Blackhawks Convention News & Notes
The 2nd annual Blackhawks Convention will be termed another success by John McDonough and his staff. Not unlike the offseason thus far, the event had it's hiccups. However, McDonough met the challenge of an angered fan base and most will leave the weekend full of optimism for the upcoming season.
Kudos to McDonough for being the most visible and accessible member of the Chicago Blackhawks throughout the weekend. Much like a politician running for office, the team president was a constant amongst the crowd shaking hands, signing autographs and posing for pictures. The boos from Friday night quickly faded and McDonough appeared to be a popular figure with the convention attendees.
Stan Who?: Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman's Q&A session was sparsely attended Saturday morning. The ballroom was about 1/3 full until a flock of mostly teens and twentysomething's barged through the doors while Bowman was mid-answer. The new arrivals created quite the commotion while attempting to gain good seats to the next scheduled event in the ballroom that including Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Brian Campbell. During it all, Bowman continued to talk in his same monotone manner seemingly unfazed. Meanwhile, the panel's host, Dave Eanet, appeared to be internally questioning himself as to what cause of action he should take. In the end, Eanet chose not to interrupt the GM and the room settled down a bit. Still, it was a few moments of frenzy that felt slightly uncomfortable. Not sure that the Blackhawks could have any solutions to this issue in future conventions with the event schedule as currently constructed.
On the Offense: Marc Bergevin, the Blackhawks Director of Player Personnel, took exception to an attendee's comment that attacked Marian Hossa as a selfish player and a poor teammate.
"Marian Hossa is a quality person," Bergevin emphatically stated. "He's a great teammate. He will show our young kids how to be professionals. There is not one question mark regarding Marian Hossa's character whatsoever."
Cubs vs. Sox: Never one to shy away from controversy, Blackhawk Hall of Famer Bobby Hull took a jab at Cub fans.
"They finally found a use for Wrigley Field," Hull joked, referring to last season's Winter Classic. The comment was met with a mixture of hollers and appluase.
Slapstick: When asked about his quirkiest duty as the Blackhawks team captain, Stan Mikita quickly answered, "Bobby Hull."
Thanks John: Any session featuring current or former Blackhawk players drew a full house of conventioneers. Late arrivals were forced to stand in the back of the ballrooms. I was one such late arrival during an early morning Saturday panel when Hilton staffers attempted to clear the back of the room. John McDonough, standing 10 feet to my left, quickly intervened telling the ushers to leave us alone. Yes, it was probably against fire code, but it was also the right move by McDonough.
No, Not Alpo: Tony Amonte couldn't help but take some jabs at his former coach Alpo Suhonen. A bad memory for Hawk fans, it didn't sound like Amonte enjoyed the Alpo days either. I do not recall the exact quotes, but let's just say Amonte did not appreciate being the lone voice to the media on a daily basis. He also disparaged his former teammates. Recalling how he became team captain, Amonte said they looked around the room and what other choice did they have. Fans must hope those days stay long behind and never return.
1 Comment
cubby23(eric) said:
I took Amonte's comments differently, as though Pully looked at Amonte as the longest tenured Hawk and figured that he deserved the captaincy, especially in a locker room full of European players.
The Convention could probably be moved to McCormick Place, as that venue is huge, but then they'd have to address the issue of how to set up individual panel rooms. At least the lines for the autographs would be able to be coordinated better.
I think the Hilton allows them to house the players as well as some fans and that appeals (as well as McDonough's connection to using it for Cub Conventions). I think the Hilton offers smaller, quaint panel sessions, but it has problems with larger ones, including the opening ceremony which I'm sure a lot of convention goers missed out on.
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