Connor Bedard is not experiencing a sophomore slump. But in his second NHL season, it is clear that the former Calder Trophy winner has had more bad days than good ones with the team’s record.
On Wednesday, it was more of the former as the Chicago Blackhawks lost 4-3 in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers. Bedard had an assist in the loss.
But it was a montage of him giving away the puck and attempting soft passes that earned him criticism from the NHL on TNT panel, who accused the 19-year-old of playing “pond hockey.”
“I think his game has to evolve, continue to evolve,” TNT analyst and former NHLer Anson Carter said on Wednesday. “We know he can put up points. But it’s winning hockey. That’s what the Chicago Blackhawks want to see out of that young centerman.”
Bedard, who led all rookies with 22 goals and 61 points last year, has scored 15 goals and 46 points in 53 games this season. He is currently tied for 44th overall in league scoring. But it’s the defensive part of his game that is a big reason why Bedard was left off Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster while the Blackhawks find themselves with the second-worst record in the NHL.
“Sometimes I see him continue to try things that aren’t going to work at the NHL level, like soft plays that are going to get picked off and go the other way,” said TNT analyst and former NHLer Paul Bissonnette. “As much good he does, he doesn’t always do great things.”
It must be said again that Bedard is still one of the youngest players in the NHL. The growing pains he is experiencing are not unusual, especially when you consider that he’s a teenager playing for a Blackhawks team amid a rebuild and just traded away one of its top players, Taylor Hall.
Still, if the Blackhawks hope to take a step forward as a team, Bedard will have to become more responsible for the parts of the game that don’t always show up on the scoresheet or the highlight reel.
The Chicago Blackhawks had their comeback come up just short because Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman made a dynamite play on their OT PP.
Notes on the game itself: https://t.co/qZoWkjBOcy
— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) February 6, 2025
Bedard’s minus-23 rating is the seventh-worst in the NHL (although it is only the third-worst among Chicago players). Among forwards, he is tied for 41st with 52 giveaways. His 34.7 winning face-off percentage ranked outside the top 150 among centers who have played in at least 42 games.
Until those get corrected, don’t expect Chicago to be in the playoff hunt — or for Bedard to get picked when Canada starts putting together its Olympic roster in 2026.
“There’s so many little details to his game that he’s lacking right now,” said Bissonnette. “Yes, he might put up 30 to 35 goals a season and get his 50 to 55 assists by playing power play and getting all these minutes, but they’re going to continue to lose hockey games if that’s how he’s playing.
“That is pond hockey.”
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