View from the Ice: Closing out Camp

Throughout the week, 2018 draft pick Jake Wise will be blogging for chicagoblackhawks.com about his experiences during his first Blackhawks Development Camp.
It's been an incredible week and it was really fun to finally play a game. In today's scrimmage I was on the Red Team and we had a big 3-2 shootout win! I didn't play as well as I would have liked, but it was a great experience playing against the older guys. They are really strong with their sticks so trying to out-battle them was one of the biggest challenges for me today. They are always making the right plays and that's something I'm going to try to learn from and incorporate in my game.

My biggest takeaway from Development Camp was learning how to better protect the puck. Sometimes I like to expose it and try to make a toe drag, but that's not going to work at the next level. Keeping my body between my man and the puck is the biggest thing I need to work on. It's still summer so there will be a lot of things I will try to improve when I go home, but I plan to focus on playing mini games with my skating group and shooting the puck more.
Getting a taste of the Blackhawks organization was even better than I thought it could be. From the food to the hotel arrangements and even the new facilities, everything has been first-class. I couldn't be any happier to be part of the Blackhawks.
On Monday I will head back to Boston University for summer school and continue training. I'll be attending the 2018 World Junior Summer Showcase later this month and then take some time to relax before school starts. I will probably go down to Cape Cod with some friends, but I still have to get ready for the season, so I will be working out and training.
This week has been so much fun and has made me even more excited for my college season in the fall. I can't believe I still have three months to go!