2024-25 Preview: Connor Bedard CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS 23-53-6, 52 Pts. 8th Central, 31st Overall 2.17 GF/GP (32nd), 3.52 GA/GP (29th), 16.6 PP% (28th), 75.8 PK% (27th) Top scorer: Connor Bedard. 68 GP. 22-39-61, 21 PPP, 206 Shots, 19:47 TOI/GP 2024-25 BetMGM Stanley Cup Odds: Opening: +30000 Current: +22500 (as of August 22, 2024) Ticket: 1.9%. Handle: 1.1% (as of August 22, 2024) 2023-24 FANTASY RECAP We expected big things from Connor Bedard and he delivered, leading the Blackhawks in scoring in his rookie season and winning the Calder. Unfortunately, like fellow first overall pick and franchise savior Connor McDavid before him, Bedard's rookie season was cut short by injury, too. Beyond that, the Hawks were mostly an afterthought in fantasy. While Philipp Kurashev and Jason Dickinson had career seasons, it was because someone had to pick up the scoring. (I expect both to somewhat regress this season). Taylor Raddysh went from 20 goals to just five, and that was expected. Corey Perry's contract was voided a month into the season. Andreas Athanasiou and Taylor Hall missed most of the season due to injury, as did Connor Murphy, who's usually great in banger leagues for his hits and blocked shots. Look, when you finish last in the league in offense, there's really not much to offer in fantasy. Connor Bedard [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA4OTkyNTUwMjc3NjIxMzYw/usatsi_22095263.jpg] Connor Bedard 2024-25 FANTASY OUTLOOK It's admittedly much, much better. The Blackhawks look like they're trying to improve in a hurry, though, with a big spending spree in the summer that included a lot of veterans. Those are typically win-now moves, which seems incongruous for a team that should still be building slowly around Bedard. Nonetheless, the Hawks still enter the season closer to being a lottery team than a playoff team. While the depth chart has improved, they still lack high-end scorers to complement Bedard. They have a plethora of middle-six forwards who can help, but this is still a low-ceiling offense. Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen were logical signings, but neither come with a lot of offensive pedigree even when they played on much, much stronger teams. Beyond Bedard, you're taking late-round fliers on the rest of the Hawks roster, with the hope that one of them ends up on Bedard's wing and gets ample power play time. With more competition for minutes, don't expect Kurashev or Dickinson to post similar numbers. It'd be nice if they do, but it's unlikely Kurashev averages 19 minutes a game or Dickinson shoots at 17.5 percent again. Even the Hawks' young prospects, including Artyom Levshunov and Frank Nazar, may not have much fantasy value as they continue to develop. They'll be overmatched on most nights against elite competition. 2024-25 PROJECTED LINEUP (updated Oct. 7, 2024) Even Strength Ilya Mikheyev - Connor Bedard - Teuvo Teravainen Taylor Hall - Philipp Kurashev - Tyler Bertuzzi Nick Foligno - Jason Dickinson - Joey Anderson Pat Maroon - Ryan Donato - Craig Smith Alec Martinez - Seth Jones Alex Vlasic - TJ Brodie Isaak Phillips - Connor Murphy Petr Mrazek - Arvid Soderblom ex: Lukas Reichel, Andreas Athanasiou Injured: Laurent Brossoit (knee surgery on Aug. 28, 5-7 weeks), Artyom Levshunov (foot, no return date set), Wyatt Kaiser (undisclosed, no return date set) Power Play Bertuzzi - Bedard - Teravainen - Hall - Jones Smith - Donato - Kurashev - Maroon - Martinez Taylor Hall (71) chased by Chandler Stephenson (20) [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA4OTk0MjcwNDEyMDIzNDA4/usatsi_21707994.jpg] Taylor Hall (71) chased by Chandler Stephenson (20) SLEEPER: TAYLOR HALL, LW There's good value if Hall stays healthy. Hall played alongside Bedard to start the season before suffering a season-ending injury and, despite the small sample size, the results were somewhat promising. When Bedard and Hall shared the ice, they split shooting attempts with their opponents pretty evenly. When they weren't on the ice, or when they played separately, the Hawks got buried. Connor Bedard with and without Taylor Hall at 5-on-5, 2023-24 [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA4OTkzMjg2MDU5MjA2NTAw/capture.jpg] Connor Bedard with and without Taylor Hall at 5-on-5, 2023-24 The issue with Hall, however, is his injury history and lack of consistent scoring. He'll turn 33 in November, and to date he has only one season where he managed