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Connor Bedard Speaks Out on Lost Blackhawks Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Treppedi | Last updated Mar 22, 2025 2:36 PM ET

Connor Bedard is nearing the end of his sophomore NHL season and the Chicago Blackhawks haven't taken much of a step forward.

Chicago, which has lost six straight games, is in last place of the Central Division with 49 points.

Bedard, 19, has experienced growing pains throughout the campaign despite still leading the club with 54 points.

"I know what I'm trying to do right now is not be so focused on results and just know we're young, we're trying to get better and just have fun," Bedard said to NHL.com. "It's a great group of guys and we have, what, three weeks left? So just have fun, enjoy it and do the best you can. Obviously you're trying to win every game, and you want to win, but we're going to try to play the best we can."

The Blackhawks' rebuild hasn't progressed as expeditiously as planned. Chicago was officially eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention after a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

This marks their fifth consecutive season missing the cut and just their second postseason absence in the past eight years (2019-20).

At this stature, Chicago's biggest priority is ensuring that Bedard is receiving all of the resources and opportunities that he needs to develop prosperously. As general manager Kyle Davidson prepares for another critical offseason in moving the needle, their future depends on the reigning Calder Trophy winner.

"Up to this point I feel I've had a couple little, like, 12-15 game stretches where if you look at points ... obviously points aren't everything, but as a guy who's supposed to produce, those stretches are what I need to get rid of," he said. "The rest of the year's been pretty good, I feel like. I have a lot of areas I can improve but that's exciting in a way, too, where you can be a lot better."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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