"Come ready to learn, come ready to listen tomorrow," defenseman Brent Seabrook said. "'Bring your minds,' is what he said."
It will be a different mindset with Colliton, who will make his NHL coaching debut when the Blackhawks host the Carolina Hurricanes at United Center on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, FS-CR, NHL.TV).
RELATED: [Colliton becomes coach of Blackhawks, youngest in NHL | Quenneville fired as coach of Blackhawks, Colliton named replacement]
Colliton takes over for Joel Quenneville, who was fired 15 games into his 11th season with Chicago. Assistants Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson were also fired. Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite and assistant Don Granato remain on Colliton's staff. Barry Smith, formerly Blackhawks director of player evaluation, was added as an assistant.
It's quite a change. Quenneville, 60, won 890 NHL games, second to Scotty Bowman (1,244) on the all-time list. Quenneville was 452-249-96 with Chicago, winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Colliton, 33, who was promoted from Rockford of the American Hockey League, is the youngest coach in the NHL.
Colliton will have to adapt fast with the Blackhawks, who are 6-6-3, sixth in the Central Division, seven points behind the first-place Nashville Predators. The process began Tuesday when Colliton ran a 45-minute practice, implementing new 3-on-2 and 2-on-2 drills. Players said they expected more changes Wednesday.
"I think Jeremy referenced it earlier that we're not going to reinvent the wheel here and try to put in an entirely new package [in], because we don't have a lot of time to do that," Chicago general manager Stan Bowman said. "Each coach has certain things that are critical for the team to succeed and they're not always the same, and I think we have to allow that to happen.
"I don't have a time frame on that, but I think you have to have an understanding that there's going to be a period of time. Games are going on, so we're not trying to be really patient with it, but we have to do our best to be as good as we can starting Thursday."
Colliton was 98-57-18 in four seasons as coach of Mora IK in the Swedish Hockey League (2013-17). He was 40-28-4-4 last season for Rockford, which advanced to the AHL Western Conference Finals for the first time. His youth helped him identify with players in Rockford. He must now find the same connection with Blackhawks veterans who spent most of their NHL careers with Quenneville.
Center Jonathan Toews, right wing Patrick Kane, Seabrook and defenseman Duncan Keith won the Cup three times with Quenneville, who had experience with the St. Louis Blues (1996-2004) and Colorado Avalanche (2005-08) before he became Blackhawks coach Oct. 16, 2008.
But the Blackhawks said they weren't concerned about Colliton's lack of NHL experience or his age.
