Blackhawks Convention Review

Thanks to Wolverine for posting this, as the three of us never make it to this thing.

Since no one has posted so far, here are my thoughts on this past weekend's Blackhawks Convention, which was the 4th annual event and my 2nd time attending. It's definitely not for everyone, with long lines, lots of screaming kids and their even more annoying pushy parents, but for die-hard Hawks fans there is enough to whet your appetite until pre-season begins.  While there are still a lot of annoyances, John McDonough & his staff deserve a lot of credit for making noticible changes from last year, including adding some of the bigger name players for autograph and photo opportunities (for those willing to waste most of Saturday for a glimpse of Sharp), using much larger rooms for panels so everyone could attend, and making the photo opportunities free through sponsorship of the event, as opposed to $20.

           Probably the most worthwhile events for regular SCH readers are the player panels, featuring a great mix of current stars and Hawks alumni discussing various topics, which were much more accessible this year thanks to added capacity.  Some of the highlights this year included: a goaltending panel with Corey Crawford, Tony Esposito and Glenn Hall, a two-way defenseman discussion with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Pierre Pilote and Steve Konroyd, a top draft-picks discussion with Patrick Kane, Denis Savard, Eddie Olczyk and Dave Manson, plus a talk featuring top goal scorers over the years with Bobby Hull, Marian Hossa (who left early for a flight to Slovakia), Denis Savard and recent HOF inductee Michel Goulet.  Additionally there were discussions involving the coaching staff, hockey ops, and some of the new Blackhawks members just obtained by Stan, which even got into discussion of Jamal Mayers'showdown with Daniel Carcillo (Dan did not attend due to a wedding). 

          During the top draft picks discussion Denis Savard got a pitcher of ice water dumped on him by Eddie O. after joking he was cheap, causing Savard to have to change clothes before the next panel an hour later.  The footage is on Blackhawks TV if you're interested. Aside from joking around and the always epic story-telling of Bobby Hull, the panels showed a lot of insight into the Blackhawks family, with Patrick Kane praising Denis Savard for helping him ease into the league as his coach during Kane's rookie year as well as Kane's reluctance to accept a leadership role in taking rookies under his wing now that he is going into his 5th season.  Dave Manson discussed the injury to his vocal chord which took away much of his voice, Savard discussed avoiding a pass to former rival Dino Ciccarelli on a breakaway in an alumni game and even John Scott (no matter what you think of his play) was entertaining while interacting with Joey the Jr. reporter in-between Patrick Sharp prank stories on the Blackhawks TV panel.  The hockey ops discussion with Stan Bowman was nowhere near full, but based on attendee reaction, it seemed like most were satisfied with a lot of the offseason moves, aside from the Carcillo signing.  For longtime Blackhawks fans, the panels are where you get your money's worth from the Convention, as you get to see interaction between generations of Blackhawks greats, entertaining stories, and lots of subtle insights from behind the scenes.

         Aside from panels,  I most enjoyed the photo area, which was not too crowded outside of the clamor for Brent Seabrook and a huge line of teen girls hours before Viktor Stalberg wristbands were distributed. My girlfriend & I got pictures with Stan Mikita & Pierre Pilote together, Nick Leddy, Tony O, Eric Daze and Steve Montador without having to wait around too long.  Montador in particular was a really nice guy and was very excited to have signed with the Hawks, along with that he looks like he's going to add some muscle we've been lacking on defense.  The autograph lines vary between waiting in line for hours before wristbands are given out for players like Patrick Sharp or Corey Crawford to very accessable for alumni and lesser-known prospects.  I got lucky this year and a relative that won a scratch card contest gave me the opportunity to meet Jonathan Toews, which was the highlight of my summer, but they didn't announce who it would be until the signing was about to start, so it's luck of the draw with autographs.  The vendor area was mostly the same stands as last year, but the prices were more reasonable and there were great bargains on Stanley Cup merchandise.  The locker room sale had used training camp jerseys for reasonable prices, so it was nice to get a few worn items from Hawks prospects and a Duncan Keith stick. There's also a room with the big NHL awards, aside from the Stanley Cup, on loan from the HOF and some games for kids to play and even Frank Pellico playing the organ while you grab lunch.

           All-in-all, the convention is worth checking out if you've never gone, as long as you don't go expecting to rub elbows with Toews & Kane and don't mind waiting in lines.  If you need a hockey fix for the summer and are a long-time Hawks fan (familiar with the players from the 90s and earlier) you'll honestly have more fun than recent fans, since the alumni are much more accessible and you'll hear lots of hilarious stories that will bring you back to the days of the old barn. If you've gone in years past, it also might be worth trying again next year, as it appears the Hawks really do pay attention to the opinion surveys and are making noticible improvements from year to year.  Hope everyone is having a great summer and is ready for next season in a couple months!