here. Yeah, last year was crazy. (indistinct) Yeah, this year’s summer, it’s my only thing, so. – [Narrator] The Calder Memorial Trophy is given to the most proficient player in his first year of NHL Hockey. Connor Bedard is trying to join the likes of the great Tony Esposito, Patrick Kane, Steve Larmer, and become the 10th Calder winner in Blackhawks history. – Hair, adjust your outfit, and then walk out. – Sweet. – I’ll have you sit down. – Pretty cool, pretty cool award, for sure. And of course, being up with, you know, Brock and Luke, they had great years as well. Look at those chairs, couches. – [Person] Yeah. – Take a picture, Maddie. Pretty cool, I mean, having all the trophies up there is, you know, nice touch and yeah, it’s really nice, so, happy to be here for sure. – [Announcer] Connor is gonna win the Calder. There’s no doubt. – [Announcer] Generational talent. Brock Faber, pretty amazing too. (mellow synth music) [Announcer] And the Calder Trophy goes to… Connor Bedard. (audience clapping) Thank you, guys, very much, this is a huge honor. Lastly, the fans, best fans in the world and can’t wait to get back there and be in front of you guys again. – [Person] I’m gonna take that from a minute. – Ah, sure, please, thank you. (person laughing) – [Interviewer] Were you nervous up there? – Nah, not bad, a little. – Yay. – Just talking. – [Narrator] The voting for the Calder ended with Bedard receiving 152 first place votes. – [Person] I know. (mellow piano music) – It’s been one of the best years of my life. A lot of dreams have come true in my life and, you know, I got to celebrate a lot of things with the people close to me, with my family and, you know, that’s what it’s all about. (mellow synth music) Dad. – [Parent] I’m here. – You wanna hold? Do you want it? – Can I, would that be bad luck? – I don’t know. – Better not. (people chattering) – [Narrator] On the morning of the draft, Blackhawks scouting staff prepare backpacks for eventual draftees. The scouts will conduct their yearly mock draft, an opportunity to test their knowledge and select their favorite prospects before a rival team snatches them away. – I think it’s a little bit of a fun exercise. I think it lightens the mood a little bit, gets the guys to laugh and just kind of ease the tension a bit on draft day. We’ve had them research into what, you know, maybe they think other teams are gonna do. So it’s not a huge information gathering session, but it is just something that we’ve done traditionally and just kind of eases the mood on a could be a tense day. (all laughing) – Matt’s not laughing. – Don’t laugh at that. (all laughing) – Now that Danny’s here, I’ll just, on behalf of the group, I’ll just thank you. How you give us the leeway and the autonomy to do what we need to do to build this the right way. And we all want to do well. We all wanna make the right selections, but it takes a leader like yourself to empower us to do so and give us the freedom to do what we think is right. And I know I speak for everyone when we say we love being Blackhawks and we love being part of the family. So thank you and really excited to, you know, take another big step this evening. So, thanks. – Thanks, Kyle, and thanks, everybody, for all the hard work. I know this is a culmination of a lot of hours, a lot of time away from your families and we just appreciate it. I know it all culminates in selecting our next Blackhawks and I couldn’t be more confident, proud and really excited for what’s gonna go down tonight and tomorrow. So, thank you. Thanks for letting me be part of it. (upbeat synth music) – [Announcer] Welcome to an NHL draft like no other. We are live in 100 degree Las Vegas and we are live at Sphere Las Vegas. (crowd cheering) (mellow rock music) – [Announcer] Those two options, very good and very clear here for the number two pick. – The Chicago Blackhawks are proud to select Artyom Levshunov. (crowd cheering) (mellow synth music) – Kyle. – Yes, buddy. – [Artyom] I appreciate it. – Artie, welcome to the family. – [Artyom] Appreciate it, guys. Mike. – Hi, great to meet you. – Coach. – Congrats. – Meghan, nice to meet you. – Arty, Arty, congrats, brother. (indistinct) – Artie, right in the middle. – Proud of you, proud of you. – [Mike] Artyom Levshunov. – Yeah, Art is a 6′ 2", 6′ 2 1/2" D-man at Michigan State, had a very good year, 35 points in 38 games. This guy’s got a lot of tools. He’s got size, strength, his range, his mobility, he covers a lot of ice. He’s almost got that defensive back mentality where you think he’s beat and he’s not beat. I’ve seen him play a lot and I’ve never seen him