2019-2021 Adidas New Collar
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Jerseys |
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Manufacturer: Adidas
Material: Adizero Home (Red): Dominik Kubalik Size 56 Away (White): Kirby Dach Size 56 Alternate (Black): David Kämpf Size 56 Reverse Retro (Black): Philipp Kurashev Size 56 |
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Jersey History |
Well Hawks fans did NOT like the new collar design. Looking too similar to a priest or lace collar, the Hawks would change their collar by introducing more of the jersey color to the front. A black layer would also be added to the back neck. The main crest would also be tilted slightly to make the Indian head looking forward. The NHL also announced that during the 2020-21 season, all players would wear a tracking device in their jerseys. A hemmed rectangle outline can be seen for wear the trackers were placed. Other than that, the rest of the jerseys would remain identical to the past season's jerseys.
Home Collar
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Away Collar
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Player Tracking Slot
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The tagging on the jersey would remain the same as the past jerseys as well with the neck showing country of manufacturing and numerical size. The hip tags included material and washing information as well as manufacture date.
Neck Tag
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Hip Tag
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No changes in getting these jerseys either. Indo-zeros and Fanatics would still be sold through retail. The only way to get true Adizero jerseys, dubbed MiC (Made in Canada), would be team issued or game worn. With COVID impacting everything, the Blackhawks Convention would be canceled for 2020 and 2021 so the Hawks would continue their auctioning of game worn jerseys online. Various social media groups would have access to game worn jerseys as well still.
The Hawks would bring back the alternate uniforms of last season for 4 more games during the 2019-20 season and 3 times during the 2020-21 season. The NHL introduced a new jersey program during the 2020-21 season which was called Reverse Retro. Each team would take an older jersey style and add some new flair to it or reverse the color scheme. Having run out of older style jersey designs (thanks outdoor games) the Hawks jersey would be modeled after the 1940 white jersey (more specifically the white jersey from 1948-55 since it had the logo) which was reversed to be black. The main crest would be almost identical to the 2009 Winter Classic and 2009-11 Alternate jersey, just larger and white instead of tan, and the back neck would include the Reverse Retro logo along with '40 to represent the year. The Hawks would wear these 3 times during the 2020-21 season.
Reverse Retro Logo
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Reverse Retro Back Collar
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The Hawks would head back overseas the 2019-20 season as they would play the Flyers in Prague, Czechia for the season opener. This game would be dubbed the Global Series and the Hawks would wear a commemorative patch.
2019 Global Series
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Team History |
2019-2020: Wow, what a year. The league announces a new expansion team in Seattle starting the 2021-22 season. The Hawks would start the season in Prague, Czechia taking on the Flyers. The Heritage Classic would again return with the Jets taking on the Flames at Mosaic Stadium on October 26, 2019. The Winter Classic would head south with the Stars taking on the Predators at the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 2020. The Stadium Series would have the Avalanche play the Kings at Falcon Stadium on February 15, 2020. And then, history. The pandemic COVID-19 would arrive in North America causing the NHL to suspend the season indefinitely on March 12, 2020. The novel virus would leave the league and world searching for a way forward. On May 26, 2020, commissioner Gary Bettman would announce the NHL's return to play. The regular season would officially end and the playoffs would consist of the top 24 teams (top 12 from East and West) with the top 4 (from East and West) teams playing a round robin tournament to decide seeding with the bottom teams playing a best of five series to advance. There would be two hub cities in Edmonton and Toronto where all games would be played to not risk contamination. In these bubbles, there would be strict testing and safety protocols for the players and staff.
Another big change in the Hawks organization as president John McDonough is let go during the suspended season. Danny Wirtz would take over as interim president. Still coached by Jeremy Colliton and led by captain Jonathan Toews, the Hawks finished the season 7th in the Central Division, 12th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 32-30-8 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Kane with 84pts followed by Toews (60pts), Dominik Kubalik (46pts), and DeBrincat (45pts). The Hawks would be the last team in the West to make the playoffs facing the Oilers in the pre-playoff series who were defeated in 4 games. In fact, the bottom three teams who made these series (Canadiens, Blackhawks, and Coyotes) all would advance to the first round of the playoffs. The Hawks would go on to the face the dynamic offense of the Vegas Golden Knights in round 1 who would defeat them in 5 games. The Dallas Stars would end up making the finals facing off against the Tampa Bay Lightning where the Lightning would win their second franchise Stanley Cup in 6 games. I have to give kudos here to Gary Bettman and the NHL as they pulled off this bubble with no positive COVID cases. Life inside the bubble may not have been too ideal as players were away from their families for two months doing the same activities everyday. In my opinion this will be the hardest Stanley Cup to have won.
