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<\/a><\/p>\nAfter a frustrating sophomore campaign, Connor Bedard is starting to understand that rest isn\u2019t a sign of weakness; it\u2019s a source of strength. (Daniel Bartel \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Bedard wouldn\u2019t go so far as to say he was fatigued at times last season, but he did have a 12-game goal drought in November, scored just one goal in an 11-game span starting in February, then had an eight-game goal drought before a strong finishing kick in the final week of the campaign. There were significant stretches during which he simply wasn\u2019t feeling his best, and it showed in his production levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some gaps in my game for a couple stretches of the season,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously, I\u2019m young and should be pretty fresh, for the most part. I just thought there were a couple times in the year where I wasn\u2019t feeling my best, and obviously that\u2019s on me to do the right things. I\u2019ve learned a lot about how I can keep that consistency. Because when I\u2019m at the top of my game, I feel like I\u2019m a pretty impactful player. So if I can be there \u2014 or close to there \u2014 almost every night, that\u2019s going to make a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say Bedard is getting lazy, of course. He had to wait a bit in late April and early May for players to return from the playoffs or from Worlds, but he\u2019s been on the ice regularly with his Vancouver crew, which includes Macklin Celebrini, Kent Johnson and Mat Barzal, among others. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will join them, too, once he recovers from the Edmonton Oilers\u2019 grueling run to the Stanley Cup Final. Bedard said the on-ice sessions can get pretty heated, and sometimes have a game-like feel when everyone\u2019s really going and pushing each other.<\/p>\n
When he is on the ice, Bedard\u2019s focus has been on his skating. His goal for his second NHL offseason is to get faster, and to do so without sacrificing the parts of his game that made him one of the most highly touted prospects in league history. In the Western Hockey League, finding open ice was easy, and so was unleashing his world-class shot. In the NHL, finding that room and that time is a lot more difficult. And while he\u2019ll never have Connor McDavid\u2019s wheels, any extra kick could give him an extra split second to do something special.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where I could gain another level to my game,\u201d he said. \u201cI think I have a lot of skill and I can think the game at a high level. If I can get maybe an extra step to get away from guys and put guys on their heels a little more, that would be a thing I can add to my game. I feel pretty good about what I\u2019ve done so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bedard said he doesn\u2019t know \u201ca whole lot\u201d about new head coach Jeff Blashill\u2019s playing style, but being faster is good for any system. He had a \u201cgreat conversation\u201d with Blashill shortly after the coach was hired, and Blashill was texting him things and players to watch for throughout the playoffs. Bedard said Blashill\u2019s excitement about coming to Chicago has been contagious for the players, and that former interim head coach Anders S\u00f6rensen returning as an assistant was particularly important. Blashill is Bedard\u2019s third head coach in just two-plus seasons.<\/p>\n
Bedard\u2019s next great linemate could be joining the organization on Friday night. This is the first draft in three years that Bedard won\u2019t be attending, and for the first time in a while, he only knows the names from watching and reading about them, not playing with or against them. Bedard finally turns 20 in a few weeks and will be a third-year NHL veteran in the fall. He\u2019s not just a kid anymore, and he hasn\u2019t been a prospect for two years. He\u2019s the No. 1 center of the Chicago Blackhawks, and he will continue to shoulder a huge burden to keep a very young team afloat offensively.<\/p>\n
Nothing new there. But maybe a little more time away from the rink will make it a little easier to bear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know about being a veteran,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cBut getting the full 82 games last year really gives you an idea of everything you need to do to be your best. Coming into the league, you don\u2019t really have a great idea of it. But you learn. I\u2019m a couple years in now, and I feel like from Day 1 to now, I know a lot more about the league, and the schedule and everything, and that\u2019s pretty nice. When we do go back to camp, I know what to expect.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few other thoughts from Bedard:<\/p>\n
On if he\u2019s been talking with the Blackhawks about a contract extension, which he can sign as soon as Tuesday:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019ll keep that pretty close to my chest. We have a great relationship and everyone knows I want to be a Hawk as long as I\u2019m playing. And I know they appreciate me and want me with the team. Once you know that, there\u2019s no stress or anything about that. Whether it\u2019s done next week or during the year or at the end of the year, that doesn\u2019t stress me out too much. Anything can happen, but the relationship with me and the team is really strong.\u201d<\/p>\n On if he had any regrets about skipping Worlds once Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon joined Team Canada:<\/strong> \u201cI was at peace with my decision not to. When you get an opportunity like that, it\u2019s hard not to go. I love playing hockey and I knew a lot of guys over there and knew how special that opportunity was, to play for your country. But for me, I felt the best decision to feel the best for next year and put myself in the best position for Oct. 5 or whenever our first game is, was not to go this year. You want to be there, you miss out. But I feel good about the decision, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n On how it might have affected his chances to make Canada\u2019s Olympic team:<\/strong> \u201cI have a good relationship with Hockey Canada. They were really respectful of my decision and understood. If I\u2019m going to have a chance at the Olympic team, I\u2019m going to have to have a pretty good start to the year, whether I went to Worlds or not. So my focus is on the Blackhawks, and if I can play my way onto that team, that\u2019d be unreal. But I am going to have to play my way on.\u201d<\/p>\n On Frank Nazar\u2019s 12-point performance for Team USA:<\/strong> \u201cIt was awesome seeing him and (Alex Vlasic) experience the win. His growth throughout the year was amazing; he was lighting teams up. At the end of the year, he was getting five or six breakaways a game, almost. It\u2019ll be pretty fun to see him coming into next year with all that confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n On Ryan Donato sticking around:<\/strong> \u201cThat was great. You know how good he was for us last year. He had all the goals and everything, but it\u2019s just what he does all over the ice. He\u2019s always working, always high energy, and he causes so much havoc out there. Plus all the goals. It\u2019s awesome to see him re-sign.\u201d<\/p>\n On the Blackhawks\u2019 closing 3-1-1 kick, and how it changed the vibe heading into next season:<\/strong> \u201cWhen we got younger, we just had that energy, and we were having a lot of fun at the rink. Those last few games, we looked pretty good, and we were playing what we felt was a high-stakes game in Montreal. They were trying to make the playoffs and we could disappoint their fans a bit. Little things like that, and being with such a young group, it\u2019s exciting. We can\u2019t wait to get back at it.\u201d<\/p>\n (Top photo: Patrick Smith \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No, Connor Bedard hasn\u2019t been spending his offseason quietly texting Mitch Marner or Nikolaj Ehlers or any other…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[291,293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-14601","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114746272244560890","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}