Youngster spurns Blackhawks, opts for free agency after disappointing season

Per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, there appeared to be conflict between veterans and young players on the Blackhawks, especially as ice time was given to the youth toward the end of the season. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen hinted at issues in the locker room between veterans and the up-and-comers.

"There were bad stretches throughout the year, and there were different reasons for that," Sorensen said. "I think there’s a lot of undercurrent that people don’t know about, that goes behind [the scenes], that nobody’s going to talk about."

Dominic James turned down a contract

Some young players appeared deterred by the lack of progress the Blackhawks made in Connor Bedard’s second season in Chicago.

Per Pope, general manager Kyle Davidson said forward prospect Dominic James turned down an opportunity with the Blackhawks and will head into free agency.

"Davidson says the Blackhawks offered Dominic James a 'pretty [expletive] good opportunity, but it currently seems like he’s going to free agency in August. 'No ill will,'" Pope posted on X.

The Blackhawks selected James in the sixth round of the 2022 draft. He was expected to spend the next season with the Rockford IceHogs after a standout career with the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.

The team captain finished his college career with 77 points on 30 goals and 47 assists. He scored 14 goals and 16 assists in his last season with the Bulldogs.

Now, James is headed to free agency for a chance to sign with a team in a better position than one that appointed a coach with no experience to head coach of the IceHogs this season, when Sorensen took over the Blackhawks after Luke Richardson was fired.