Mason West has made his choice clear: hockey is the priority now.
That matters for the Blackhawks, who used a hefty package to get him at No. 29 overall in 2025, sending two second-round picks and a fifth-rounder to Carolina to move up and grab the forward. Chicago GM Kyle Davidson has shown before that he’ll be aggressive for a player he believes in, and West fits that mold.
West’s summer didn’t begin on skates, though. He opened his post-draft season on the football field, where he quarterbacked Edina High School to the Minnesota 6A state championship, the program’s first football title in more than 50 years. Because he’s committed to Michigan State, there had been at least some question about whether football might keep pulling him away from the rink.
At Blackhawks development camp last week, West put that speculation to rest.
He said he is “all about hockey.” He also laid out the difference between the two sports from a training standpoint: football leans heavily on strength work and power lifts, while hockey demands more legwork and agility. This offseason, he’s focused on building his core to help with skating and coordination.
“I can see myself getting better every day,” he said. “It was hard with football because there are different movements and my body isn’t as comfortable.
I have longer limbs, so it was harder for me in the gym. But now that I have just hockey, I get to be more comfortable in those uncomfortable positions.”
West’s route back to hockey after football wasn’t seamless. Once his football season ended, he joined the Fargo Force in the USHL and had to work through an adjustment period before finding his rhythm. The finish was strong: 10 goals and 25 points in 38 games, plus two goals and six points in nine postseason games.
“I faced some adversity at the start,” West said of his time in Fargo. “My mind was ready to go.
You want to do good and produce right away, but it definitely took me some time to get used to the speed. Jumping in right away was difficult, but once I got comfortable, I started to gain confidence.”
Then came another wrinkle. On June 16, the Portland Winterhawks traded a first- and seventh-round pick to the Vancouver Giants for West’s Western Hockey League rights, which led some to wonder whether he might go the junior route instead of heading to East Lansing. He won’t.
Michigan State is still the plan, even if the roster there is crowded with first-round talent. In this year’s NHL Entry Draft, four incoming freshmen were selected: defenseman Chase Reid, winger Nikita Klepov, and centers Ethan Belchetz and Jack Hextall.
Defenseman Tommy Bleyl, a 2027-28 commit, also went in the first round. Add in Cayden Lindstrom, Ryker Lee, Joshua Ravensbergen, and Cullen Potter, and there are nine first-round picks expected to start the season for the Spartans.
That kind of depth would make playing time hard to come by for almost any freshman. West, though, doesn’t sound bothered by that at all.
“I’m a competitive guy; I have been my whole life,” West said. “I’m not afraid of the competition.
I’m excited to learn stuff. I’m a freshman, so I get to learn from seniors, juniors, and the coaching staff.
I’m really excited just to practice and then get into the games. I’m going to work hard and give it my best.”
For Chicago, that’s the kind of answer you want from one of your top prospects. West isn’t looking for the easy lane. He’s leaning into the challenge.
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