The Chicago Blackhawks have not given their fans much to cheer about over the past decade. Those Stanley Cup banners from 2010, 2013 and 2015 have collected dust while the Blackhawks have languished at the bottom of the NHL standings.
But it appears there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Chicago is a respectable 5-4-2 as October draws to a close, and Connor Bedard is leading the way out of the dark.
On Tuesday, Bedard recorded his first career hat trick in the Blackhawks’ 7-3 win against the Ottawa Senators. His two assists Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets brought his point total to 14 in 11 games.
“The biggest thing I would say where I’ve been super impressed with Connor is he wants to win more than anything else,” Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill told reporters Tuesday. “I’ve said this already this year — he wants to win more than he wants to score, he wants to win more than he wants the points. He wants to win.”
From the moment Bedard arrived in the NHL as the No. 1 overall pick two years ago, his tremendous skill was on full display, specifically the ease with which he skated with the puck. Bedard’s possession-driving ability has levelled up after an offseason focused on improving his speed. He showed it off on his second goal Tuesday, when he knifed through the Senators’ defence on a scintillating rush up ice.
Bedard’s 28 end-to-end rushes this season rank sixth in the league, and he is averaging an extra end-to-end rush per game (2.6) over last season (1.6).
Blashill on Tuesday also offered Bedard praise for his commitment to the less glamourous aspects of the game, or what Blashill called “winning-hockey habits.” Bedard will probably never win the Selke Trophy, but he has made slight improvements on the defensive side of the puck.
Bedard is winning 2.7 puck battles per game, an increase from the 1.7 per game he won last season. Additionally, his average stick checks are up from 0.7 to 1.4 per game. As the Blackhawks clung to a 4-3 lead against the Senators in the second period Tuesday, Bedard’s stick check on a net-charging Tim Stützle saved a potential goal against.
Overall, however, Chicago struggles when Bedard is on the ice at 5-on-5, generating 40.3 per cent of the expected goals. The Blackhawks’ XGF% improves to 47.1 per cent when Bedard is off the ice, so his defensive game (as well as the entire team’s defence) is still a work in progress.
“What I don’t want is (for Bedard to) not get rewarded, then all of a sudden you start cheating for your offence,” Blashill told reporters. “That’ll equal not winning. He’s done it the right way.”
Bedard is not the Blackhawks’ only early-season success story. Their second-line centre, 21-year-old Frank Nazar, is an outstanding puck mover who has 11 points in 11 games. Starting goaltender Spencer Knight, 24, has recorded five quality starts in eight tries, including two steals. His 8.3 goals saved above expected rank fifth in the league.
But the Blackhawks’ path to success starts with Bedard.
“He is elite,” Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno told reporters Tuesday. “He is understanding and becoming that player but all the while also doing things on the other side of the puck, too. … (If) we get that kind of Connor Bedard every night, it’s going to be fun.”
If Bedard can keep up this level of play for the next couple of months, he could put himself in consideration for a spot on Team Canada at the Winter Olympics in February 2026. Five forwards — Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point and Sam Reinhart — were among the six Canadian players named to the preliminary roster, so the competition for the remaining openings will be intense.
“If that’s something that I get to do, that would be unbelievable,” Bedard told reporters Tuesday. “I would do anything to be on that team. But (I’m) just trying to take things day by day and have fun playing in the NHL and trying to grow as a team and win hockey games and do everything I can to play my best hockey. In the end, that’ll be what puts me in a spot to make it.”
