RALEIGH, N.C. — At 23 years old, Blake Biondi found himself as the grizzled veteran at Carolina Hurricanes development camp earlier this month. The forward prospect was at least one full year older than everyone else on the ice, and almost five years older than some of the campers.<\/p>\n
On the final day of camp, Biondi had something to celebrate after he signed his first professional contract, an American Hockey League deal with Chicago, the Hurricanes’ affiliate. It’s a respectable start, but not the professional debut many prospects anticipate.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s path is going to be different,\u201d Biondi said. \u201cThe only ones who are going straight to the top are the one-percenters: the (Connor) McDavids, the (Auston) Matthewses. At the end of the day, it\u2019s the guys who can put their head down and go to work, be a great teammate and keep your character.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perspective is often hard-won, and Biondi is proof. After he was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth round (No. 109) of the 2020 NHL Draft, he headed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He led the team with 17 goals as a sophomore and had 28 points (11 assists) in 42 games. But after establishing himself as a scoring threat, Biondi tore the labrum in his left shoulder late in the season. He rehabbed during the summer and began his junior season, but the joint was unstable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI compensated so bad for the left one that the right (shoulder) slipped out,\u201d he said. \u201cI had bilateral shoulder surgery in the span of two months.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, he was dealing with emotional pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth of my grandpas died in between both of my surgeries,\u201d he said. \u201cMentally and physically, it was very demanding and I was going through a lot of pain. Shoulders are one thing, but both of my grandfathers passing at the same time while my body was trying to heal, it was a dagger for me. It was hard being around my family because they were struggling so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called his junior year \u201cjust average,\u201d with six points (three goals, three assists) in 17 games, followed by a 19-point senior season (eight goals, 11 assists in 34 games). He graduated on time, but Montreal did not sign Biondi.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen your back is up against the wall,\u201d Biondi said, \u201cthat\u2019s really your true character, who can keep on swinging.\u201d<\/p>\n
With an extra season of NCAA eligibility left to use, Biondi enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, a decision that put his career back on track.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got my speed and strength back,\u201d he said. \u201cJust that edge and determination that I play with.\u201d<\/p>\n
The result was Biondi (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) surging to a bounce-back season, with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 38 games. His identity — a rugged game, winning pucks in the corners and going to the net — began to return.<\/p>\n
As the season progressed, Hurricanes assistant general manager Darren Yorke kept tabs, often checking in with Notre Dame coach Brock Sheahan.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe spoke very highly of Blake and his development path, dealing with the injuries, him persevering,\u201d Yorke said.<\/p>\n
When Notre Dame\u2019s season ended, Biondi turned his attention to finishing his graduate degree, a master’s in nonprofit business adminisration.<\/p>\n
Though free agency after college isn\u2019t ideal, the status offers a silver lining, as NHL teams can offer players a late-season evaluation in professional hockey. When Carolina gave Biondi a seven-game audition in the AHL last season, he jumped at the chance. And even though he had no points in those seven games, he was still able to open some eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got the opportunity to step in the lineup based on everything that he\u2019s earned, and he made a great impression on myself and the coaching staff,\u201d Yorke said. \u201cAnd now he\u2019s earned the next step, getting himself a contract for the upcoming season.\u201d<\/p>\n
And with the AHL contract, suddenly all of that adversity is just part of Biondi\u2019s hockey history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a hockey career, right?\u201d he said. \u201cUp and down. But it\u2019s the ones who can just stay levelheaded and keep going through.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how he will approach his first full professional season in the AHL. Most of his Chicago teammates will be under contract to Carolina and further along the professional development curve. Biondi will not be property of the Hurricanes, but he will still be under the watchful eye of the Carolina staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not going to prevent somebody like Blake from earning a spot,\u201d Yorke said. \u201cThere\u2019s peaks and valleys. Whether you are a first-round draft pick or you are a college free agent, it comes through hard work. When he\u2019s on his game, it suits [Carolina\u2019s] game to a T.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s all Biondi needs to hear. He knows he\u2019s not a one-percenter, so he plans to rely on all the other attributes that might get him to the NHL.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing to Chicago, I want to be a great teammate,\u201d he says. \u201cI want to be a great locker-room guy and do everything I can to find a role on the Wolves next year and stick there. I think it\u2019s a good thing. It\u2019s a great path for me, a path back.<\/p>\n
“It might be the hard way in some eyes, but thank God I\u2019ve got a chance to play in the American League next year and do something special.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RALEIGH, N.C. — At 23 years old, Blake Biondi found himself as the grizzled veteran at Carolina Hurricanes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-36516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}