The Chicago Blackhawks have crossed the halfway point of the 2025-26 NHL season. Prior to their matchup against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, the Hawks were 17-18-7 and four points out of a wild-card spot.
It’s been a roller coaster for the Hawks. A six-game skid preceded their current three-game win streak and Connor Bedard is nearing his return.
The Hawks are exceeding their preseason expectations despite the ups and downs. Are they where they want to be?
Sort of.
“Yes and no, I think there’s always room for improvement, but we’re growing our identity and I’m excited about that,” said team captain Nick Foligno. “That’s an area that hasn’t been as consistent and you can honestly say that you know what you’re going to get from the Chicago Blackhawks more times than not.”
Foligno has seen a lot of losses during his time as captain. The past few years of Hawks hockey haven’t been like the banner years in the 2010s.
They’re not Stanley Cup favorites yet, but this year’s team has finally paired a want-to-win mentality with roster production. Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Greene and Bedard have poured their hearts out onto the ice all season.
Foligno, 38, sees potential with these young Hawks. They’re ready to leap into contention.
“We had to go through some growing pains the years before, it’s not a knock, it’s just where we were,” Foligno said. “This year, we’ve got guys in here that are able to help us take a step and I think that’s huge.”
Hawks coach Jeff Blashill has noted that there aren’t team goals this season involving numbers like win totals or playoff appearances. He wants to see his team develop and they’re doing just that.
“We want to have the long-term goals in a sense of things we want to be really good at as we continue to head forward this season and beyond,” Blashill said. “We have better habits than we did to start the year.
“There are a lot of areas of our game that are growing, both individual habits and as a team and to me, the biggest thing is that continual look toward that growth. (I’ve) said it from the beginning of the year to now, you’re either taking steps toward greatness or you’re taking steps away.”
The Rockford callups have grown since their assignments to the Hawks. Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis have shown flashes of their offensive potential in the wake of Bedard’s and Frank Nazar’s absences.
They are another pair of young skaters that Foligno has been able to work with. Frankly, he hasn’t had to do much.
“It talks about the cohesiveness of what Rockford’s doing and what we’re trying to do and how guys have come up and handled themselves really well,” Foligno said. “I give our room credit, because it’s a room that guys can feel comfortable about being themselves in.”
When Bedard is at full strength, he can be a feisty figure who controls the atmosphere on the ice. The young Hawks star was graced with a captain’s patch while Foligno was on injured reserve this season and the veteran loved every second of it.
“It’s wonderful to see that he’s embraced that,” Foligno said. “I’m pretty sure you’ll be seeing a letter sewn to his chest for a long time here.”
The team captain has had his own road bumps in his 19th season. He took a personal leave in October for his daughter’s heart surgery and missed an additional 19 games due to a wrist injury.
It’s his job to lead the team, but he’s been giving himself his own goals, too.
“I continue to learn how to connect with people, that’s my job as a leader of the team,” Foligno said. “No matter how old they are, there’s still a common ground you can find (and) that’s been really fun because it’s kind of kept me young.”
The young Hawks are learning the ebbs and flows of the NHL and it’s helped Foligno gain knowledge of his own. When it comes to wearing a captain’s patch, he said learning is the most important thing you can do.
“I don’t even care as a captain, as a professional athlete, the day I stop learning is the day I need to come out of the league,” Foligno said. “It’s about continuing to try to get better and find different ways to improve and if you still have that hunger to do that, you can make an impact on any team you’re on.”