FEATURE: Inside Blackhawks Development Camp

With the 2025 NHL Draft immediately in the rearview, Blackhawks prospects from all over the globe descended on Chicago for the team’s annual Development Camp – a five-day, off-ice workshop hosted at Fifth Third Arena and aimed at teaching the club’s youngest players good habits and tools to set them up for success as they begin their journey toward the NHL.

Throughout the week, prospects participated in numerous team-building exercises and developmental activities alongside daily workouts and training sessions designed to enhance the players’ on-ice abilities as well as their off-ice habits.

Focused on speed and power, strength, conditioning, mobility training and breathing techniques, the daily workouts and physical workshops were designed to set the tone for how the prospects will exercise and take care of their bodies as members of the Blackhawks organization. While working together was a key component of camp, each player received customized workout plans tailored to their individual needs, allowing them to focus on specific physical elements intended to aid them in their personal development. 

The prospects began camp by undergoing fitness testing, marking the start of a week of hard work and fun. Day 1 also featured Chicago’s Performance Psychology group, which used “winning habits” as the theme of the week, outlining the Blackhawks’ development philosophy and giving the players context for where they are in their hockey careers, expressing the importance of working together rather than operating individually. The group also provided the prospects with direction on how to best utilize the new resources available to them with the Blackhawks, rather than relying on old methods of success.

To support the transition into the next phase of their hockey journeys, prospects took part in mental skills workshops on Days 2 and 3 that focused on embracing growth and change. Emphasizing mindset, adaptability and long-term development, the sessions encouraged players to explore new ways of thinking and preparing for success both on the ice and off, while reinforcing the importance of building a strong mental foundation as they work toward their goals within the Blackhawks organization.

Prospects also learned the importance of nutrition, which is a crucial aspect of being a professional athlete, and the impact a proper diet has on their performance through a unique and competitive nutrition workshop sponsored by Jewel-Osco on Days 2 and 3.

“We’re athletes and we want to perform at our best all the time,” forward Marek Vanacker said. “So, for us to eat the proper food and have the right nutrition and stay healthy throughout the season and even the offseason is extremely important for us to perform at our best and get us where we want to be.”

Led by Head Performance Dietician Jennifer Gibson, the nutrition workshop split prospects into teams, with each team being assigned one of the following recipes: almond butter granola balls, pizza and shredded salad, fire cedar plank salmon and spaghetti bolognese. After completing their dishes, the teams were judged based on presentation, taste, execution and teamwork to ultimately crown a winning dish and team.

The Blackhawks also treated their prospects to a boat tour on Lake Michigan and along the Chicago River. Anton Frondell, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, said the tour was his favorite part of his trip to Chicago.

“It’s beautiful,” Frondell said. “Stockholm doesn't look like this. Huge buildings, cool boats.”

The prospects also worked on their communication and teamwork skills by competing in a Lego building challenge that required players to build Lego structures based only on verbal cues from their teammates. Using walkie-talkies as the only way to communicate, players relayed instructions to their teammates located in another room.

“That was fun,” Frondell said. “Pretty hard to do, actually.”

Other activities from Development Camp included players receiving complicated play calls from a football playbook and having to execute the correct routes, and a beach volleyball tournament at the popular North Avenue Beach on the final night.

“It’s nice to meet everyone, meet all the boys and hang out and do all these fun games and fun stations and go through that workout process,” forward Mason West said.