Chicago Blackhawks star forward Connor Bedard ended his second NHL season with two goals and an assist in Chicago’s 4–3 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
The performance gave the Blackhawks a final record of 25-46-11 and closed the campaign on a three-point night for the 19-year-old forward.
After the win, Bedard addressed what he plans to work on during the offseason. Bedard, who played all 82 games this season while scoring a career-high 67 points, said after the win that his primary focus will be on improving speed and explosiveness.
“I think the biggest thing is speed and explosiveness is No. 1 for me,” he said. “That’s always been my big thing. Just kind of learn about my body a bit and how to keep consistency throughout the year and stuff like that.
”Just try to learn as much as I can. Hopefully it’s a successful offseason.”
Bedard emphasized that while he’s always worked hard in previous offseasons, this summer he will try to focus on efficiency and learning biomechanics.
“Change it up a bit,” Bedard said. “I always work super hard. I think working extra smart and doing everything, (but) the big thing for me is just increasing my speed. That’s going to be my No. 1 focus, and I’m talking to a lot of people and trying to figure out the science behind that.”
Bedard finished the season with 23 goals and 44 assists, a slight statistical improvement over his rookie totals, but a drop in per-game production from last year, going from 0.9 points per game to 0.81.
The sophomore acknowledged the downtick but said he expects more from himself going forward.
“There are definitely positives for me to take out of and things I can grow,” Bedard said. “I feel like there’s a lot of room for growth for me, which is exciting in a sense.”
The Blackhawks will enter the off-season with over $29 million in projected cap space, according to PuckPedia, in what could turn into a make-or-break season for the franchise and Bedard's future in Chicago as he enters the final season of his three-year entry-level deal.
