Connor Bedard continues to put himself in good company as the Chicago Blackhawks remain in the basement of the NHL with less than a month to play in the season. The former number one overall pick has already played more games this year than he did all of last season.
A jaw injury that Bedard suffered in early-January of his rookie campaign had him miss 14 games, yet he still found a way to score 22 goals and collected 39 assists in 68 games. These efforts were more than enough for Bedard to secure the Calder Trophy for Bedard and confirmed to the hockey world how legit he was while working with not much around him.
Bedard has had his ups and downs this season, but he has still found a way to produce for a team that is situated with a guaranteed top-four pick in the draft if the season ended today. He has had two different major scoring droughts this season, yet he still was able to join a well-respected franchise icon in some good company.
Connor Bedard joins Eddie Olczyk in Chicago Blackhawks history
Bedard’s first period goal on Sunday in the 7-4 home victory against the Flyers put him at 20 on the season. He also eclipsed the 20-goal mark as a rookie which makes him and Eddie Olczyk the only two players in franchise history to have multiple 20-goal seasons as teenagers.
#Blackhawks teenagers with multiple 20-goal seasons, franchise history:
Connor Bedard
Eddie OlczykThat’s it. That’s the list.
— Tab Bamford (@The1Tab) March 23, 2025
Bedard is enjoying a nice goal-scoring stretch right now, as he has found the back of the net three times in the last four games. His 13-game goal drought that spanned from the end of October until the night before Thanksgiving was definitely tough for fans to watch, but he broke out of it and closed out the calendar year strong.
Things have not been easy for Bedard in Chicago in his brief time in the NHL. With a coaching change being put in place during this season and plenty of trades of certain veterans, it has been hard for him to find his footing at times. The amount of line changes that have occurred for the entire team over the last two year hasn’t exactly been good for Bedard’s growth either.
The Chicago Blackhawks can build a solid culture to close out the year
Chicago has been scoring at a high clip in the few games that they have won over the past six weeks. Yesterday’s win against the Flyers saw them score their most goals in a game all season (seven). A couple more showings like this would do wonders for the franchise as they enter yet another big summer in this full-scale rebuild.
The front office will get a chance to add to an already loaded prospect pool through the draft. A very talented forward class could be just what the doctor ordered for the Blackhawks in getting a true marquee player to skate alongside Bedard as he prepares for his third NHL season.
A big star that the Blackhawks could look to go after in free agency is Mitch Marner. Similar to any of the top forward prospects in the draft, Marner would add something next to Bedard that they haven’t had since he was taken number one overall nearly two years ago.
Chicago Blackhawks recent stretch shows hope for future?
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