Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard facing unfair national criticism

On one hand, this is the big leagues. Every player in the NHL is fair game for criticism, and nobody is above it — especially if they make bad plays. But the singling out of Bedard in the Blackhawks situation just seems wrong. 

The Blackhawks are not losing because Bedard has struggled with some of the finer aspects of two-way hockey or because he hasn’t been hard enough on pucks or opponents. 

They stink and have bad morale because former general manager Stan Bowman did a bad job managing the salary cap and his roster before he was forced out in disgrace, and because current general manager Kyle Davidson seems to be in over his head. This is a bad roster. A very bad roster. It is a roster that is still probably years away from contending.

When Messier was in his second season in the NHL, he played on an Oilers team that had five future Hall of Famers on it (Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey and Kevin Lowe) and he was not expected to be the focal point.

Bissonnette entered the NHL as a fighter on a team that had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on it, and nobody expected anything from him other than to be a roster filler. 

Bedard has nothing even remotely close to any of that around him in Chicago right now, while also carrying the expectation of being the franchise player. He has mostly met, if not exceeded, expectations.  

Since entering the NHL at the start of the 2023-24 season, Bedard’s 107 total points are 45 more than any other player on the Blackhawks rosters. He is the only player on the team who is a consistent threat to produce, and the only player who has been even worth watching.

It is also fair to point out that he is still the second-youngest player in the entire NHL, ahead of only 2024 No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks).

There is going to be an adjustment period for him. There are going to be some growing pains. Especially when the puck is not on his stick. The fact the Blackhawks are counting on a player that young, with so little experience, to be the player they look to for all-around play and dominance is a testament to both how talented he is and how bad the rest of the roster is. 

He is not a complete player yet. But he also shouldn’t be expected to be one at this point. Most players his age are still playing junior hockey, college hockey or minor league hockey and are not anywhere near the NHL. The fact he is in the NHL and scoring the way he has been should be a huge sign of encouragement for the Blackhawks. 

There is also plenty to criticize about this Blackhawks team and the organization as a whole. It just mostly resides in the front office. 

Bedard can be better away from the puck. He also probably will be as he gains more experience. The team can also be better in giving him some actual help on the ice.