Welcome to Eat The Hatchet
Welcome to Eat the Hatchet, a blog about the Chicago Blackhawks.
Who Am I?
I am DirtyThird, a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks. I am not a serious writer or anything like that. I am a fan writing about a team that I love. I played hockey very briefly and figured that I could write better than be athletic on the ice. So here I am. I am not claiming to be a hockey expert or an analytical genius. I am only a fan who wants to hang out and talk about the Hawks.
What is this blog?
This blog focuses on the Chicago Blackhawks. I am interested in the “x’s” and “o’s” of the game. I try to answer questions like why can’t the Hawks get out of the zone? Why does their powerplay suck even though they implement widely used tactics? I care about the team's on-ice performance and use analytics to supplement their play or identify trends in past performance.
Eat the Hatchet was born from the ashes of mediocracy. I recently ran another Blackhawks-related blog out of pure boredom. It was my Frankenstein and I experimented the hell out of it. Once I got the feel I wanted and the kind of vibe I was going for, I pulled the plug.
I need to pay respect to two blogs that influenced me. Second City Hockey and Faxes From Uncle Dale, both blogs inspired me to start Eat The Hatchet. When I first became a Blackhawk fan, it was during a rough time. I was coming home from two Afghan deployments and battled with depression. Those blogs and the communities that were born out of them helped me feel a sense of connection. I hope to one day provide something similar.
What can you expect?
Do not expect ground-breaking analysis. Consider this blog the equivalent of being cornered at a bar by some drunk dude rambling on about hockey. That’s me. I have never worked in sports or written professionally. I am just a normal dude.
I’m starting things pretty small. For the time being, you can expect regular weekly posts every Monday. That segment will discuss the previous week’s news and break down some of the technical aspects of hockey.
Throughout the week I’ll post game-previews or game recaps. These won’t be “scheduled” per se, but something I’ll write if I have the time or if there is/was a big game.
I may tackle the whole “prospect” thing, but that’s a lot of work. It’s something I played around with in my last blog and I found it very time-consuming. Also, you just never know how a prospect will turn out in the NHL.
What’s Next?
If you are still reading this for some reason, you are in luck. The first post is ready and piping hot out of the oven. It'll be on the table for breakfast first thing Monday morning.
If you like what you read, subscribe to the newsletter. If you feel like you don’t agree with a point I make, please, rip into it. If you have suggestions, drop them. What to see something? Let me know and I'll incorporate it. I’m writing to learn more about hockey. Remember, I’m the drunk rambling dude at the bar. Not the high-brow analytic nerd telling you that you’re wrong.
It’s the holiday season and the Hawks are early in the rebuild. So get comfortable, make some coffee, crack open a beer, and Eat the Hatchet.
-DirtyThird
