By Matt Stefano
Radz is joining the Hawks!
It was announced on Monday that former Soo Thunderbirds defenceman David Radke has accepted a role with the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks for the 2022-2023 season as an advisor, hockey research and analytics.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining the Chicago Blackhawks in this role,” said twenty-eight-year-old Radke. “The management group has been great throughout the whole hiring process and their vision is something I couldn’t wait to be apart of.”
“I won’t be moving to Chicago yet since I’m still completing my PhD in Waterloo, but I’m looking forward to visiting Chicago and the facilities throughout this season and working remotely,” added Radke.
Radke, who is from Orinda, California, played three seasons on the blueline with the Soo Thunderbirds from 2012-2015, where he recorded 5 goals and 59 assists in 136 career regular season games.
In his final season with the Soo Thunderbirds in 2014-2015, Radke also helped the Thunderbirds win the Copeland Cup McNamara Trophy and a Dudley Hewitt Cup title.
“The years I spent with the Soo Thunderbirds were some of the best years of my life,” Radke said. “Winning the Copeland Cup McNamara Trophy and the Dudley Hewitt Cup remains as one of the top highlights during my playing career. My teammates made it fun to come to the rink everyday and they are friends I have made forever.”
Starting this season in Chicago, Radke will also be reunited with his former Soo Thunderbirds teammate Boris Katchouk, who will be entering his second season in the NHL this year, and his first full season with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Both Radke and Katchouk played together on the Soo Thunderbirds during the 2014-2015 season.
“Boris was an extremely talented young player and was instrumental in our trip to the Dudley Hewitt Cup,” Radke said. “It has been fun to watch him ride through the ranks of the hockey world in the last few years. I’ve also crossed paths with Boris a bit during my time in his hometown of Waterloo and I’m looking forward to watching him continue to develop as a Blackhawk.”
(Photo of David Radke with the 2015 Copeland Cup McNamara Trophy champion Soo Thunderbirds credit to Jim Egan)