2020-2021: Well COVID didn't take the hint and is still kicking around. Good news is that multiple vaccines have been created! Bad news is that it'll take 6 months at a minimum to get the right amount of people vaccinated and that won't start till December 2020. Besides the virus still ravaging the world, the NHL had to figure out financials and logistics to get the season started. 50% of the NHL's revenue is through game tickets. With no fans allowed in stadiums, the NHL had to find a way to operate without bankrupting themselves. Well basically the owners wanted a way to operate where they would lose the least amount of money. With a new CBA in place and players taking a pay hit last season, the NHLPA would butt heads with the NHL as there were talks about canceling the season which would save the owners money on operating costs. Though with no season being played, the players would take even more of a hit as they make their money through escrow. Eventually the owners gave in, a flat cap was established, and the season planning would begin. This inevitably delayed the start of the season to January 13th, 2021 and shortened the season to 56 games. All the special events for the season (Winter Classic, Stadium Series, All-Star Game) would be canceled as well. With a lengthy quarantine between borders and for safety of the players, the NHL had to create new divisions where teams would play other teams within their division only. There would be four divisions, North/Central/East/West. The North Division would be an all-Canadian division while the US would would have the West, East, and Central. The playoffs would be standard best of seven game series with the top teams of each division facing off for the semifinals. To recoup some of the lost costs on the season, the NHL would also introduce ads on players helmets. This is one of my worst nightmares and is sure to only get worse from here. In better news, the NHL implemented a 4th jersey program called Reverse Retro where each team would introduce a retro jersey and change up the color scheme. The NHL would also bring the game outdoors still, but with no fans, building a rink on Lake Tahoe. The Avalanche would play the Golden Knights and the Bruins would take on the Flyers on this very scenic outdoor rink.
In Hawks news, the front office would get shaken up again with Stan Bowman being promoted to President of Hockey Ops but keeping his GM role, Danny Wirtz taking on the CEO position, and Jaime Faulkner being the President of Business Operations. In Hawks bad news, the Hawks would lose probably the most underrated goalie in the NHL as Bowman would announce they would not be re-signing Corey Crawford. Crawford would sign with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent. In a surprising turn of events, Crawford would actually retire before the season started stating he had gotten everything he wanted out of his career. Also, Jonathan Toews would not join the team this season stating that he wasn't feeling 100% and would rejoin the team when he felt he could contribute. At the end of the season he would announce he's been dealing with chronic immune response system from COVID and is expected to rejoin the team next season. Still coached by Jeremy Colliton and captained by Jonathan Toews from video, the Hawks finished the season 6th in the Central Division and ended the season with a record of 24-25-7 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Kane with 66pts followed by DeBrincat (56pts), Kubalik (38pts), and Pius Suter (27pts). The Hawks would not make the post season this year unfortunately. The underdog Montreal Canadiens would go on to face the defending champions Tampa Bay Lighting but would ultimately lose in 5 games for Tampa to get their first back-to-back championship.
Another big change in the Hawks organization as president John McDonough is let go during the suspended season. Danny Wirtz would take over as interim president. Still coached by Jeremy Colliton and led by captain Jonathan Toews, the Hawks finished the season 7th in the Central Division, 12th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 32-30-8 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Kane with 84pts followed by Toews (60pts), Dominik Kubalik (46pts), and DeBrincat (45pts). The Hawks would be the last team in the West to make the playoffs facing the Oilers in the pre-playoff series who were defeated in 4 games. In fact, the bottom three teams who made these series (Canadiens, Blackhawks, and Coyotes) all would advance to the first round of the playoffs. The Hawks would go on to the face the dynamic offense of the Vegas Golden Knights in round 1 who would defeat them in 5 games. The Dallas Stars would end up making the finals facing off against the Tampa Bay Lightning where the Lightning would win their second franchise Stanley Cup in 6 games. I have to give kudos here to Gary Bettman and the NHL as they pulled off this bubble with no positive COVID cases. Life inside the bubble may not have been too ideal as players were away from their families for two months doing the same activities everyday. In my opinion this will be the hardest Stanley Cup to have won.
