Connor Bedard Can Still Crack the Top 5 in ‘Hawks Rookie Points–But Tough Teams Await

Connor Bedard recorded his 38th assist of the season during Philipp Kurashev’s power play goal Friday night. It was the lone marker for the Blackhawks in their 5-1 loss against the Nashville Predators.

But Bedard notched his 60th point of the season–which inches him closer to tying Darryl Sutter’s rookie point record of 62 from 1980-81. With seven games remaining, it looked like this would be more than attainable but it’s been a tougher haul as the Blackhawks have struggled and point production has been dwindling as a result of the Hawks scoring less.

A look ahead at the next three games, what Bedard has done against those teams, and who he could potentially catch.

Who Can Connor Bedard Still Catch?

Sutter for one–picking up two points in the next three games is certainly doable. Jeremy Roenick’s 66 points for a rookie campaign seems a little less likely with Bedard needed to average out two points-per-game. That’s about where it begins and ends as Patrick Kane’s 72 points from 2007-08 would require video game like glitching for Bedard to reach.

Realistically, Sutter he’ll likely tie. Roenick might be a bit tougher. It also is more problematic as the team goes through a gauntlet of playoff teams still fighting for positioning over the next three games.

Here’s how that breaks down:

• Sunday at home against Carolina
• Tuesday on the road against Vegas
• Thursday on the road against Los Angeles

That doesn’t really make things any easier, especially for catching Roenick. After going a pair of games without points, he got one with that assist yesterday. But his production over the last ten games is six points (1-5), with the lone goal coming against Dallas last Saturday.

Bedard’s Production Against The Final Three Teams

Bedard’s breakdown by team this season looks like this:

• Carolina – 1 goal, 2 assists in a single game
• Vegas – 2 goals in 2 games
• Los Angeles – One assist in two games

Of those games in which Chicago has played five games total against the three teams, Bedard produced six points (3-3), good for over a point-per-game clip.

So conventional wisdom would indicate that Roenick’s mark is still play. Tomorrow will start to demystify it a bit, but until then, Bedard sits seventh all time among Blackhawks rookies in points needing six more to crack the top five.

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