The Derek King era is officially underway for the Blackhawks.
Named interim head coach on Saturday, the 54-year-old coach took the ice on Sunday for morning skate at the United Center with his team for the very first time. As the head coach in Rockford for the last three years, there's some familiarity with the younger players on Chicago's roster, but also a relationship to build with the established veterans.
Without much turnaround time ahead of the night's game against the Predators, much of Sunday morning was spent simply with coach and players alike getting up to speed.
"It's really just getting to know these guys. Even though we're at camps and we get to see the faces walking around, we're not really on the ice with them," Kind explained in his first press conference. "I thought today went well. I got to chat with a lot of the guys, had a couple of one-on-ones. The big challenge is just getting these guys up and running and familiar with me and what I'm looking for out of them and take it day by day. It's not an easy situation, but thankful to the Wirtz family and Kyle and everyone here for giving me an opportunity."
BLOG: King Getting Up to Speed Ahead of First Game as Interim Head Coach
Watch Sunday's full press conference with interim general manager Kyle Davidson and interim head coach Derek King


Davidson, King press conference, Pt. 1

Davidson, King press conference, Pt. 2

Davidson, King press conference, Pt. 3

Davidson, King press conference, Pt. 4