Thursday marked the official start of the 2024-25 NHL season for the Chicago Blackhawks as 53 players hit the ice at the Fifth Third Arena for the first day of training camp. Three groups of Blackhawks skaters took to the ice to get their legs pumping, fire off wrist shots, and we all got to make sweeping declarations about the lines and pairings from the first 30 minutes of somewhat real hockey heading into the new season.

Stepping onto the ice with the third group of players for the morning was 36-year-old Nick Foligno for his second training camp with the organization. One change for Foligno and the Blackhawks that was different than his first training camp one year ago is that the former Columbus Blue Jackets Captain had been named to the same position in Chicago the previous day, becoming the 35th Captain in Blackhawks franchise history and the first successor to the role since the kinda/sorta unofficial retirement by Jonathan Toews.

Foligno said that he had reached out to Toews after he found out the news that he would be the next team Captain, but hasn’t heard from him back yet. “I know what he’s meant to this organization. He’s the pillar this organization stands on.”

Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson said of Toews at the press conference, “The leadership he displayed has truly redefined the blueprint for what a great captain can be. His legacy…is second to none. We can’t thank him enough for the incredible foundation he laid.”

“I’m truly grateful to this organization for putting that belief in me,” Foligno said. “I’m humbled and honored to take this on, and grow this to where this organization and fan base expects this to go.”

After settling into Chicago last season and quickly becoming a leader on and off the ice with the team and a favorite across the Blackhawks fanbase, Foligno signed a two-year contract extension after originally coming to the organization via a trade prior to the 2023 NHL Draft. A draft that saw the Blackhawks take Connor Bedard first-overall, a player that everyone has assumed since Chicago won the 2023 NHL Draft lottery back in May of 2023 would eventually become the Captain of the team. But that will have to wait, and is probably for the best for the young star as Davidson went out this offseason and added a slew of veteran players to the lineup to not only better insulate the team against injuries, but also make them more competitive and older.

Having Foligno take the leadership role of Captain as the team continues its transition to the next era is not going to be easy. As the expectations for wins and losses and development rise, the path back to contention in the NHL is still a few seasons (realistically) away for the Blackhawks.

“We’re going to have a standard that is expected to be met every day. If you don’t, you’re going to hear about it.”

Accountability was a big theme late last season. Veterans like Foligno and Seth Jones spoke at the conclusion of the year about top to bottom accountability between coaches and players, as well as management. Across the board, everyone wanted the standard to be set higher than in the past two years. Davidson went out and made swings in free agency to address that and the appointment of Foligno to the head of the group, for the time being, is a measure to make sure those standards and culture are not only set but adhered to.

“The players we brought in understand how they need to play for us to be successful,” Jones said on Thursday. “They understand some of them need to go to the hard areas to be successful…It’s really about playing the best you can in your role.”

Putting Foligno, the ultimate role player at this stage in his career, in the Captain role should make the standard of player and mentality the organization expects even more evident to the rest of the roster. Especially for the young players as the organization continues the process of turning a new page to the next generation of Blackhawks hockey. While Foligno likely won’t be playing on those teams that hope to contend for Stanley Cups once again, his impact on those teams is already underway.