What we learned at Chicago Blackhawks development camp, including Vaclav Nestrasil thinking ‘bigger'
'Yeah, it's a hard name,' the Praha, Czechia, native admitted.
A hard name looking for a harder game.
Nestrasil, 18, grew up idolizing Patrick Kane, but that's where the similarities end between the Hawks legend and the 6-foot-6, 185-pound forward prospect.
'I'm a two-way player,' Nestrasil told the Tribune on the first day of development camp Monday at Fifth Third Arena. 'Obviously big size, I think I can provide almost anywhere on the ice. I can provide in tough situations, I can score a goal, I can make a great pass.
'I don't think there's anything I'm lacking.'
Except for weight, he later acknowledged.
'I feel like getting bigger is the biggest part of my game that I need to work on,' added Nestrasil, who will play at the University of Massachusetts next season. 'Just get bigger, get more comfortable in my body and hopefully everything will come with that.'
The Hawks are on the same page.
Between the end of the 2023-24 season for the Muskegon Lumberjacks and the United States Hockey League's Fall Classic, Nestrasil 'put 15 pounds on and he just took off,' Hawks director of amateur scouting Mike Doneghey said. 'He's a cerebral player. He does have to get stronger, but that'll come with maturity.'
Here are five more things we've learned at development camp this week.
Photos: Inside Chicago Blackhawks development campThe Hawks brought back Lafferty in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. The 6-2 forward became a key chess piece in the rebuild when the Hawks traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February 2023.
The Hawks sent Lafferty, defenseman Jake McCabe and conditional fifth-round picks in 2024 and 2025 to Toronto and received a 2025 conditional first-round pick and a 2026 second-rounder.
They used that 2025 pick, which ended up being No. 25, to select Nestrasil on Friday.
The forward prospect, who earned National Collegiate Hockey Conference rookie of the year honors last season, explained his decision to transfer from North Dakota to Boston University.
'Well, the coach got fired, pretty simple,' Boisvert said Tuesday, referring to Brad Berry's firing at North Dakota in March. 'He recruited me when I was 14, and that's tough to see a coach leave. That was when I made a decision.'
He said he 'definitely (felt) a lot of emotions. Definitely not expected (I would be) transferring.'
But he said talks with his camp led him to that decision.
'I'm really excited to go to Boston,' said Boisvert, the No. 18 pick in the 2024 draft. 'It's closer to home (Trois-Rivières, Quebec), about a six-hour drive, so the family's able to come more. It's a great program, great coach, Jay Pandolfo.'
Who did the Chicago Blackhawks select in the 2025 NHL draft? Meet the 8-player class.Earlier this summer the Hawks extended qualifying offers to defensemen Wyatt Kaiser and Louis Crevier and goalie Arvid Söderblom but didn't qualify unrestricted free agents Kurashev, Jalen Luypen, Aku Raty and Antti Saarela.
Kurashev was Connor Bedard's running mate during the latter's rookie season in 2023-24, but Kurashev had a career-worst 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 51 games last season, and it was abundantly clear he fell out of favor in Chicago.
'Phil Kurashev had a bit of a tough year and just probably a lack of defined role with us moving forward,' general manager Kyle Davidson said, 'as well as a little bit of a question on where that potential arc could've come out. It was probably better for all that he finds a new path.'
Kaiser looks like he's on the cusp of establishing himself, even in a crowded defensive group.
'Wyatt and Louis, they're still young players, early in their career,' Davidson said. 'We see promise and a very viable path to meaningful NHL roles this year, so we wanted to keep them around.'
As for Söderblom, Davidson said he had 'a nice bounce back' from a tough 2023-24 season.
In a peculiarity you won't find in many NHL locker rooms, Hawks forward prospects Mason West and Spellacy have football backgrounds.
Spellacy was a sought-after recruit who played safety and wide receiver for St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. West, the No. 29 pick Friday, will play quarterback for Edina (Minn.) High School this fall.
