Bedard learning to work smarter, 'chill out' entering 3rd season with Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- When Connor Bedard began his offseason workouts, the grind of his first 82-game season was fresh on the Chicago Blackhawks center's mind.

"I've always been someone that has done a lot; it comes from loving the game as a kid and stuff, and you always feel like you want to always be working on it," Bedard said at the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour earlier this month. "But you're playing every other day. You've got to chill out, and I think that's something that you learn as you go and just finding a balance."

It was quite the statement coming from the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the player who was usually on the ice long after practice ended, anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Chicago's staff started taking his sticks and hiding the steel from his skates to try and keep him off the ice.

But Bedard clearly has adjusted to this marathon called the NHL season. Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno said the extra jump is evident as they prepare to start training camp Thursday.

"He has so much pop right now (at captain's practices) in just the way he's playing, the speed that he's playing at and the way he's attacking -- you can just tell he's really confident in the work he put in this summer and it's showing," Foligno said.

"He's taken another step, which is impressive for a kid even at his level, and he's found another gear. I'm excited for him to put that into the games and really start to find that rhythm he'll have with that added speed and jump that he's found."

Bedard led the Blackhawks in scoring his first two seasons. He had 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games in 2023-24, when he won the Calder Trophy awarded annually to the NHL's top rookie selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. He missed 14 games that season from Jan. 7 to Feb. 15 with a fractured jaw sustained in a 4-2 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 5.

Last season, Bedard had 67 points (23 goals, 44 assists) in 82 games. The 20-year-old also had his slumps, which is understandable. He admitted playing a full NHL season for the first time was "something I didn't understand."

"My rookie year I got hurt, like, 30-some games in," Bedard said. "Obviously, you never want to get hurt, but then I had a little break, and you feel good. So, I think getting to play 82 last year, for me, was great because you just know, 'OK, you draw a line of what you're doing or what makes you feel best.'

"I think that was so great for me just to learn, and you have little gaps, and you find out, 'How can I not have that? How can I stay consistent?' The best players in the NHL, they're not going to be their best every game, but they're up there most games, so that's something that really is going to benefit me."

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said he was happy and relieved to see Bedard pulling back some.

"It's something we tell not just him but every young player," Davidson said. "Something we ask players at the (NHL Scouting) Combine, 'What's your plan this summer? Are you going to take any time off?' They say, 'No.' They never do, right? While they're all hungry and they all want to get better, sometimes working harder is not working smarter and they have to learn that.

"You leave that up to them and sometimes they have to feel that physically before they do make a change but again, that's all part of growing up, all part of growing as a hockey player and as a professional. You learn those things and he's learning it now, which he's still very young, so it's good for his longevity, his love of the game. He does love it, but I think he's going to love it even more when you miss it a little bit. That's really exciting thing for him."

Bedard still spent the offseason working hard. He chose not to play for Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Championship and focused on his development. He said his skating was a big focal point, with most of the work coming off ice.

The massive expectations that have been heaped on Bedard since he entered the League will continue. He's the current face of the Blackhawks, who are still working to get back to their glory days when they won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. But he's gotten a better grasp of how to budget his time, especially on the ice, and it should benefit him going forward.

"You're just seeing him understand himself better, how much energy does play into the NHL and how badly you need it," Foligno said. "We all think we have energy for days, that, 'Oh, I'm young, I have energy.' But no. Connor Bedard isn't a guy who's just able to leave the rink and go home and turn it off. He's pulled in a million different directions, so I'm really proud that he is understanding how crucial his energy is to his success. You're seeing that.

"He's still going to stay out there, he's still going to shoot pucks, but I don't see him burning it at both ends where he's constantly at the rink, constantly trying to work. He's understanding that the rest is going to be his biggest weapon in this, and it has been."

NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report