Foligno hopes to provide leadership, guidance for Bedard and young Blackhawks

Nick Foligno says the opportunity to play a significant role in building a new core was amongst the strongest drivers of how he wound up in Chicago.

Plus, the opportunity to work alongside the NHL’s newest phenom in Connor Bedard certainly didn’t hurt the cause.

“How many times do you really get to work with a generational talent,” Foligno said as he joined Brent Gunning and Sam McKee on The Fan Morning Show Wednesday. “There’s only really been a few that have come into our league.”

The longtime NHL veteran, who signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Blackhawks days before free agency, said that the allure of helping Bedard away from the rink was one of the main draws of signing with the club.

“What excites me is him off the ice, I think getting to know the person behind the player and how they motivate themselves, but also the areas that you can help,” the Sudbury native told The Fan 590. “You can’t forget, he’s never played in the NHL, he’s never had these pressures, and although he’s grown up in it and understood a lot has been asked of him, it’s a whole different beast.”

Beyond Bedard and the role his presence played in getting Foligno’s pen-to-paper, the opportunity to play higher up in the lineup, as well as join other incoming veterans like Corey Perry in building the culture in the locker room, only helped solidify the veteran’s commitment.

Foligno pointed to his brief time in Toronto, and how the market in Chicago mirrored that environment in many ways, including how players like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner dealt with the expectations of leading an Original Six franchise.

“You can’t hide from it,” the 35-year-old said of the bright lights that come with being a star in a major market. “But at the end of the day…I think how you are as a room, how tight you are as a room, helps you in those moments.

“If (Bedard) knows we all have his back, and if we know our room really enjoys itself and loves coming to work every day — that the passion is there — then all that other stuff really doesn’t matter.”

Alongside Bedard, other young Blackhawks up-and-comers such as Lukas Reichel, who appears poised to enter his first full season after a 23-game cameo last year, and top defensive prospect Kevin Korchinski, seem likely to get their first real taste of full-time NHL action, something Foligno hopes he’ll be able to aid in.

“There’s a lot of good players, Stanley Cup champions even, that are guys who know how to do that, and I’m excited about being another piece of that and helping mold these young guys.”