CHICAGO, IL -- This past weekend was a total whirlwind, let me tell you.
Before I get into my story about the convention, I'll start by explaining how we got here.
You all know by now how I got into the Blackhawks and why they mean so much to me. I've always watched the convention footage from my dorm room or from my apartment in North Carolina, but it's definitely not the same as being there in person. Before this, I had never been to any kind of convention before and never experienced what I was lucky enough to experience this past weekend.
So, naturally, when the tickets went on sale in the middle of January, it didn't take much convincing for me to buy tickets for the convention this year. A lot has happened in my personal life between January and now, and some of what has happened almost made me miss the convention entirely. But, I cannot stress how happy and thankful I am that I decided to go anyways, no matter the circumstances.
I arrived in Chicago late Wednesday afternoon and was able to get an awesome tour of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs between Wednesday and Thursday, thanks to my best friend, Shay (who graciously let me stay with her and her family all weekend). I got to see everything I hadn't seen before, including Hawks-specific places like the Palace Grill (100% recommend) and the new MB Ice Arena, the new practice facility.
By the time Friday morning rolled around, I was over-the-moon ecstatic for the day ahead of us. Friday night was the Opening Ceremonies for the convention, a piece of the convention weekend I had long wanted to be a part of. We got to the Hilton (where the convention was held) early that morning to get in line for registration, and once we were able to register our passes, we took our chance at the Scratch and Win opportunities. Shay and I both won the autograph session with Chris Kunitz and Cam Ward, and I think you all can probably understand why I was excited about this particular session--I've seen Cam Ward play the past two or three years here in Raleigh and it's exciting to see him play for my favorite team now.
Friday was a lot of waiting to wait. We waited to register, then we waited to get into the ballroom where the Opening Ceremonies would be later held. Once we were in there, we did some more waiting. Despite those long waits, it was well worth it.
Seeing the players that close the first night was unbelievable. I haven't really been that close to professional athletes before (aside from my run-in with Burish), so seeing players, front office guys, coaches and TV/radio personalities was just mind-boggling to me. I definitely took a hundred or so photos that night. When everyone walked back down the runway two-by-two, I even got teased by Connor Murphy for yelling for Jonathan Toews to come back my way (I have video of it and it's hilarious).
After the whirlwind that was the Opening Ceremonies, we went to stand in line for our autograph session with Kunitz and Ward. Those two could not have been any sweeter of guys, and when I told Ward that I'm from Raleigh and that I'm excited for him to be playing for my favorite team now, he got excited. Kunitz was super nice and asked how I was enjoying the convention--it was nice to be able to actually talk to these guys and not just watch them autograph something and leave. I'm definitely excited to have both of these former Stanley Cup champs on the team, and I have high hopes for both of them.
The final bit of the night was the Second City show that featured Hawks players. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I knew Burish and Jamal Mayers were in it, so it was bound to be awesome. And god, was it. Burish was hilarious (shocking, I know) and even treated us to some beautiful singing multiple times during the show. Mayers and John Hayden were both downright adorable and hilarious (again, shocking), and Bryan Bickell and Alex DeBrincat were great, too! The Second City troupe is awesome and next time I'm in Chicago, I'd love to see one of their shows.
After that eventful night, I got about 4 or 5 hours of sleep before we were up and back at the Hilton the next morning to meet none other than Adam Burish and Brian Campbell. I've met Burish before, but I hadn't really met any other players prior to Friday, so I was excited to meet just about anyone on the team. When I got up to meet them, I chatted with Soupy for a moment before moving to Burish and I told him his singing was wonderful--he smiled so wide at that before nudging Soupy and saying 'Hear that, Soup? She said my singing was good!' which made me laugh. We told him he needed a record deal, and he loved that option--he proceeded to tell us that he did 'have the voice of an angel,' which again made us laugh. It was a great little autograph session, and I'm glad we woke up so early to do it.
From there, we went to the Goal Scorers panel that featured Patrick Kane, Jeremy Roenick and Pat Foley, and I knew it'd be a great panel--and it was! JR has so much hockey knowledge and experience, and he's always been one of my favorite NBCSN anchors for that reason alone. Kaner also has an incredibly high hockey IQ, so hearing the two of them talk about past experiences and other players around the league was so interesting to me and I definitely learned a lot on this one. After the panel, JR & Kaner stuck around to sign some things for fans, but I was an idiot and didn't bring a sharpie--learned my lesson there. Definitely snapped a quick couple of pictures of Kane though!
After the Kane/JR panel, they cleared out the ballroom to set up for the next panel, so I wandered around the Grand Ballroom. I just happened to spot a table with some books on it, and once I read the cover of the book, I knew I had to go over--it was John Scott. I bought the book and waited in line to meet him, and oh my god, he's the sweetest. He talked to us for a good few minutes about our favorite players and I told him how much I loved the fight between him and Patrick Kane at the All-Star Game a few years back. He's definitely one of the sweetest players I've met to date.
The next panel was the Family Feud one, which was so freaking hilarious--it also featured Sharp's iconic roast of former teammate (and best friend) Burish. The rapport between the two stole the show, even if Team Sharp didn't win. It's always a pleasure seeing those two in action, and I really would love to see them host the intermission show one time. As with the JR/Kane panel, they all signed autographs afterwards, and I was able to meet Patrick Sharp for the first time--super nice guy, even if I only exchanged a few words with him. He signed as much as he could, which was definitely not something he had to do.
The Match Game was next, and while it was funny, it wasn't quite as good as the Family Feud show. This one featured John Hayden, Nick Schmaltz, Alex DeBrincat, John Scott, Jim Cornelison (who is also one of the nicest humans on the planet), and Connor Murphy. The guys did give some pretty iconic answers (Schmaltz said Brent Seabrook's job after retiring from hockey would be a nutritionist, which would be awful), and it was definitely a fun time!
We jumped right to the Blueliners panel from the Match Game, which had Duncan Keith and Chris Chelios on it, moderated by Troy Murray. This panel is another one where I felt like I learned a lot about the game and just how dedicated these guys are to their sport and their profession. That's a panel I'd love to see again next year just to soak up all that knowledge the two of them have.
The next two panels were the Scott Foster/emergency goalie panel and the Blackhawks TV Originals panel, which were both interesting and at times hilarious. The Scott Foster panel was the best of the two, and dude is a lot funnier than I thought he'd be! The TV originals panel was cool, especially since it featured Stan Bowman, but it was a little slower than the other panels and it was kind of an information-overload, honestly.
And, finally, Second City came back for an encore show, and it was an awesome way to end my weekend (I had to leave early Sunday morning so I didn't get to see any of the convention on the last day). The skits and games were awesome, and even though our side of the ballroom lost, it was fun as hell.
Over all, I had a stellar weekend filled with lots of player run-ins, screaming, dancing, singing, and playing. It was the perfect weekend, and I'm already planning out my trip next summer for the convention. If you have been on the fence about it, jump on over--it's well worth the money, and it's a great way to interact with the players and to get some much-needed hockey in the off-season.
Up next? Training camp.
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