The Chicago Blackhawks are getting a lot out of Connor Bedard's third NHL season. His feistiness is helping him develop as a player.
The Chicago Blackhawks knew that they were going to be getting a franchise player to build around when they won the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery. Connor Bedard was the number one overall pick, and he's been the face of their franchise ever since.
Although Bedard has been one of the best teenagers in NHL history, nobody would say that it's been completely easy for him either. There has been a lot of development over his first three years in the league.
One thing that nobody expected was Bedard adding a little bit of feistiness to his game. When he was first drafted, he felt like a Lady Byng Award-winning type, but that has not been the case.
In his recent game against the Utah Mammoth, a performance that included a game-tying assist and a game-winning goal in overtime, he showed some of that side.
Whether it is battling with Mackenzie Weegar at the side of the net, getting into it with opponents elsewhere on the ice, or taunting fans after goals, he has found himself on quite a run of scrappy moves.
"He's got what all the great players have, and that's a high level of compete," head coach Jeff Blashill said of Bedard being feisty. "We've seen it at different times this year. Good for him. He's a very competitive person."
Bedard has been on a roll offensively lately. He has two goals and five assists for seven points over his last five games, including back-to-back multi-point games. Both of those were against Utah, which were heated matchups between two teams developing disdain for one another. Bedard thrives in those situations.
Nobody wants Bedard to put himself into a situation where he gets hurt because of his emotions, but getting in the mix on the ice has helped him take his all-around game to the next level. He brings a winning effort every single night.
"It gets you going a bit," Connor Bedard said on this type of play. "It's fun playing on the road, especially when you win."
Bedard and the Hawks are not going to be in the playoffs this year, but this type of play will be perfect for a long series against an opponent.
Playing the Mammoth three times in 12 days kind of gives the players who haven't experienced the Stanley Cup Playoffs an idea of what it may be like, and they answered the bell.
For the season as a whole, Bedard has 27 goals and 35 assists for 62 points in 52 games played. That is a 97-point pace over the course of an 82-game season. If he plays the final 17 games, he will finish with approximately 82 points.
That is incredible production for a 20-year-old, and now he's bringing more in other areas of the game, showing off that he's a true game-breaker.
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