Despite another awful year for the Chicago Blackhawks, it was a fantastic rookie campaign for phenom Connor Bedard. One of the most hyped prospects in the history of the sport lived up to the sky high expectations, potting 22 goals and 61 points in his first 68 National Hockey League games.
And the young Canadian is already thinking about how he can get better for 2024-25.
“Obviously, I want to get faster,” he explained to reporters on Saturday. “In the gym, more explosive probably, a little stronger for puck battles and netfront, little things like that. I'm gonna work on trying to create more offense. … That creativity of playing the game and having fun.”
Bedard's 61 points are the most by a Hawks rookie since the electric debut of Artemi Panarin in 2015-16, who fit like a glove alongside Patrick Kane en route to winning the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie.
That's an award that Bedard is likely to capture in 2024, especially as he led all rookies in scoring by a mile. The only reasonable contender is Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber, who broke onto the scene playing 25 minutes a night and took over as the powerplay quarterback in the State of Hockey when Jared Spurgeon went down with a season-ending injury.
Faber had a terrific season — and figures to be a key piece of the Wild for a long, long time — but the award is Bedard's to lose.
Connor Bedard was a silver lining in dreary Hawks' season
It's hard to sugar coat a 23-53-6 record and a 31st-place finish — ahead of only the miserable San Jose Sharks. But Bedard is something special, and will almost certainly be even better next year. And No. 98 knows he can be.
“Personally, I think I was OK a lot,” Bedard said when asked about his rookie campaign. “Maybe not as good as I hoped. I hope I'm better [next season], of course. I'll do everything I can throughout the summer to try to make that happen, but actions speak a lot louder than words.”
Although the points total is extremely encouraging, especially considering the lack of talent he was surrounded with in Chicago in 2023-24, Bedard was a team-worst minus-44 on the campaign and won just 38.9 percent of his faceoffs. He mentioned those factors as key areas of focus over the offseason.
The campaign certainly had its ups and downs — the lowest valley the fractured jaw he suffered on a hit from New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith that cost him 14 games.
“I got blown up a decent amount this year. I'm gonna get hit a lot, it's hockey, it's a contact sport, so I'm not afraid of that,” Bedard added.
Although it was a dreary season in Illinois, the future is undoubtably bright with Bedard at the forefront. And he's grateful for all the support he's received from Hawks fans so far.
“I couldn't be more grateful for everything this year that the fans did. … [Patrick] Kane and [Jonathan] Toews were here for a long time, and with them not being here this year and [the fans] embracing us the way they did, it was incredible. We know it was a tough year, but the support we got throughout never wavered. It exceeded my expectations by a long way, and my expectations were pretty high.”
It'll be intriguing to see just how much better Connor Bedard is in Year 2.
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