When asked about a bond, Spellacy said he recruited West for the prospects volleyball tournament Thursday.
'I drafted for my Team Green this week, so we got that little connection going already,' Spellacy said. 'So we're looking to win it.'
The Hawks haven't had the prospects take the ice for the third straight development camp, so the staff crafts some unusual team-building activities for them — from boxing lessons to improv comedy.
Spellacy perked up when he announced, 'We've got a beach volleyball tournament going Thursday, so we're excited for that one.'
Marek Vanacker said Tuesday was 'kind of weird.'
'We had walkie-talkies and we were in separate rooms and we had to communicate how to build Legos to the exact (specifications),' Vanacker said. 'So it was a little difficult. We don't usually do that type of stuff.
'Just trying to trust your teammates is a big part of that, but it was fun in the process. We liked it.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Unsung contributors for high school football: Drone operators, managers, trainers
As Hart High football players engaged in a 6 a.m. workout on Wednesday morning, injured player Micaiah Underwood was given an important task — flying the team's drone to take video. He had been trained by head coach Jake Goossen. When an alarm went off alerting low battery, Underwood calmly manipulated the controls to bring the drone down — though it briefly went so high that teammates were joking it was out of control. Every head coach needs to delegate responsibilities and rely on others to help him focus on getting his team ready, and three important positions in 2025 are drone operator, manager and athletic trainer. Every program needs one of each. At a City Section school earlier this week, three managers were making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for players to eat after practices. At another school, the athletic trainer was taping ankles and roaming the field in case of an emergency. For those teams without athletic trainers, coaches were forced to take on the task. Coaches kept handing out their keys to managers to retrieve or open something. Managers and trainers have been around for years, but drone operators are new. At Hart, they have to pay special attention to hawks. Seriously, Hart had a drone disabled by a hawk. Now there's spotters to make sure no hawks are nearby. After all, Hart's new nickname is the Hawks and apparently the real hawks like flying drones. So everyone say thanks to the drone operators, managers and trainers. The're unsung helpers every program needs. Oh, and one more trend. There are so many players using electric bikes to get to practices perhaps a charging station is next to be added on a program's football budget.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Blackhawks Young Defender Gets Big Shout-Out
With the Chicago Blackhawks rebuilding, they have plenty of promising young players. One of them is defenseman Wyatt Kaiser, as the 22-year-old blueliner has the potential to become a nice piece for them as he continues to adjust to the NHL level. Due to this, during a recent episode of Daily Faceoff Rundown, Kaiser landed some serious praise from both Sports 1440's Jason Gregor and The Athletic's Michael Russo. "Kaiser is a hell of a player," Gregor said. "In the next few years, people are going to look and say, 'damn, who's this guy?' I look at Chicago, and they have a lot of youth on their back end, and I still think this is a season of transition for them, but watch their back end. I think in a few years, there are going to be three or four guys in Chicago that people are pretty high on, and don't sleep on Kaiser." Russo then agreed with Gregor's take and then also had some praise for the Blackhawks' 2020 third-round pick. "I like Kaiser a lot, especially as a guy," Russo said. "Wyatt is a quality, good skating defenseman that I think has the ability to, again, with coaching, be really, really good." The Blackhawks will certainly be hoping that Kaiser can become a key part of their defense as they look to take that next step. There is no question that they are in need of some serious help on their blueline, and it would be massive if Kaiser could develop into a legitimate top-four defenseman. Kaiser showed promise this past season with the Blackhawks, posting four goals, eight points, 54 hits, 93 blocks, and an even plus/minus rating in 57 games. Overall, he showed that he is ready for the NHL, and it will be fascinating to see if he hits a new level soon, as both Gregor and Russo believe he can. Blackhawks Young Goalie Continues To Get Praise The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping that goaltender Spencer Knight will become something special for them. The 2019 first-round pick undoubtedly has plenty of potential and has shown promise early on, but there is a real expectation that he has not hit his ceiling yet. Photo Credit: © Matt Marton-Imagn Images
Chicago Tribune
