At the NHL level, Connor Bedard is already beginning to appear at ease, and his skills are getting better every day. Bedard demonstrated evidence of that on Thursday night in the Chicago Blackhawks’ 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring four points.
Bedard finished the big road win with two goals and two assists. He became the third-youngest player in NHL history to score four points in a single game as well as the youngest player in Blackhawks history to record a multi-goal or four-point game.
That kind of historic performance doesn’t just happen. Following their discussion about “being a leader,” Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson stated that Bedard has been honing the finer points of his game. Bedard picked it up quickly and used those pointers in actual gameplay.
Richardson remarked, “He’s new to the league and has only been here for a dozen games.” “He’s beginning to truly grasp the situation and make the most use of his abilities. For him and us tonight, it paid off.”
Richardson cited Bedard’s first goal for Chicago as evidence that he was beginning to create his scoring opportunities.
“He created the whole first goal,” Richardson said. “He was on the defenseman hard, and he has a good stick. He has good stick skills, so he’s not in there slashing. He’s in there lifting sticks. He turned the puck over, came back, and got the goal. That was great, and good things happen when you play the right way.”
When asked about his big night on the stat sheet, Bedard himself came across as a little more modest. When questioned about how much offensive production he had against the Lightning, the 18-year-old sensation pointed the finger at his teammates.
“Like I said before, all those goals, you can look at other guys and see what they did,” Bedard continued. “I benefited from it. Philip Kurashev’s play on the first one was exquisite, and Nick Foligno followed with three helpful assistants. Receiving that and distributing the points was undoubtedly enjoyable.
Bedard is off to a fast start in the Calder Trophy race with seven goals and 11 points through 12 games, and it appears that he will only keep working to advance his development.
