The Chicago Blackhawks have a blossoming star in Connor Bedard, who they selected first overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. He had some ups and downs during his sophomore season, but it is clear that the tools to be a gamebreaker are there.
One thing that Bedard wants to work on this summer is his skating. He wants to improve his burst and overall speed before training camp begins in the fall.
He chose to skip representing Canada at the IIHF World Championships, which would have been another opportunity to play some games before he truly breaks into the off-season. Bedard was invited by Hockey Canada, but he declined.
Playing in this tournament for a couple of weeks wouldn't have impeded his attempt to improve his speed, but he didn't see it as a necessary venture at this point.
This may be a smart idea. It also may be a mistake. There are two reasons, in hindsight, that Bedard probably should have made his way to play in this tournament.
1. Olympics
The Winter Olympics are coming in 2026. Italy is going to host the next international best-on-best tournament. Connor Bedard was left off of Team Canada's roster for the 4-Nations Face-Off, and he wasn't one of the first cuts either.
If he wants to make the roster next year, he will have to take his game to another level. If there is a tiebreaker of any kind, Canada might go with a guy who took the opportunity to play for them in the World Championships.
Some of these national teams, including Hockey Canada, like when guys represent them at this tournament. They've been known in the past to be loyal to those who chose to play in it once it's time for best-on-best.
If Connor Bedard has an outstanding start to the 2025-26 season, he won't leave Canada much of a choice. However, if it's close between him and Macklin Celebrini, who did go to Worlds, Celebrini will get the nod.
2. A chance to learn from Sidney Crosby
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby decided to play this year. It's been a while since he participated in Worlds, and he decided to go this year. He must have had fun winning the 4-Nations Face-Off back in February.
It would have been nice for Bedard to see how Crosby handles himself from a teammate's perspective. This is something that young Celebrini will see as a great experience once he's done with this tournament.
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Crosby has won everything that there is to win. He's also shown the ability to be an elite player in all three zones throughout his career. Having a leader like that in Bedard's corner would go a long way.
There will be other opportunities for Bedard to play with legendary players like Crosby, but this chance early in his career would have been great for his development.
Working on his face-offs, decision making in the offensive zone, and how to be a superstar are all things that Crosby became elite at over time. Bedard is missing out on that knowledge from an all-time great.
Crosby isn't the only elite player on Team Canada either. There are tons of great players there with him. One of them is Nathan MacKinnon, who has developed into a top-three player in his own right.
It isn't the end-all be-all that Bedard chose to miss out on this event, but these are reasons why he may have benefited from going.
Blackhawks fans looking for a little Chicago fix before the summer can see Frank Nazar, Alex Vlasic, Lukas Reichel, Arvid Soderblom, and Teuvo Teravainen play for their countries in this tournament.
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