He spent at least 18:35 of ice time in each of his first five games. He played 19:37 against the Avalanche, the Blackhawks’ best forward and second behind defenseman. Seth Jones (11:12 p.m.).
“I think he did well,” Jones said. “He had a lot of chances and he could score four or five goals. He had a lot of chances in the slot and the goalies made some amazing saves on him, to be honest.
“But he moves his feet well, he plays a lot. I know he’s already a professional and he’ll do what’s necessary to keep his body playing those kinds of minutes.
But the Avalanche did something no other team had done against Bedard until now: They held him without a shot on goal. Bédard had 20 shots in his first four games. Sure, Thursday was tough, but it was for everyone wearing a Blackhawks uniform. Chicago is rebuilding. Colorado won the Stanley Cup in 2022 and is one of the favorites to do it again.
“He’s a smart hockey player and he’ll take those lessons and apply them to his game,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “I think there are games like this. You know, we played a powerful Toronto team and a very experienced Pittsburgh team – but not like this team. It’s a whole different animal. And when they’re moving and skating and they’re powerful, it sometimes paralyzes you a little bit when you’re not playing well.
“When we finished our game after the first half of the first period, we started looking, and I think Connor is like anyone else; we were surprised just by watching them play a little. That was it. He was one of 20 of us tonight. That’s something it’ll be great to see him take some of the things that he probably saw up close and personal tonight, like the (Nathan) MacKinnons and the (Cale) Makars, and see how he can achieve that and put that into his game.”
Bédard experienced a lot during the busy first days of his career. Those around him are convinced that he will learn lessons from all this.
“All the great players, you can (be) — not be humiliated by this league, but it’s a tough league,” Foligno said. “Every team has great players, every player in the NHL deserves to be in the NHL. So you get the best of the best every night, and I think he’s learning that, and I think a lot of our kids are learning that — that you have to bring that too, and you have to find a a way to give the best of yourself every evening. And he did a great job.
