Connor Bedard has dialed up his physicality in recent games.
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DENVER — Connor Bedard contributed to a Blackhawks goal Saturday in a totally new way: by delivering a check.
Less than one week after giving Patrick Kane a pretty hard knock into the boards, creating a mildly viral video clip that reflected the changing of the guard in Chicago, the rookie forward hit another familiar face — Blue Jackets forward Alex Nylander — and it proved even more meaningful.
Nylander, never the strongest foe, lost his balance and coughed up the puck to Ryan Donato, who centered it to Bedard and ultimately Philipp Kurashev, who scored.
“[It was] smart [because Connor] didn’t try to run him over or crosscheck him hard,” coach Luke Richardson said. “He just went through the hands and bumped him off the puck, and then he actually made a real nice little tip pass off that because he [stayed] in the play. He needs to do that all the time.”
Over the past few weeks, Bedard has dialed up his physicality. He has been talking about and focusing on getting more physically engaged since October, but whereas that originally meant getting more involved in puck battles, it now means actually hitting guys when it makes sense to do so.
He’s never going to be anything close to a Reese Johnson- or Jarred Tinordi-type wrecking ball, nor do the Hawks want him to be, but he’s easily sturdy and strong enough to add a dose of Alex DeBrincat-type grittiness to his game.
“A big thing for me, before games, is telling myself [to] go get the puck and not wait for it to come to me,” Bedard said. “If we dump it in, you’ve got to get it back, and that’s one way to do it. Obviously, I’m not going to be blowing anybody up. But if I can eliminate a guy from the puck here and there, then we get the puck and try to create offense.”
Most NHL players claim they feel strongest at the end of summer, then simply try to maintain that strength throughout the season. Bedard claims the same; it’s not like he feels genuinely stronger now than he did in September, although his five weeks off and his training with Hawks strength and conditioning guru Paul Goodman have helped.
He does, however, know better now what works at this level and what he can get away with physically. Since returning from injury Feb. 15, Bedard has averaged 1.25 hits and 0.88 blocked shots per game, up from 0.64 hits and 0.33 blocked shots per game previously.
Within the same subject, opponents around the league also seem more eager than ever to try to rattle Bedard with their own hits, bumps and slashes. Even before Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson’s whack on Bedard’s wrist last week really ignited the discussion, the Penguins, Jets and Red Wings had also been pretty rough on Bedard.
“He’s going to see that throughout his career,” Seth Jones said Feb. 23. “The best players all do. [Nathan] MacKinnon, [Sidney] Crosby and [Connor] McDavid, they all have.”
But Bedard sounds unfazed by that, too. Sure, he’ll make a show on the ice to try to draw a penalty, but it’s not actually upsetting him — certainly not as much as the Hawks’ constant losing is.
“I don’t think it’s really been that crazy, to be honest,” Bedard said. “It’s hockey. It’s physical. … If it does happen, just keep playing my game. I think sometimes that’s nice; [it] gets you in the game a bit.”
Richardson and Bedard’s teammates aren’t too worried, either. Fans seem to think he should be protected like a fragile child, but the Hawks know he’s fully capable of and willing to stand up for himself in most situations.
“A lot of their guys are physical on him, and I think he’s using it well for positive energy,” Kurashev said. “We feed off of that.”
Manson whack ‘blown out of proportion’
Bedard has fielded a ton of questions about the Manson whack since Thursday during the lead-up to the Hawks and Avs’ rematch Monday in Colorado — a game which Manson will miss due to an injury.
He seemed surprised at first that it was perceived as such a big deal, then increasingly amused as the questions continued. He couldn’t help but laugh a little when asked Thursday morning if it would make him extra motivated to beat the Avs.
“No, no, not at all,” he said. “It was nothing. Maybe because it was a nationally televised game, people saw the video a little more and made a big deal out of it, but it was a love tap.”
Nobody on the Hawks fought or messed with Manson after the incident Thursday; coach Luke Richardson said that was probably because Manson was “sneaky” about it and few people noticed in the moment. Richardson said he didn’t expect it to be on anyone’s mind Monday, either.
For Bedard, it’s the latest reminder of just how ridiculously scrutinized every little moment — good or bad — in his rookie season has been.
“There’s probably 100 examples I could go to where things got blown out of proportion,” he said.