2020-2021: Well COVID didn't take the hint and is still kicking around. Good news is that multiple vaccines have been created! Bad news is that it'll take 6 months at a minimum to get the right amount of people vaccinated and that won't start till December 2020. Besides the virus still ravaging the world, the NHL had to figure out financials and logistics to get the season started. 50% of the NHL's revenue is through game tickets. With no fans allowed in stadiums, the NHL had to find a way to operate without bankrupting themselves. Well basically the owners wanted a way to operate where they would lose the least amount of money. With a new CBA in place and players taking a pay hit last season, the NHLPA would butt heads with the NHL as there were talks about canceling the season which would save the owners money on operating costs. Though with no season being played, the players would take even more of a hit as they make their money through escrow. Eventually the owners gave in, a flat cap was established, and the season planning would begin. This inevitably delayed the start of the season to January 13th, 2021 and shortened the season to 56 games. All the special events for the season (Winter Classic, Stadium Series, All-Star Game) would be canceled as well. With a lengthy quarantine between borders and for safety of the players, the NHL had to create new divisions where teams would play other teams within their division only. There would be four divisions, North/Central/East/West. The North Division would be an all-Canadian division while the US would would have the West, East, and Central. The playoffs would be standard best of seven game series with the top teams of each division facing off for the semifinals. To recoup some of the lost costs on the season, the NHL would also introduce ads on players helmets. This is one of my worst nightmares and is sure to only get worse from here. In better news, the NHL implemented a 4th jersey program called Reverse Retro where each team would introduce a retro jersey and change up the color scheme. The NHL would also bring the game outdoors still, but with no fans, building a rink on Lake Tahoe. The Avalanche would play the Golden Knights and the Bruins would take on the Flyers on this very scenic outdoor rink.
In Hawks news, the front office would get shaken up again with Stan Bowman being promoted to President of Hockey Ops but keeping his GM role, Danny Wirtz taking on the CEO position, and Jaime Faulkner being the President of Business Operations. In Hawks bad news, the Hawks would lose probably the most underrated goalie in the NHL as Bowman would announce they would not be re-signing Corey Crawford. Crawford would sign with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent. In a surprising turn of events, Crawford would actually retire before the season started stating he had gotten everything he wanted out of his career. Also, Jonathan Toews would not join the team this season stating that he wasn't feeling 100% and would rejoin the team when he felt he could contribute. At the end of the season he would announce he's been dealing with chronic immune response system from COVID and is expected to rejoin the team next season. Still coached by Jeremy Colliton and captained by Jonathan Toews from video, the Hawks finished the season 6th in the Central Division and ended the season with a record of 24-25-7 (W-L-OTL). Season scoring was lead by Kane with 66pts followed by DeBrincat (56pts), Kubalik (38pts), and Pius Suter (27pts). The Hawks would not make the post season this year unfortunately. The underdog Montreal Canadiens would go on to face the defending champions Tampa Bay Lighting but would ultimately lose in 5 games for Tampa to get their first back-to-back championship.
