Proponents of moving Connor Bedard to the wing usually circle back to one crucial argument: He’s unacceptably bad at faceoffs.
On the other hand, Bedard is most comfortable at center and able to impact the game most at center. Considering he’s the Blackhawks‘ best player, they want him to impact the game as much as possible.
So Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen has implemented a relatively simple solution: Keep Bedard at center, but have his wingers take the majority of the faceoffs. In those cases, Bedard lines up as a winger but functions as the center once play begins.
Ex-coach Luke Richardson also experimented with that approach, but Sorensen — who emphasized Thursday that he “really likes [Bedard] in the middle” — has committed to it. Removing most of Bedard’s faceoff responsibilities allows him to play more freely elsewhere, captain Nick Foligno said.
“Center is a lot to manage as a young player, and then on top of that [are] the faceoffs,” Foligno said. “Bedard is learning on the go, and he’s done a great job. He’s had to process a lot, not just faceoffs but [also] the best teams’ defensive guys against him every night.
“We’re trying to handle the workload as best we can. As he gets up to speed on faceoffs and things like that, I’m sure more responsibility will come to him.”
Faceoffs are unquestionably Bedard’s biggest weakness. Entering Thursday’s game against the Kraken, his 30.0% faceoff percentage ranked last out of 166 forwards league-wide — by a margin of nearly five percentage points.
Bedard pointed out many young players struggle with faceoffs, and to his point, even the NHL’s top two draw-takers this year — Claude Giroux and Aleksander Barkov — were below 50% early in their careers. Meanwhile, Ducks center Leo Carlsson (drafted the pick after Bedard two years ago) and Devils center Jack Hughes (whom Bedard is often compared to) are also both in the bottom 10.
But the fact Bedard has actually gotten worse in the circle since last season, when he won 38.9% of his faceoffs, is strange and concerning. Sorensen is correct about faceoffs being a team-wide problem, too. The Hawks ranked 31st in the NHL at 43.1% entering Thursday.
Since the coaching change, Bedard has gone from 8.0 to 5.5 faceoffs per game. In terms of defensive-zone faceoffs — the most high-leverage type — he has gone from 2.7 to 1.2 per game. At this point, he generally only takes draws on the right side — his strong side as a right-handed shot — in the offensive and neutral zones.
Bedard’s current linemates, Foligno and Ryan Donato, now largely handle left-side and defensive-zone faceoffs for him, with Jason Dickinson also occasionally coming on specifically to take draws in the defensive zone. Foligno and Donato are both left-handed and have won 51.7% and 45.1% of their faceoffs this season, respectively.
That strategy worked to perfection Sunday against the Islanders; Donato won a left-side offensive-zone faceoff with 1:05 left and Bedard scored the game-winning goal 11 seconds later.
When Bedard does line up for a faceoff, the Hawks encourage him to maneuver aggressively toward favorable positions before the linesman drops the puck. Foligno has told Bedard to “cheat like crazy” because it’s not a problem if he gets tossed and Foligno or Donato has to take it instead.
“That’s a big part of faceoffs: Whoever is cheating more has the advantage,” Bedard said with a chuckle. “If I get kicked out, it’s not like it’s a huge deal.”
This situation might sound complicated, but it gives Bedard specifically less to worry about, allowing him to focus on developing as a center in other regards. And he has indeed looked more effective and dangerous in recent weeks, racking up seven points in six games under Sorensen so far.