Bedard’s relentless pursuit of excellence

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This article was published 11/10/2024 (359 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Connor Bedard is ready for Round 2.

The 2024 Calder Trophy winner is no stranger to having an inordinate amount of attention paid to him, but the Chicago Blackhawks centre seems much more at ease in the early stages of his second NHL season.

As Bedard prepared to face the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, he was in a jovial mood as he chatted with reporters following the Blackhawks’ optional morning skate.

Yes, he’s still the face of an Original Six franchise at the ripe age of 19, but it no longer feels like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“You have more familiarity. Whenever you move up a level, you don’t really know anyone and you don’t know what to expect,” said Bedard. “There’s more kind of curiosity and learning that comes right away. Now coming in, knowing everyone and knowing how things work, where everything is, is a little bit more comfortable for sure.”

Bedard lived up to the lofty expectations after being the first overall selection of the 2023 NHL Draft.

Outside of an injury that kept him out of 14 games, Bedard made a smooth transition to the NHL after spending three seasons as a star with the WHL’s Regina Pats.

One of his influences during his time with the Pats is Manitoban and former Jets 1.0 head coach and general manager John Paddock.

“He was great,” said Bedard. “His experience (was valuable). When you’re in junior, you want to be with people who have been to the next level because that’s where you want to get to. He had played at the NHL level, coached, managed and had done everything. He had a lot of wisdom to share with me.”

Bedard’s talent is undeniable.

He’s a human-highlight reel, with eye-popping skill.

How did Bedard evaluate his first NHL season?

“It was kind of frustrating, with our record and stuff. You play the game to win and as a competitive person, it was hard on all of us,” said Bedard. “Whether you had a lot of points, didn’t have a lot of points, there are always things you can do to look in the mirror and try to improve.”

With that in mind, what does the next step in Bedard’s progression look like to him?

“Just maybe having more and more impact on games. Every year I want to become better — dominant is not the word, but having that impact, so when you’re on the ice, things are happening,” said Bedard, who had 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games last season. “That’s offensively, of course, but it’s in other areas of the game (too). Faceoffs were not great last year. That can get better. I was minus-50. Whatever that stat means, obviously that’s not good. There’s stuff like that that you want to improve on.”

When you couple that with his passion for the sport and drive to improve, the thought of what type of player he’s going to eventually grow into is a scary thought.

“He’s very focused and diligent about what he wants and how to get there. He knows what he needs to do — and is willing to do it — no matter what sacrifice may be (required),” said Blackhawks centre Jason Dickinson. “He’s rounding out his game. He’s taking more defensive responsibility, he’s reading the game from that end better than he had last year. What I also see is he’s taking more of a leadership approach. Not talking a whole lot in the room, but being more decisive about the game plan and what he sees on the ice.”

Dickinson has noticed something else about Bedard in the early stages of this season.

“Last year, he just listened to guys more. This year, I see it and I want to see more of him saying ‘This is what I see. This is what I think,’” said Dickinson. “He sees the game differently than most of us, so it would be beneficial to hear what he has to say, not to have him sit back and listen all of the time.”

That’s all part of growing as a person and a player.

“He just loves the game and he loves to be out there. That’s always infectious,” said Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson. “This year, he’s a year older, a year more mature. He’s gone through the league once, knows what to expect, so hopefully he can put that into his arsenal.”

His opponents are already aware of what his arsenal includes.

“An 18-year-old kid going against everybody’s top lines every night and he fared pretty well,” said Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo. “He was a huge heartbeat for them offensively and his reputation speaks for itself. Fantastic shot, great release, right up there with the best releases in the league. A fantastic player that every team definitely has to game plan for.”

Part of that revolves around getting in shooting lanes and trying to prevent Bedard from getting that shot off from dangerous areas on the ice.

“He creates space for himself. Always finds a way to get his stick loose to get that shot off. And that’s a heavy shot,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel.

Bedard’s primary focus is on helping the Blackhawks take another step forward, but when asked the prospects of working his way into the final discussion to represent Canada at the Four Nations Face-off in February, his eyes lit up.

“I’d love to be (in the mix),” said Bedard. “In the summer, it’s something you’re looking at and you want to be there. I know I have to play really well and be someone that if they’re going to take me, I’ve got to be someone that’s going to be trusted in every area, not just offensively.

“I know that. We’ll see what happens, of course. But it would be great for me to put myself in a position for them to have to think about it, whether they go with me or not.”

Around the glass

The Blackhawks had the distinction of serving as the opponent for the inaugural game for the Utah Hockey Club earlier this week and while they weren’t happy about being on the losing end of a 5-2 decision, the historical nature wasn’t lost on them.

“Unfortunately, they scored the first goal and the place erupted. As a hockey fan and a member of the NHL, that’s what you want. You want to see that they’re in it, they’re loving the exciting parts of the game..,” said Dickinson, whose brother Josh had played with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL, so he know it was a good hockey market. “There was a lot of hype, a lot of excitement around the city. I actually went and got my hair cut the next day. The guys at the barber shop had no idea who I was and they were just talking hockey the whole time. They were all fired up about it. There was a genuine excitement.”

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Opening-night rosters had to be set at the beginning of the week, with teams permitted to have a maximum of 23 healthy skaters. According to the league, a total of 712 players were listed, with 291 (40.9 per cent) being Canadian. That’s the most of any country, with the United States (204, a record-number) in second.

Break it down further and we count 23 Manitobans on 17 different teams. They include:

Mark Stone, Brett Howden, Keegan Kolesar and Zach Whitecloud (Vegas). Max Domi, Ryan Reaves and Connor Dewar (Toronto). Seth Jarvis and Jordan Martinook (Carolina). Joel Edmundson (Los Angeles). Damon Severson (Columbus). Cody Glass (Pittsburgh). Travis Hamonic (Ottawa). Ryan Pulock (New York Islanders). James Reimer (Anaheim). Joel Hofer (St. Louis). Calvin Pickard (Edmonton). Chris Driedger (Florida). Dylan Mcllrath (Washington). Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia). Josh Filmon (New Jersey). Morgan Geekie (Boston). Conor Geekie (Tampa Bay).

Add it all up and the NHL is currently 3.2 per cent Manitoban with more teams than not (53 per cent) having at least one homegrown player. The Jets are one of the 15 clubs without a local product.

Here’s a few other numbers that stood out:

• There are now 169 players who were born in the 2000s, which is a big jump from 118 last year. Every team has at least one.
• There are 10 teenagers, with Jett Luchanko (Philadelphia; 18 years, 48 days) and Macklin Celebrini (San Jose; 18 years, 117 days) the youngest.
• Buffalo has the youngest average age (25.3). Edmonton is the oldest (30.3). Winnipeg (28.6) is tied for 14th-oldest.
• Minnesota goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is the oldest at 39.
• Don’t give up on your dreams, kids! There are 82 undrafted players, which represents 11.5 per cent.
• A whopping 601 players (84 per cent) from Canada, the United States, Sweden or Finland, which are the four countries that will compete at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
• A total of 20 countries are represented, including six with just one player: Australia (Jordan Spence, Los Angeles), Bulgaria (Alexandar Georgiev, Colorado), France (Alexandre Texier; St. Louis), Great Britain (Nathan Walker; St. Louis), Netherlands (Daniel Sprong; Vancouver) and Slovenia (Anze Kopitar; Los Angeles)
• Vegas has the most Canadian players with 15, while Boston has the most American players with 12.

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