Connor Bedard Can Embrace Team Support Amidst Struggles

It’s only a matter of one shift for Connor Bedard.

It seems like a broken record to say Bedard is struggling. Every Chicago Blackhawks game without a goal feels like an eternity, especially for him. He is on a seven-game goal drought, with a faceoff percentage of 30.6%. Eight games was the longest he went without a goal in his rookie season. He still has 13 points in 16 games and is the team’s leading scorer, but it’s obvious he wants more out of his game. He told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, ‘‘Earlier in the year, I was making a lot of plays, [feeling] pretty dangerous out there. Lately, I’ve been [making] less of an impact and not really making a difference. So hopefully I can contribute more.’’

It brings the question of how Bedard is handling the adversity thrown his way, and luckily, he seems to have the right players around him for support.

Bedard is a player who wears his heart on his sleeve, and he showed it last season. He had moments of frustration, and head coach Luke Richardson commended him for not letting it fester. This season seems different. He has been seen breaking sticks (which is not unusual; he did that last season, too), and the Blackhawks’ game against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 7 was a prime example of frustration coming to a head when he received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for kicking Ilya Lyubushkin’s stick after being stopped at the blue line. Bedard expressed that he is tired of losing and has shown displeasure with his production. Bedard told Chicago Magazine he thinks he could handle challenging moments better.

However, that Dallas game was a good reminder of how young he is. He is 19 years old, and after getting drafted first overall by Chicago, he was almost looked at as a veteran to make an immediate impact. When he won the Calder Trophy, expectations grew higher to sustain production.

Yet, this season has shown him adversity in a different way. Last season didn’t come easy for him, as he was out with a fractured jaw for a bit, but the offense was steady. (61 points in 68 games). When remembering his resume, offense has always come naturally to him. He had 243 points in 119 games in his last two seasons with the Regina Pats (WHL). Now, he is looking at four goals in his last 26 games, even dating back to last season. This shows that even though he has the skill and the talent, the league is still a learning curve for him.

Every NHL player will say the league is a different beast, and no player is immune to slumps. Nathan MacKinnon had a sophomore slump after winning the Calder Trophy. Even Patrick Kane went through a slump in 2022, where he had seven goals in 32 games. But how does one, like Bedard, handle this new reality? Through his teammates, of course.

Jonathan Toews once reflected on an infamous moment during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs when he was frustrated by his lack of production. Brent Seabrook came over to the penalty box to encourage him. Bedard’s teammates seem to be giving him pointers in a similar manner.

When Captain Nick Foligno spoke with Chicago Magazine, he noted about Bedard’s frustration, “You need your emotions to play hockey, but you can’t put your energy in places where it doesn’t belong. When you are the best player, you are being watched by your own team and targeted by the other team. It’s the hardest balance to find.”

Seth Jones even spoke about the struggles of the NHL, saying, “Short-term memory is key, for sure.” But Jones reiterated that it’s human nature to feel the effects of a bad game and lose confidence. He continued, “You’re not going to play perfect every game. There’s going to be things that go wrong. Just continue to do the simple play and move the puck, and the game will come to you.” Jones spoke from a defenseman standpoint, but it’s also good advice for Bedard.

Bedard will be fine. He leads the Blackhawks in shots on goal (52), and the goals will come for him. Better yet, he has the drive to make it so. As Regina Pats assistant coach Ken Schneider told NHL.com last season, “I can be honest in saying I’ve never been witness to a player who could work as hard as he does. There was no one in the last two years I coached who could outwork him. No one.”

Bedard is a true competitor. He wants to win and help his team. This is unchartered territory that he is learning through, but one that will make him better. And his goal remains the same as he said over the summer: playing hockey with his teammates, “chasing a goal.”

He is 19 years old, and sometimes that is easy to forget, but it should also be remembered that slumps ultimately get broken and it happens to the best of them.

All it takes is one game and one shift.

For more Blackhawks News from Jim Lynch and Brooke LoFurno, visit Chicago Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.

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