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Player History |
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Dominik Kubalik: Well the Blackhawks sure know how to find talent. Even though he tore it up in Europe, he didn't get a chance in the NHL until the Blackhawks picked him up. Born in Plzeň, Czechia, Kubalik was drafted 191st overall in 2013 by the Los Angeles Kings. Even though he played in the Czech Extraliga prior, he decided to play in the OHL for a couple seasons before returning back to Czechia after he was drafted. He played up and down all the Czech leagues (HC Plzeň, BK Havlíčkův Brod, SHC Klatovy) and even went over to the Swiss National League (HC Ambrì-Piotta) where he earned the MVP title in the 2018-19 season. The Hawks took notice of this and traded for his rights in exchange for a fifth round pick. Kubalik would join the Blackhawks during the 2019-20 season where he made an immediate impact scoring 30 goals his rookie season and becoming a Calder finalist behind Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar. He would spend two more seasons with the Hawks until the 2022 rebuild happened and the Hawks would not tender a qualifying offer. As a free agent he would sign with the Detroit Red Wings for one year before being traded to the Ottawa Senators with prospect Donovan Sebrango, a 2024 conditional first round pick, and a 2024 fourth round pick. He would lose his way a bit with the Senators after one season and would sign with with HC Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss National League the next season. His contract would include a clause for him to return to the NHL by December 14th with no penalty so we'll see if he returns.
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Kubalik has one of the best shots I've seen. He's not that big weight wise, but man can he fire bullets. For his professional career, he's played 4 season in the Czech Extraliga playing in 162 games scoring 74 goals and 120 points. For the Swiss National League he's played 2 seasons playing in 75 games scoring 35 goals and 84 points. Finally, he's played 5 seasons in the NHL playing 357 games scoring 93 goals and 176 points. He's only had one stint in the postseason so far, but excelled here playing in 9 games scoring 4 goals and 8 points. Kubalik represents Czechia internationally while not having a lot of success in these tournaments. He's played in the 2013 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship. He's played in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. He represented Czechia in the 2018 Winter Olympics. He's competed in the 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023 IIHF World Championships and won gold in 2024. Will be adding more as his career progresses.
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Kirby Dach: I really really want Kirby Dach to excel in the NHL. He has all the right stuff to do so and I'm expecting him to take off soon, hopefully, maybe, he might be made of glass. Born in St. Albert, AB, Dach was drafted 3rd over all by the Blackhawks in 2019. He had just a short stint with the AHL Rockford IceHogs before joining the Blackhawks full time during the 2019-20 season. He had a decent rookie year finding his strength and helped the Hawks greatly during the COVID-19 bubble playoffs. He was named team captain for Canada for the 2021 IHF World Junior Championship but unfortunately fractured his wrist during a preliminary game with Russia. He missed most of his next season but was able to join the Hawks for a stretch at the end. He would only play one more season for the Hawks and would be another causality of the 2022 rebuild. He would be traded during the 2022 draft to the Montreal Canadiens for the 13 pick and a third round pick. He plays with the Canadiens today.
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Watching Dach play, I just hope this guy can elevate his game to another level. He's only played 5 seasons in the NHL playing in 212 games scoring 33 goals and 99 points. Once his wrist fully heals I expect these number to shoot up, maybe. He does represent Canada internationally, of course. He's played in the World U-17 Hockey Challenge for Canada Black in 2017. He's played in the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup winning gold. Will add more as his career progresses.
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Philipp Kurashev: Phil the thrill (sorry Kessel) has really started to grow on me. He's really made some good strides to solidify himself on the Hawks roster. Born in Davos, Switzerland, Kurashev was drafted 120th overall by the Blackhawks in 2018. He would start his career playing in Switzerland, but eventually came over to North America to play juniors for the Quebec Ramparts. After being drafted he spent a season with the AHL Rockford Icehogs as COVID hit the world. During the stoppage of play, he would go back to Switzerland to play for HC Lugano in the National League (top Swiss league). He would then join the Hawks as the NHL announced their return, but would have a slow start to his NHL career. His second full season with the Hawks had a short stint in the AHL again. He would finally take off once Connor Bedard joined the team and continues to earn his spot in the top 6. He plays with the Hawks today.
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Still yet to hit his prime, Kurashev should continue to improve being a solid offensive threat for the Hawks. He's currently played 4 seasons in the NHL playing in 266 games scoring 41 goals and 116 points. For his brief time in the National league, he would play in one season for 13 games while scoring no goals and 9 points. Kurashev has represented Switzerland internationally a lot. He's played in the 2016 and 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship, the 2016 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the 2018 and 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, and participated in the 2019, 2021, 2022 IIHF World Championship before finally winning silver in 2024. Will add more as his career continues.
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