get beat. He’s got great instincts. He’s got tons of moxie, sees the ice well. He’s got the ability to skate outta trouble. And the thing with this kid is, I don’t know if he’s even touched his full potential. I don’t think he’s even close. – [Fan] You’re gonna be the best. – So happy for you. – Thank you, I’m happy. (mellow rock music) – [Photographer] Do you like doing photo shoots? – I mean, yeah. – Yeah? – Why not? Why not? (photographer laughing) – [Kyle] Eates, you saw him, right? – I’ve seen him quite a bit, yeah, yeah. I agree with everything Rob said, Karilyn. I mean, the only question mark for me was kind of defensive awareness, but then I, you know, kind of, I know Soupy said it before, I’ve always looked at him the way I looked at McAvoy and you see what McAvoy’s turned into. And it’s almost like they have those elite tools in the skating field. Like you can say someone’s all over the place and mean it in a bad way. He’s all over the place in a good way. It never costs him, he is not risky. His reads for keeping the offensive blue line, keeping pucks in, he never gets beat, always keeps ’em in. And it’s, you know, the tools are undeniable. – [Interviewer] Aside from hockey, anything about your personality that you want people to know about you that they might not know? – I like fishing, guys. – [Interviewer] You like what? – Yeah, I like fishing, actually. – Fishing. – Fishing, yeah. I like to play different sports. Soccer, basketball, yeah. – I’m happy about getting either of those two guys. – Yeah. Boisvert or Vanacker. – [Campbell] Yeah, we can get that, I’m happy. – [Kyle] Yeah. – [Announcer] So the Blackhawks, once again on the clock. (mellow synth music) – I have to tell Hudson here. – Boisvert. – Sacha Boisvert. – Boisvert. – Yeah. – Chicago Blackhawks are proud to select Sacha Boisvert. (crowd cheering) – [Mike] So for these guys behind me who haven’t seen you play, what are your strengths as a player? – I would say my shot strength and the way I mix my side and my skills. – Okay. Try to model your game off of with Kopitar? – Yeah, I like to watch him. – [Mike] Okay. – [Norm] Are you a mean player? – Yes, I am. – [Mike] If hockey doesn’t work out, would you box? – Yes. – Yeah. – Yes. Kids, I know have dads that have played NHL, they grew up around the rink and that wasn’t me. I grew up in the boxing gym so I was two years old running around and meeting guys in the boxing gym, and I really liked the environment there and that’s where I grew up in. – [Announcer] French Canadian, just finished his second season in the USHL dynamic forward as they try to add more skill around their centerpiece, Connor Bedard. – [Producer] So you speak French? – [Sacha] Yeah, it’s my first language. I started English four years ago, I think. – Not bad. – Pretty impressive. – I think that’s probably one of my biggest like things I’m proud of. – Yeah. – Is to learn English. – What’s up, brother? (hands smack) (indistinct) – That’s a nice jersey, yeah. – Yeah, it looks good on you. – Yeah. (mellow rock music) – Hey, bud, what are you thinking? Okay. Yup, if our guy doesn’t go this next pick, then we’ll make it happen. Thank you. – [Announcer] For the next selection. – Bye. – 26 (indistinct). – We get Carolina. – Huh? – We got Carolina if he doesn’t go here. – [Announcer] Los Angeles Kings. With 26th pick, the Los Angeles King select from the Windsor Spitfires, Dylan Robinson. – (beeps) Right, buddy. (crowd cheering) Here, I’ll just. – [Meghan] I’ll take it up there. – Yup, go up there. – Ah. – [Person] Should work out, (indistinct). – (beeps) worked out, take Boisvert first and Vanacker second. (indistinct) There we go, good. – [Announcer] I believe there’s a trade coming. – Carolina trades the 27th pick in this year’s draft to Chicago for picks number 34 and 50. – From the Brantford Bulldogs, Marek Vanacker. – Describe your game for us. What are we getting- – Yeah. – If we draft you? – A fast I think, you know, want to be a complete and trusted player all over the ice, but yeah, I can bring a lot of offense and turn defenders behind themselves, and you know, try to get open for my teammates and make the like players around me better. So I think, yeah, just being a hard two-way forward, all over the ice and you know, someone who’s fast, competitive and tenacious and just never wants to give up. – Who do you model your game after? – I’m trying to pick up some things from Ryan O’Reilly. – Yeah. – I know he is maybe, I like to bring some more speed and he’s a centerman, but just the way he kind of carries himself onto teams, and he’s trusted and reliable. Honestly, kind of