The Chicago Blackhawks have seen a nice uptick in production from their young star Connor Bedard following a goal scoring drought in November. The phenom currently has 13 goals and 30 assists for a total of 43 points through 49 games in his second NHL season. He is on pace to smash his assist total from his rookie season (39), and he has started to pick up the pace in his goal scoring efforts over the last month.
Bedard has put up these numbers on a Blackhawks team that is struggling to get out of the league’s basement. Chicago is currently second-to-last in the NHL with 35 points and a 15-29-5 record. They are one point ahead of another young and upcoming organization in the San Jose Sharks.
Through all of the team struggles, Bedard continues to cement himself as a franchise cornerstone moving forward. The 19-year-old is on a list that makes him out to be the brightest young star in the NHL right now.
Connor Bedard’s five-game point runs for the Chicago Blackhawks
The Bleacher Nation Blackhawks team did some research on five-game point stretches from players under the age of 21 over the past few seasons. It’s safe to say that Bedard has done his part of being a franchise pillar based on these impressive runs in his first two NHL seasons.
Doing a little wandering on @hockey_ref this morning and randomly decided to look up the best 5-game stretches for players under the age of 21 over the past two seasons #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/hJwfmyf7Wy
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 27, 2025
Bedard having four of the top five spans is a true showing of how well he has been able to succeed despite not being given much to work with around him. Even though these four spans all came in March of last year, he is still finding creative ways to get himself and his teammates involved in year two of his young career.
The forward is still in pursuit of his first career hattrick, but he has had a few entertaining two-goal games that have left fans chomping at the bit for more. A big highlight of Bedard’s rookie season is when he bookended a game with two goals against Winnipeg, which included the game winner in overtime.
More help will be on the way soon for Connor Bedard
Thankfully for Bedard, reinforcements should be in Chicago to help him out sooner rather than later. Frank Nazar has been a nice first addition to the young core at the NHL level, but Chicago needs much more than just him. Bedard’s fellow first round pick in the 2023 draft, Oliver Moore should sign his entry level contract after his current collegiate season.
The 20-year-old is in his second year at the University of Minnesota and is doing more than alright for himself. Moore has six goals and 14 assists, giving him 20 points in 26 games. As a freshman, Moore had nine goals and 24 assists (33 points) in 39 games.
Along with more, Nick Lardis is tearing up the OHL in his fourth season being apart of the league. Lardis was a third round draft choice of the Blackhawks in 2023, joining a stacked class with Bedard, Moore and others. The forward has already signed his entry level contract, but is making one last loud statement in his final season in the OHL.
Lardis has 41 goals and 31 assists (72 points) in just 42 games this season. The 19-year-old was the first player in the OHL to hit the 40 goal mark this season, and it appears that he will be slowing down anytime soon. Lardis and Moore will be of huge assistance to Bedard down the road, and will be joined by guys like 2024 first round picks Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker as well.
The Chicago Blackhawks could look to bring in a veteran forward for a third stint with the franchise
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