{"id":96954,"date":"2025-07-27T14:51:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T14:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/96954\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T14:51:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T14:51:13","slug":"connor-bedard-discusses-offseason-training-blackhawks-contract-talks-learning-from-panthers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/96954\/","title":{"rendered":"Connor Bedard discusses offseason training, Blackhawks contract talks, learning from Panthers"},"content":{"rendered":"

At home this summer in Vancouver, Blackhawks<\/a> star Connor Bedard feels as though the days are creeping by.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s late July, but he wishes it was late September, when Hawks training camp will finally get underway.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018Last year I got home at the start of June, so you feel that [impatience] a little bit later on,\u2019\u2019 Bedard told the Sun-Times. \u2018\u2018Now it\u2019s been since mid-April that we played our last game, so you want to be in that environment again. I think that\u2019s good, though, to be really craving it once the time comes.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The reason Bedard has been home longer, of course, is because he chose not to accept Canada\u2019s invitation to participate in the world championships after the NHL regular season ended.<\/p>\n

The now-20-year-old center wanted to spend this offseason focusing solely on training and improving before his third season in Chicago, and that\u2019s exactly what he has done. The boredom is worth it for the extra speed and strength.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018An opportunity like that, it\u2019s hard to say no . . . but it is a pretty long event,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u2018\u2018I thought for me it would be more beneficial to be home for that month of May to get started and ahead of the curve.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018I feel good. [Increasing my speed] was my big thing coming into the offseason, and I feel like I\u2019ve definitely increased that. And, obviously, there\u2019s still some time to go here.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Training tweaks<\/p>\n

Bedard\u2019s speed inexplicably decreased last season. He had only 70 speed bursts of 20 mph or higher, down from 102 as a rookie. His fastest recorded speed was 21.4 mph, below the league average and 1.3 mph slower than his peak rookie speed.<\/p>\n

He admitted he might have taken the \u2018\u2018wrong approach\u2019\u2019 to his skating training last summer, but he thinks he has rectified that this time around.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018A lot of it is in the gym, and then you do stuff on the ice to see how you move most efficiently,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Connor<\/p>\n

Connor Bedard hopes his efforts in the gym improve his skating next season.<\/p>\n

Patrick Smith\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Bedard also tweaked his stick flex this offseason, going up from a 70-flex to a 75-flex (meaning it takes 75 pounds of pressure to bend the stick one inch). A 75-flex stick is still whippy by NHL standards, but it\u2019s slightly stiffer than a 70.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018Summer is the best time to try something and get used to it,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u2018\u2018The more you can go up [in flex] and feel comfortable, it helps with other things.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

One of those things is faceoffs, during which a stiffer stick is an advantage. Bedard already has made strides in the faceoff dot \u2014 he won 47.1% of his draws after Jan. 27 last season, up from an abysmal 32% before then \u2014 but he still seemed frustrated in that regard.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s testing out each of these adjustments against young Sharks star Macklin Celebrini, one of his summer training partners in Vancouver, which should give him a good sense of whether they\u2019ll work.<\/p>\n

Their scrimmage group also includes Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson, Canucks forward Arshdeep Bains and Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018[In] a lot of skates, there\u2019s a lot of thinking involved, and you\u2019re putting yourself in game situations,\u2019\u2019 Bedard said. \u2018\u2018When you put yourself in the spots you\u2019ll be [in] more, you get more and more comfortable with it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Game plan<\/b><\/p>\n

Bedard\u2019s lack of speed last season led to a lack of separation from opponents in the offensive zone, which led to fewer opportunities to use his shot \u2014 one of his best skills<\/a>. Despite playing 14 more games as a sophomore than as a rookie, he had only one more goal (23 vs. 22), one more shot attempt (402 vs. 401) and 11 fewer shots on goal (195 vs. 206).<\/p>\n

He was still the Hawks\u2019 leading scorer, doing things very few teenagers could do, but those facts somehow got overshadowed at times amid the pressure and scrutiny on him.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, he must improve for the Hawks to improve, and the Hawks need to improve enormously. He\u2019s the face of the franchise, and that status carries inescapable weight.<\/p>\n

That remains the case after the team\u2019s quiet offseason. The Hawks again will enter camp without any obvious first-line wingers to slot next to Bedard. He didn\u2019t raise a fuss about that, though.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018I think it makes sense,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u2018\u2018We\u2019re in a spot where a lot of our young guys \u2014 Frank [Nazar], myself, Sammy [Rinzel], you go down the list \u2014 all feel like we can take a step as a group.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018It gives a lot of guys opportunities to come into camp and earn a spot on the team, have an impact and learn. That being said, we\u2019re not going to . . . not have any expectations. We\u2019re going to try to win every game and be confident in every guy in the room. It\u2019s exciting for us to start that together and grow together over the next however many years.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The Hawks\u2019 biggest addition might be coach Jeff Blashill, who talked in May about<\/a> Bedard\u2019s offensive-zone separation and wanting to teach him more \u2018\u2018winning habits.\u2019\u2019 They haven\u2019t gotten to work together on the ice yet, but they already have been in close communication.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018Throughout the [Stanley] Cup Final, he would text me a little bit and ask me what I\u2019m seeing in those games and what he wanted me to watch,\u2019\u2019 Bedard said.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018The biggest thing I talked about with him was how hard Florida is on pucks, whether it\u2019s forechecking, backchecking or reloading. You notice that when you\u2019re playing them. When we played in Florida, it felt like there were five guys on you the whole game. It makes it really hard to play against them.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018That\u2019s somewhat [based on] personnel, but [it\u2019s also about] just doing it, having the wherewithal to be in the right spots and be going hard. I think anyone can really do that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Better bond\u2019<\/p>\n

Entering the last year of his entry-level contract, Bedard is eligible to sign an extension at any time. But it probably would make the most sense financially for him to wait until next summer to sign one.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018You talk here and there,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u2018\u2018It\u2019s all been positive. Obviously, it hasn\u2019t happened yet, but there\u2019s no concern [about] anything from either end. There\u2019s a good relationship there, so that will get done when it gets done.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Perhaps most interesting is how publicly emphatic and outspoken Bedard has been that he will sign an extension and that he wants to stay in Chicago for the long term. He spoke passionately about that during his exit interview<\/a>, then repeated it to The Athletic last month.<\/p>\n

Considering how private and understated he typically is, he clearly did that with intent: to squash any misguided speculation about him wanting to play elsewhere before it gained traction. And he succeeded.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018We have such a great fan base and organization, and they\u2019ve been the reason I\u2019ve got to live out my dream so far for two years,\u2019\u2019 Bedard said. \u2018\u2018If we all show that appreciation, then it creates a better bond for everyone. That\u2019s important.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At home this summer in Vancouver, Blackhawks star Connor Bedard feels as though the days are creeping by.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":96955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-96954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-nhl","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114925763588368588","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96954","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=96954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}