Chicago – Blackhawks TV broadcaster Rick Ball may be heading in any theme as the recent preseason second phase begins.
He chose to share some observations from Connor Bedard, one of the players on the ice.
“From training camp until now, during the offseason, he has some extra gear this year and looks like No. 98,” Ball said to the audience.
Literally, three seconds later, Bedder puts Ball's words into practice.
The Blackhawks pushed the hockey forward to André Burakovsky near the center ice, who had only one Minnesota field guard. Baidder saw his chance. He quickly established several crossover speeds, lengthened his pace, and lifted himself up the surface with the strength on his legs. Within a few big strides, he blew past two defenders.
Suddenly, Bedard created a two-on-one for the Blackhawks, and when Burakovsky entered the area, Burakovsky passed Bedard, which moved to a small rupture. He bypassed the final defender and drove around the internet.
“Just on the prompt,” Ball shouted.
Those few seconds were more than five months in production. Bedard was dissatisfied with his speed and agility in his second NHL season. The alliance's edge data also supports his concerns. Data shows that he skated faster in his rookie season, with his top speed of 21.44 miles below the 50th percentage point in his second year and his speed of more than 20 miles in the 54th percentile.
Bedard's overall talent often masks the flaws of this speed, as he still scored 23 goals and 44 assists in 82 games at the age of 19, but he thinks there is more to unlock in his game. After the end of last season, he decided to presumably make his offseason.
“I think the biggest thing is speed and explosiveness are number one for me,” Bedard said ahead of the Blackhawks’ season finale in April. “It's always been a big deal for me. Just kind of understands my body and how to stay consistent and similar throughout the year. Just try to learn as much as possible. Hopefully it's a successful offseason.”
Almost all signs are OK. The NHL did not reveal its edge tracking in the preseason, so there is no public metric to say exactly how fast Bedder skated. But based on eye tests, most people (including Bedard) agree that he looks faster.
“He looks much faster,” Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato said. “It seems he's taken another step this summer. Obviously, he is a child and his work ethics are undoubtedly. It's what he's working hard and doing the right thing every day. He is a real professional professional and I think he put a lot of work and the right things in, and I think seeing these results will pay off.
“As I said, it’s a tough league, but he obviously has produced it and if he can use those things they work this summer, take a step from what I hear and what I see and all of that stuff, he’ll be dangerous and fun.”
Since being hired as head coach in May, Jeff Blashill has spent a lot of time watching Bedard's game and figuring out how to get him to another level. He noticed Bedard looked to start camp faster, while Blashill heard the rest of the organization for longer.
“Everyone said he would definitely be faster, absolutely more agile, absolutely more explosive, absolutely more endurance,” Blashill said. All of these things would lead him to this situation, either opening the spots faster, or pushing the puck onto the ice or pressure and then getting the puck back. Of course I like what I see from him. ”
Bedard said in April that he plans to spend this offseason in different ways. It began with his rejection of Canadians’ invitation to participate in the World Championships. Playing with Sidney Crosby, Nathan Mackinnon and the Company, Bedard has a plan that he will stick with it. But what is Bedder’s actual plan or what exactly he did during the offseason. When it comes to media, Bedder doesn’t like talking about himself, and he especially doesn’t like sharing details about his process.
In a recent interview, he was asked about a few different ways that he would affect his skating during the offseason, and he rarely revealed it. He said he tried “new things in the summer and saw what worked.” He said he talked to people, gave his opinions, and adapted his own approach. When asked if he worked with anyone, he replied, “I’m kind of like working out and figuring out the schedule and stuff for me.”
Yes, he trains in the offseason. Yes, he was happy with the training. No, he was not interested in saying too much.
One thing about Bedede Once was What he would like to reveal is that instead of changing his crossover, stride forward or anything specific in the skating mechanism, he did a lot of work in the gym. Columbus blue jacket forward Kent Johnson trained with Bedard in the Vancouver area and said a lot.
“We're doing the same plan this summer,” Johnson said. “It's not always the same gym, but yes, we're doing the same plan. I don't want to talk about his training too much, but we're using the same plan.
“We're pushing each other in the summer, speed, strength or anything else, talking about our differences (fitness metrics). But especially speed. We skate about four times a week. A little less in the middle of the summer. We may have skated a little bit more than we used to in the past, but obviously the gym is really important. I think what we're more important than we are now.”
With age and experience – Bedard turns 20 in July – it seems his skating has intentions and clarity. He was kicking off instead of sitting down. In four preseason games he entered Tuesday’s season opener, he attacked space, expected to skate at speed and be more active throughout his shift.
Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno noticed a change in mindset.
“Even if he takes off the ice now, he's on the mission,” Fornionho said. “He's like, 'This is who I am, I'm going to show the world.' I pump water for him.”
Of course, Bedard would not use such words. He was just cautiously optimistic when he heard his speech, because the season would be different.
“It’s short, but I think for me, consistency is also great,” Bedard said. “I think I was a very active player last year when I kept moving forward and felt good, and then I would have some gaps not that good in the season. … You can’t make your great and bad people really bad, so it’s just finding consistency, just finding consistency and finding out what you need to do to make you feel most of the night.”
So far, he feels good. However, his feelings in the next 82 games will be important.
Aaron Portzline of Track and Field contributed to the story.
(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)