Connor Bedard has found ways to produce for the Chicago Blackhawks in his second NHL season despite many factors holding him back from going off this year. He currently sits with 18 goals and 35 assists (53 points) in 68 games this year.
The team is currently locked in for a top-four draft selection if the season were to end today. While this upcoming draft class is loaded, this is not the situation that the Blackhawks front office wanted to be in this year. General manager Kyle Davidson’s offseason acquisitions were not enough to get them out of the league’s basement and there will be pressure this summer to make moves to get this franchise over the hump.
While the season hasn’t gone according to plan, Bedard has put himself in the same discussion as his childhood idol in a certain stat.
Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard joins good company
Bedard joins Sidney Crosby as the only two players in the last 35 years with 40 goals and 70 assists before turning 20-years-old. The pair are also alone in eclipsing 100 total points before turning 20.
Bedard 🤝 Crosby
Over 100 points before turning 21! pic.twitter.com/8SujAgOrMk
— ESPN (@espn) March 19, 2025
Bedard will play more games in his second NHL season as opposed to his rookie campaign after he missed 14 games due to a jaw injury. Even though he missed time last year, the phenom found a way to win the Calder Trophy by posting 22 goals and 39 assists (61 points) in 68 games.
The former number-one overall pick has received plenty of criticism from the national media in regards to his two scoring slumps this year, but people also need to realize that he is still a teenager playing on a bottom-of-the-barrel team in the NHL.
There is an argument to be made on Bedard falling victim to the sophomore slump concept, but there’s reason to believe that the lack of talent around him doesn’t help his case either. With this summer shaping up to be a big one for the Blackhawks organization, only time will tell if Bedard will get the help he needs moving forward.
Connor Bedard is primed for a big season next year
Plenty of folks like to compare Bedard to the great Patrick Kane when analyzing their careers early on. While the Blackhawks won’t be in a position to contend for a cup like they were when Kaner’s third season rolled around, it should be the standard that the on-ice product will look drastically different next year.
Kane found the back of the net 30 times in his third year while having 58 assists. His 88 total points that season were the most he had in a single year for the first eight seasons in his career before he posted 106 in the 2015-16 campaign.
Other young stars like Kane had noticeable jumps in their game when the third year of their careers arrived, so it’s easy to have an optimistic mindset that the same will be true for the Bedard. The new franchise cornerstone in Chicago could have more points this season, but his 13-game goalless stretch in the fall and his recent seven-game point drought have put him in this position.
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