9 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Billie Jean King on today's tennis, the media and a new play at Chicago Shakespeare about her life
'Billie Jean' is the name of the new play by Lauren Gunderson now in its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. This show about the tennis great Billie Jean King is currently in The Yard on Navy Pier through Aug. 10, and then is widely expected to have a life beyond Chicago. King spoke to the Tribune in a telephone interview just after returning from the All England Lawn Tennis Championships, better known as Wimbledon, where she sat next to Princess Kate in the Royal Box for the women's singles final and watched Iga Świątek defeat Amanda Anisimova by a score of 6-0, 6-0. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: That final was quite the wipeout. A: Świątek was amazing. She couldn't even get through the qualifier last time. But you know, we don't have two dominant players anymore. It used to be Steffi (Graf) and Monica (Seles), or Chris (Evert) and Martina (Navratilova). Now on a given day, any of the top 200 women can beat any of the others. Q: The women's game has come a long way. A: I put on the tennis channel and I can't believe all the cities we are in now. We've really been the leaders in women's sport since the 1970s. The Ladies Professional Golf Association was founded a year before the Women's Tennis Association but we've eclipsed them. Q: Could you have beaten Świątek or Anisimova when you were in your prime? A: No. My brother played professional baseball for 12 years. Our parents taught us both that every generation gets better. I them to be better. When we women signed our first one-dollar contract, we wanted three things: a place to compete, to be appreciated for our accomplishments and not only for our looks, and to be able to make a living playing the sport we love. Now you see all the other women's sports people are starting to invest in. My former husband and I used to own the Chicago tournament. I've been involved in Chicago for a very long time. Q: You still have your place here, right? A: I do. Q: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz also played an amazing match. A: They did. Italy and Spain right now have the best male players in the world. And Jannik is such a great guy. You could not ask for a more thoughtful, smarter human being. He walked all the way over as we were leaving Wimbledon and introduced himself to my entire group, one by one. He didn't have to do that. There really has been a changing of the guard with Sinner and Alcaraz and all the others. I've been through six generations of players now. And don't forget the Italian woman, Jasmine Paolini. She loves to perform. Q: You are very easy to talk with. A: I have always talked to the media. When younger players complain about doing so, I've always said, 'Have you ever thought that this is how these people make their livings? And that if you don't talk to them they might lose the job they are in?' No players ever answer yes to that. I always say you have to know the business you are in. I could come up with other names for you to interview if you like. Q: Most athletes don't look at things that way. A: True. Most players also have no clue how much things cost. The top players are just starting to understand they should run their own businesses, not just get money from endorsements. I've invested in sports since 1968. Q: Now Chicago gets to see a play about you. A: When the producer, Harriet (Newman Leve), said she wanted to start in Chicago, I said that's fantastic. Aside from the apartment, I am so invested there. Q: This is not your first go-around in terms of dramatizations of your life. There was the movie, 'The Battle of the Sexes,' about your beating Bobby Riggs. A: We are still friends with Emma Stone (who played King). She married a great guy we love. She had a baby. The baby loves tennis. Did you know tennis was the healthiest sport in the world? They've done research. Q: I can believe it. A: I still love to hit balls against the wall. Q: I can believe that too. So you are involved in this play? A: Are you kidding me? We've been involved. I've met all the actors. I've made suggestions. Lauren (Gunderson) has done a really great job. Q: Chilina Kennedy, a musical star I've seen many times, plays you. A: I want her to sing. She's so talented. Q: Plays about sport can he hard unless you have incredible actor-athletes. Tough to pretend to play like you did. A: Sure. But this play isn't about tennis as much as it is about life. It's off the court that matters here. It's about my trying to figure out my sexuality. I think it's a great platform for the community. Tennis is a part of it, of course. But for me, it's really about the audience so that when they leave they are inspired by something. I hope they can derive something from it that makes their lives better. I think it expresses my journey through the thick and the thin. We've all been going like a bat of hell. Of course. It's about women's sports.
