Connor Bedard - Jan. 8 Chicago Blackhawks Media Availability postgame

There appears to be a good amount of communication and understanding between Chicago Blackhawks' general manager Kyle Davidson and the face of the franchise Connor Bedard, and that's a great thing. While it's not required to see what your best player thinks and if he's happy with how things are and where they're headed, it's definitely a smart thing to do.

Argue some of the moves all you want, how a general manager manages the team and the players is very important as well. Davidson said, "That I can say with 100 percent certainty when I talk to a player. Making sure there's an understanding of the full picture organizationally is important."

Davidson and Bedard have discussed the overall vision for the Blackhawks and the young star is comfortable with it. The GM noted, "That’s the most important thing. I don't want to be in 32nd place. He doesn't want to be in 32nd place. No one does."

While not overloading Bedard with every detail, Davidson said there's an "understanding what else is happening in the organization, what we're thinking moving forward. All of that is very important for him to understand to some extent."

As the face of the team and the franchise player, ensuring the young star knows what the Blackhawks are trying to do to get better is important. Bedard has to focus on his game and playing to the best of his ability, which he's doing right now. But as a team in 32nd place and having lost six of the past eight games, everything isn't always great.

Nobody wants to lose and Bedard has been a winner before getting to the NHL. That's the ultimate goal, to win the Stanley Cup. It will definitely be a whole lot easier with Bedard on the team too as this rebuild has been built around him.

Davidson also stated that "I’ll tell you what's happening and what I know, not what could be." By this he means speaking on which prospects are progressing well and getting close to being ready rather than just telling someone like Bedard that the team is "open to seeing what's available."

Seeing as Bedard has developed relationships with a number of the young players in the organization and is awaiting their arrival and impact, this would be much more encouraging than any vague truth about what the team might be looking for in the NHL already.

Bedard has asked how some of the prospects are doing and how they're looking and the 19-year-old is "more curious about the organization’s up-and-comers rather than anyone currently in the league who might be available." Davidson said there's always a pretty active dialogue around the time of World Juniors.

Hearing how Davidson handles situations in Chicago and the open communication makes me think that he can turn this team into something special for a long time. That remains to be seen, but the Blackhawks are heading in the right direction with their youth.

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