speechless. Like just an amazing feeling. Something I’ve worked towards my whole life. So to have this happen on this night is super surreal. (beeps) – [Parent] So exciting, so happy for you. – [Marek] Thank you. – I’m so proud of you. – Thanks for coming. Thanks for coming. (indistinct) – [Narrator] One round down six more to go. – [Announcer] Welcome to day two of the 2024 NHL draft in Vegas, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. – [Announcer] Utah Hockey Club. – Say we take two of these four guys. – [Campbell] Hmm? – We take two of these four guys – [Announcer] From Chicoutimi, Maxim Masse. (crowd cheering) – (indistinct) You like Mustard? – Yeah. (crowd cheering) (indistinct) John Mustard. – [Announcer] Maxim Masse (indistinct). (audience clapping) How about Chicago taking John Mustard, a center out of Waterloo in the USHL. He was named the USHL Rookie of the Year. – Congrats, man, Welcome. – Thank you. – [Announcer] You like what Chicago’s done here early in the first two days of this draft. – [Announcer] Yeah, they’re getting down to business. – Hello. – How’s it going, guys? – How are you doing? – Congrats. – Good. (mellow rock music) – Hey, no I think we’re gonna stay. Thank you, bye. (mellow rock music) – [Announcer] From the Windsor Spitfires, AJ Spellacy. – Congrats, dude. – Congrats, bro. – Yeah. – What a spot. – I know. – Let’s go. – Perfect timing. – All right, good. – Look at that. – Nice to meet you. – Welcome to the Blackhawks. – AJ Spellacy, thank you. – Yeah, excellent. – Hi, I’m Jaime. – Hi, I’m AJ. – Nice to meet you. – Nice to meet you. – Yeah, welcome. – Congratulations. – Thank you. – How you feeling? – Awesome. – Great. – Yeah, it’s unreal. – Oh, man, very- – Yeah, thank you. Yeah, appreciate. – Really excited to have you and it’s gonna be a fun ride. – Thank you, appreciate it. (phone ringing) – Hello? Hello? Hey. Yeah, are you good to go? Okay, let’s do it. I’ll send Meghan Hunter over, bye. (buzzer blares) – [Announcer] From West Kelowna, Jack Pridham. (crowd cheering) – [Jack] Thank you so much. – Congrats, welcome. – Thank you. – Congrats, Jack, welcome. – Thank you. Thanks (indistinct) – Good job, man. – Thank you. – [Fan] Good job, Jack, so proud of you. – [Narrator] A successful draft for the Blackhawks, adding eight new prospects to their pool of young talent. As the weekend wraps in Las Vegas, the players will head straight to Chicago for development camp. – Welcome, everyone. Glad to have everyone back. Feels like we were just here yesterday. Make sure you maximize your time here. We’re just here to make you guys better and for you guys to make each other better. – [Person] Go check it out, walk around. – Shoes are good (indistinct) good. – This is a sick bag. – [Narrator] The 2024 draft picks join a group of current Blackhawks prospects. The camp is run strictly off the ice where the importance of team bonding is put at the forefront. (upbeat synth music) – Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. – [Player] Yeah, there you go. – It’s been really fun, you know, I was in Vegas not too long ago with my friends and family, now I’m just happy to be here in Chicago and just enjoying my time here and you know, taking every single ounce I can learn from and grow. – How are you feeling? It’s just surreal. Just to meet everyone and all the new players and and prospects here and spending some team bonding time and in the gym and everything like that’s been really awesome. – You can cheer on your person, you can taunt the other person, I don’t care, it’s whatever you want to do to get that person hyped up and get him in. (people chattering) – [Player] Let’s do it then. – [Player] Rock paper scissors. Rock paper scissors shoot. (player exclaims) – Oh, big comeback. – You got served. You’ve been served. – Big comeback. (players exclaiming) – [Narrator] Prospects are split into groups that compete in a variety of competitions and challenges. – You two first, then I step over here, then you guys go. – And then the middle? – Just so I’m not like tangling. – Oh yeah. – [Narrator] For players like Frank Nazar who already have a camp under their belt, it’s an opportunity to step forward as a leader. – [Player] Three, two, one, shift. Three, two, one, shift. – [Person] Yeah. – Wow. (hands clapping) (player exclaiming) – Let’s go. Being able to show these guys what’s going on and try to help ’em and when I came in as a young guy, there’s older guys there that brought me up and showed me what to do and you know, show me the ropes and hopefully I can do the same to someone else. – I feel like a veteran for sure, it being my