to score more than 27 goals — his out-of-the-blue MVP season in 2017-18 where he scored 93 points on a career-high 14.0 S%. Hall will be forgotten since he barely played last season, but with L1 and PP1 deployment with Bedard, I think there's some potential to grab a 50-60-point player in the late rounds. If Hall goes undrafted, I suspect he'll be a popular player to pick off the waiver wire. BREAKOUT: KEVIN KORCHINSKI, D I have questions about Nazar's offensive upside, and given the Hawks' improved depth, I doubt he and 18-year-old Artyom Levshunov (he turns 19 in October) will make the club. That leaves Korchinski, who stands to take a big leap, especially if he can supplant Jones as their top power-play quarterback. That probably won't happen considering the Hawks' expected reliance on their veterans this coming season — why sign so many of them, right? — but I think 2024-25 is the season Korchinski really establishes himself as a legit top-four 'D' in the league. With a healthy Murphy by his side to cover for him, Korchinski will have freedom to make plays with the puck and improve his dreaded plus-minus. There's no value in drafting Korchinski now. Just keep him in mind for the future. If Jones misses any time, Korchinski will be a great waiver wire add if the Hawks face a team with a poor penalty kill. BOUNCE-BACK: ANDREAS ATHANASIOU, C A winger for most of his NHL career, Athanasiou will likely play center as he did last season due to the Hawks' lack of options down the middle. This is good; it could allow Athanasiou to move up the lineup since Dickinson and Foligno have less offensive talent, and the Hawks have some decent wingers now. Athanasiou was limited to just 28 games last season due to injuries and scored two goals and nine points. Keep in mind Athanasiou is in the final year of his two-year contract and just turned 30 in August. He's essentially on a one-year, show-me deal, and this might be his last chance to cash in on a long-term contract in the summer. He flashed 50-point potential with the Red Wings and scored 20 goals and 40 points in his first season with the Hawks, but throughout his career has been hampered by injuries. If he can stay healthy, he has a chance to score 40-50 points again. BUST: JASON DICKINSON, C He's primarily a defensive center who managed to find a great fit with the Hawks. Other than faceoff wins and hits, Dickinson has very little offensive upside to speak of. His 22 goals last season was more than double his previous career high, and for someone who's generally a poor finisher and doesn't shoot a lot, I doubt he comes close to 22 goals again. GOALIES It's Mrazek's net to lose. He was very good last season considering the circumstances, and arguably their MVP behind Bedard. He should get the bulk of the starts, but that's where his fantasy value lies: quantity. He'll rack up the saves because the Hawks will likely be porous and they can't expect Martinez, Murphy or even Brodie to play a full season blocking the amount of shots they do. Note backup Laurent Brossoit is injured at the moment having undergone knee surgery, though he's expected to return early in the season. That means Arvid Soderblom will be backing up Mrazek again, at least for now. JASON’S TOP 5 POINT PROJECTIONS (based on 82 games) Connor Bedard, C - 31-46-77 Taylor Hall, LW - 18-32-50 Teuvo Teravainen, RW - 21-28-49 Philipp Kurashev, RW - 15-31-46 Tyler Bertuzzi, LW - 21-22-43 YAHOO PRE-SEASON RANKINGS 42. Connor Bedard, C 151. Teuvo Teravainen, LW/RW 171. Philipp Kurashev, C/RW 184. Tyler Bertuzzi, LW 192. Seth Jones, D 235. Artyom Levshunov, D 239. Andreas Athanasiou, C 286. Taylor Hall, LW 308. Laurent Brossoit, G 334. Nick Foligno, LW 398. Jason Dickinson, C 433. Petr Mrazek, G 582. TJ Brodie, D 636. Alec Martinez, D 687. Connor Murphy, D 729. Arvid Soderblom, G 766. Lukas Reichel, LW 800. Kevin Korchinski, D Click here to join the new THN Fantasy roundtable to discuss! [https://thehockeynews.rtb.io/nhl-fantasy/posts] Remember to bookmark The Hockey News Fantasy [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/fantasy/] site for stats, news, analysis, rankings, projections and more, including the Sleepers and Keepers fantasy hockey podcast [https://open.spotify.com/show/3kvm6m34r0xOEyt0UvPPEY]! Related: Click the image below to receive your free issue of the 2024-25 THN Poolbook. THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA3NjkzODE0MTc1OTAxMzM3/subscribe-image-promo.jpg] THN.com/free
