Fall is coming, and for the city of Chicago, it’s bringing more excitement than ever. The Chicago Bears (NFL) are the heart and soul of the Windy City and paired with the Chicago Blackhawks‘ roaring success over the past decade; their intertwining seasons always made the city come alive. However, both teams have gone through recent full-scale rebuilds and dreadful losing seasons, which made for long winters that seemed like would never end…
Until now. With the Blackhawks’ 2023 first overall pick, Connor Bedard, going into his second year, and Bears’ 2024 first overall pick, quarterback Caleb Williams, entering his rookie season, the buzz around Chicago is at an all-time high, eager to see where these two franchise players will take their teams.
The similarities between the positions that Bedard and Williams are in, along with their championship mindsets, make their stories even better.
Blackhawks and Bears Are Similar, Yet Different
Watching the Bears and Blackhawks rebuild take shape has been interesting (and oftentimes painful!). The Bears are a bit further along, where they are expected to make some noise in the NFC North this season. The Blackhawks are in a position where they will likely be better than last year but still out of the playoff picture. Yet, they have been built similarly despite being in different leagues.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson and Bears general manager Ryan Poles value building through the draft. Poles’ biggest move since taking over in 2022 was trading the 2023 first-overall pick to acquire four draft picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore. Since Davidson took office in 2022, he has acquired many picks, drafted 30 players, and has 11 draft picks in the first two rounds of the next three drafts.
Both Davidson and Poles have also been supplementing their teams with veteran talent to support their top rookie players. The Bears have players like Moore, Keenan Allen, and Cole Kmet on offense and have Montez Sweat, Jaquan Brisker, and Jaylon Johnson on defense to support rookies like Williams, Rome Odunze, and Austin Booker. For the Blackhawks, their veterans include Seth Jones, Nick Foligno, and Teuvo Teräväinen to help move players like Bedard, Kevin Korchinski, and Lukas Reichel along.
The Bears have more “win-now” talent as opposed to the Blackhawks’ “fill-in” veterans, like Pat Maroon and Alec Martinez, to help mentor the roster. Yet, they both have their golden tickets, Connor Bedard and Caleb Williams, that they hope will eventually lead their teams to multiple championships.
The Mindsets of Bedard and Williams
When you look at why NHL teams heavily sought Bedard and why NFL teams valued Williams just the same, it comes back down to how they carry themselves and their team. All professional sports players have talent, but most say that “elite” players are built differently, which can be traced back to mindset. When you hear Williams and Bedard talk, they outline the same objectives.
One thing both players have in common is how much people believe in them based on their personalities. “Poise” was used to describe Williams by teammate Montez Sweat. Bedard has been lauded for his maturity beyond his 19 years for how he handled the noise on and off the ice.
They have the drive to win, and both used the words “hungry” for their teams’ situations.
Williams’ mindset is fresh, starting a new journey as a pro: “They [the Bears] didn’t just tell me [they want to win], they were showing me how we do it. That’s always big. I’ve always been a routine guy. I’ve always been true to my work, committed to that and things like that. They’ve been saying that they want to win, they’ve been saying that they’re hungry. When I went there on a visit, they were showing me plans of how they plan on implementing that, things like that throughout the whole team, myself, to be able to lead these guys to victories.”
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For Bedard, his mindset is about reflecting on the Blackhawks’ second-worst NHL finish and looking forward: “There’s pros and cons [for last season], and overall, with how the year went for us, I’m not happy with it. I think, you know, if you’re too happy about it, then maybe that’s something you got to look at, but I think it gives you an opportunity to get better and grow and come into next year hungry, and we’re all going to be super motivated coming into next year with a chip on our shoulder with kind of how things went this year. I think that’s going to be a positive for us.”
The other thing that Williams and Bedard share is how they impact their teammates. Teven Jenkins said about Williams, “He’s a great dude. He knows what he’s doing, and he works hard for us. Every little thing you ask him like, ‘Hey, can you get a little louder on the cadences,’ he will take it personal to get better because he knows that it affects everyone and not just himself.”
With Bedard, Kevin Korchinski said it best about how Bedard motivates others, “He loves the game. I think for him, a lot of the stuff isn’t really work. It’s just him having fun and enjoying it and loving what it is to be a hockey player. Seeing what he puts into the game, it’s awesome. It’s infectious, and it motivates you that heading into the summer, he’s going to be working his ass off, so you want to do the same thing.”
Chicago’s Special Era Starts Now
Both set high expectations for themselves. Bedard talked about the goal of winning Stanley Cups in Chicago and working up to that. Williams stated he would love to chase Tom Brady’s Super Bowl record, and those “never-satisfied” personas are exemplary.
The culture that Bedard and Williams have set for their teams makes Blackhawks and Bears fans buy into the hype just as much. Both have faced immense pressure and are carrying a lot on their shoulders to bring success to a city starving for more championships, but they commendably embraced it. They work hard with the games they love, and that is where it starts.
Bedard and Williams mentioned how much they love Chicago and the fans. They have the same desires as the fans. They’re striving for more and are leading the way. Time will tell how it will work out, but these two have brought back the zest, and fans are entirely on board. Different players, different sports teams, different leagues, but the same city and same goal.
The new era in Chi-Town should be a special one.
