SanJose-20241017-Selects-017

A special to Blackhawks.com

When the Chicago Blackhawks officially named Jeff Blashill the 42nd head coach in franchise history on Thursday morning, one player on the roster was especially excited: Tyler Bertuzzi.

Bertuzzi broke into the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, where Blashill served as head coach for his first six seasons. Their connection, however, goes back even further.

It started in 2015 when Bertuzzi joined the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins for their postseason run after finishing his OHL career. Blashill was behind the bench then, too. Bertuzzi made an immediate impact, finishing second on the team with seven goals and third with 12 points in 14 playoff games.

Now, a decade later, the two are reunited in Chicago.

"It's cool to see him get a spot back in the NHL [as a head coach]," Bertuzzi said. "He did a great job with us in the Red Wings and I'm just looking forward to working with him again. I started with him in the AHL, and that was one of the bigger ones, just the developing and the maturing of my game and just a learning aspect of it. He helped me big time kind of carve out a little career."

Bertuzzi's most productive years came under Blashill in Detroit, which included a career-best season in 2021-22 when he racked up 30 goals, 32 assists and 62 points in only 68 games. Bertuzzi benefits from Blashill's coaching style.

"He likes to preach simplicity, north-south, play hard and obviously plays will be made when they're available," Bertuzzi said. "If you play hard for him, he's an easy coach to get along with. Obviously you'll get your chances to make your plays and do all the other things but the three base things are probably work hard, play simple and go out there and do your best. If you make a mistake, do your best to get it back and give it 100%."

Bertuzzi_Blashill_DET

Blackhawks legend Chris Chelios spent two years as a part-time coach on Blashill’s staff in Grand Rapids after retiring as a player, including the 2013 season when they won a Calder Cup together. He worked closely with the team’s young defensemen and also scouted for the Red Wings.

Chelios can attest to Blashill's capabilities, both as a leader and as a hockey coach.

"Very accountable, good structure, getting the point across and worked really well with the young kids, which should be a great situation with all these kids the Blackhawks have acquired over the past couple years," Chelios said. "He's always had a great rapport with the younger kids, but now that he's got this experience, if and when the Blackhawks sign some veterans and free agents, he can relate to that and I think he's just gotten better with experience."

What makes Blashill a player's coach is his ability to relate to players away from the rink, too.

"His best qualities are how he connects with the players," Chelios said. "He's almost like a manager with players. He reads them well, he knows how to talk to certain players. You can't treat everybody the same, even though you try to, but some people know they can take being yelled at and disciplined sometimes and other players you've got to massage them a little bit. I think Blash is a good judge of a character."

"When he's behind the bench, he's a hard coach," Bertuzzi added. "He wants the best for his players. And then off the ice, he's just a great person. Easy to talk to, he cares about his team's families and everything about what's going off the ice, very personable and very easy to get along with. But when it's time to go, it's go time."

Well, it's go time for the Blackhawks, who are hungry to take the next step in their rebuild.

Blashill's extensive head coaching background across multiple levels that includes the USHL, NCAA, AHL, NHL, and international play, made him an appealing option for the Blackhawks. He's a winner, too.

In his three years with Grand Rapids, Blashill became the first coach in team history to lead his team to three consecutive 40-win seasons, to go along with the Calder Cup championship in 2013. He also won the Clark Cup with the USHL’s Indiana Ice in 2009, and served as Team USA's head coach for three consecutive years at the IIHF World Championship from 2017-19, with the Americans capturing a bronze medal under his leadership in 2018.

"Back then, he was a rookie coach when Bertuzzi had him in Grand Rapids," Chelios said. "I think he's improved a lot more with the respect factor from other players, now that he's been around for a while and is very experienced. I think that will get the players' attention as opposed to maybe having a rookie coach. Sometimes when the message is coming from someone who's had some success, it comes across a little better."

It doesn't hurt either that he spent the last three years learning from one of the top NHL coaches in Jon Cooper, who's a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"They're good friends too," Bertuzzi added. "Even when he wasn't an assistant coach for them they would probably bounce some things off of each other. But to be on the bench and learn from each other and learn from him I think it's going to help a lot."

The average lifespan of an NHL head coach is 2.3 years. Blashill lasted seven with the Red Wings, which indicates he was doing something right under challenging circumstances.

When he inherited Detroit's roster, the arrow was trending downward. With Chicago, the arrow is starting to point up, and the Blackhawks believe Blashill is the right fit to guide them through the next phase.

"I think that just proves his capabilities as a coach," Bertuzzi said. "Obviously you're kind of dealt the hand you were given with being put into a rebuild and I thought he did a great job. That's why I think he's the right guy for the Blackhawks right now, just the sense that he's kind of done it before. He's obviously learned a lot from going through it and hopefully he can speed ours up a little bit more."