second year and everything and I think it’s a great opportunity to kind of meet new guys who are our age, or our peers, but also get to know more about the organization and learn a lot. – [Narrator] One of the final events of the week is a cooking class at the chopping block. Teams will be judged on presentation and taste of the final dish that they put together. – We’re gonna be doing some grilled chicken shawarma, a tabouli salad with quinoa, tzatziki sauce, royal shrimp with some tomatoes, and some feta, and some breadcrumbs. So are we ready? Go ahead and get started. (knife tapping) (people chattering) – [Player] I like the (indistinct) – [Player] Dip it in there, dude. – [Player] You gotta cut in the small pieces he said. Let Sacha do it. Look at Sacha. – [Player] Sacha’s got it going. – [Player] He’s got his thumb into it. – [Oliver] Kinda like the smell though. Is that too, I feel like there’s a lot of lemon. – Yeah. – Is it not? (people laughing) – [Person] We’re getting it. – [Oliver] Pour that whole thing on? – Yeah, yeah. – He said to do it. – [Person] The only thing about- – [Player] Go ahead. (indistinct) (appliance whirring) – Hey, get, see how like there’s some on like the side of the bowl, like rub the chicken on there. – [Player] Oh, I feel you. – Yeah. – Yeah. – Yes. (indistinct) – Quality. – Yes. (people chattering) – [Player] Yeah, a little olive oil. – This looks healthy. – It is healthy. – Looks super healthy. – [Player] Put olive oil on (indistinct). – [Person] (indistinct) Turn around. – [Player] Oh yeah. – That shit looks gassed. – [Player] Not sure (indistinct) if we have enough salt. – [Oliver] Should we taste test? – Taste it. – [Player] Jeez. – [Player] Good one? – It’s actually really good. – No, I’m not a fan of quinoa. – Dude, it’s not that salty. It is not that salty. Dude, we got like the smallest, yeah, it’s a lot of lemon I feel like. – It’s not bad. (mellow groove music) – Good. – Money. – How do you this? Hey, excuse me. How’d you do it again? (player laughing) – Dude, I didn’t realize there’s so much water. (food sizzling) (mellow groove music) – You think it needs a little salt? Oh yeah, this is looking good, man. – I’m gonna take a look. – Oh, dude, theirs looks good, but we just gotta focus on our own and just keep doing our thing. You know, head down, just going into battle but we’re gonna win, we’re gonna win. – [Player] Yeah. – [Frank] Hey, how should we cut these? – [Player] Dude, they’re hard to cut. – [Player] Yeah, mines not (indistinct). – [Player] Mine’s not cutting. – [Player] Yeah, that’s the way- – Just a little bit. – Too much. – No, we’re gonna- – Yes, hey, that’s the key. – Hey, how’d you guys get the grill marks on those? – [Player] This might be another last place finish. – [Oliver] No, dude, we’re winning this. – [Player] Don’t say that, dude. (mellow groove music) (people chattering) – Wow, look at (indistinct). – Ours looks perfect actually. That looks so good. – It looks so gas. (people chattering) (mellow groove music) – [Player] (indistinct) The pepper in the sauce. (people chattering) (mellow groove music) – [Player] What do you think? – [Narrator] Only one team will leave with the win, but there’s plenty of good food to go around. – [Player] The chicken was- – There’s reason for optimism within the Blackhawks organization, with another draft of talented prospects joining the pipeline, the team’s future continues to be bright. – Our scouting group was incredible this year. The way they ran through the process from day one of the scouting season right through the draft, I thought we had every bit of information we needed. There’s a lot of development time that’s gonna come, but we see major roles for them down the road. – On edge. – Yeah. – Flat, on edge. So what does he do? – There’s such a great group of young men and the work ethic, the camaraderie and just the athletes that we have in our system is really exciting. (mellow synth music)

In the Season 2 finale of “Every Shift,” dive into the behind-the-scenes world of General Manager Kyle Davidson and his scouting team as they navigate another year with a top draft pick.

Experience the intensity of scouting meetings, the excitement of the NHL Combine, and the pivotal moments leading up to the NHL Draft. This episode offers a unique glimpse into the meticulous process that shapes the future of the Chicago Blackhawks. Plus, witness former #1 overall pick Connor Bedard’s exhilarating journey as he receives the prestigious Calder Trophy. Don’t miss this captivating conclusion to a thrilling season!

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