After landing Connor Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks believed that they had picked up the centrepiece of their next dynasty following a run led by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
Unfortunately for Bedard however, he's got next to no skill surrounding him on this current roster, with the team now ranked dead last in the Western Conference as they look to find him some help.
While the future may be bright, the present has no doubt been tough, and Bedard addressed that after the team's recent 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames after they were dominated on home ice.
Unfortunately, the pressure and the lack of surrounding talent appear to be getting to the 19-year old, despite his production continuing in impressive fashion, as he has tallied 12 goals and 39 points in 44 games played this season, even notching his 100th career point in the loss on Monday.
Ultimately though, this is now about the team rather than Bedard's individual production, as we clearly know he's good enough to drive the offense, but if the team can't surround him with some impressive talent over the next two years, they may be in danger of losing him to free agency as the pressure continues to weigh on him.
G | A | PTS | ||
Seth Jarvis | 2 | - | 2 | |
Zach Benson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Cody Glass | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Bryan Rust | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Matthew Grzelcyk | - | 2 | 2 | |
Jordan Martinook | - | 2 | 2 | |
Anthony Beauvillier | 1 | - | 1 | |
Jackson Blake | 1 | - | 1 | |
Tomas Hertl | 1 | - | 1 | |
Owen Power | 1 | - | 1 | |
Rickard Rakell | 1 | - | 1 | |
Shea Theodore | 1 | - | 1 | |
Michael Bunting | - | 1 | 1 | |
Bowen Byram | - | 1 | 1 | |
Pavel Dorofeyev | - | 1 | 1 | |
Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
Victor Olofsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
Dmitry Orlov | - | 1 | 1 | |
Alex Pietrangelo | - | 1 | 1 | |
Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 45 | 30 | 10 | 5 | 65 | |
Jets | 46 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 65 | |
Golden Knights | 44 | 29 | 12 | 3 | 61 | |
Oilers | 45 | 29 | 13 | 3 | 61 | |
Wild | 45 | 27 | 14 | 4 | 58 | |
Maple Leafs | 46 | 28 | 16 | 2 | 58 | |
Devils | 47 | 26 | 15 | 6 | 58 | |
Stars | 44 | 28 | 15 | 1 | 57 | |
Kings | 42 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 55 | |
Hurricanes | 45 | 26 | 16 | 3 | 55 | |
Conference | Cumulative |