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After the Chicago Blackhawks' loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night, the vibes were down. This is their fifth loss in a row, and the end of the slump doesn’t appear to be in sight.
For the third year in a row, the Blackhawks are a legitimate lottery team, and there have been signs of a bright future. However, at the NHL level, losses like this one to the Kraken to extend a losing streak are never accepted.
The two players who were made available to the media after the game, Jason Dickinson and Alex Vlasic, are feeling the pressure to improve. Each of them believes that they have a defined role on the team and aren’t executing it well enough right now.
"[I feel] Okay. [I'm] not contributing, and it's driving me nuts." Jason Dickinson said on how he feels since coming back from his injury. "I expect a lot more of myself, and it's increasingly frustrating."
Dickinson believes that he should be one of the top contributors to this team both offensively and defensively. 2024-25 hasn't gone as well as 2023-24 did for him and he wants to get back to that level. It's hard with some of the injury issues and less playing time but he has more to give despite those obstacles.
Jason Dickinson is an incredibly responsible defensive forward and a decent offensive output has come from him in the past. It is fair for him to want to get back to that level.
“100-percent.” Alex Vlasic said about him having pressure on himself as the team’s number one defenseman. “I want to contribute both offensively [and] defensively. It feels like when something goes our way, something [else] doesn’t go our way. It feels like [if] we score a goal, I get scored on next.”
It seems like Vlasic, who is not a veteran like Dickinson, knows his role on the team going forward. With all of the departures that this organization has had, some of the young guys need to grab the bull by the horn. Vlasic is captain material and it's starting to show more.
“Yeah, I definitely understand that there is more responsibility on my shoulders back there.” Vlasic continued. “It kills me to not really be able to help as much as I would like to.”
Vlasic, who is having an incredible season for being a 23-year-old defenseman still developing, showed a lot of maturity with this quote. Everyone on the team needs to be better and he is taking full responsibility for his game.
When Jason Dickinson does it, you hear a veteran being honest. Getting it from young Vlasic shows that he is going to be an important (and vocal) part of the core for a long time.
It is good for Chicago that these two believe in themselves and both hold themselves to a high standard. You want this attitude to flow through the locker room. When talent meets high effort and a desire to get better, you have winning players.
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