Connor Bedard, seen here with Petr Mrazek back in December, shows his leadership most in one-on-one settings.
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The Blackhawks’ captaincy remains wide open for Connor Bedard to eventually ascend into the role, regardless of whether or not de facto captain Nick Foligno officially receives the title for the next couple years.
But there are good reasons why the Hawks didn’t immediately name Bedard captain as a rookie this season, and they’re not solely related to Jonathan Toews. It takes time to learn the leadership skills and gain the experience required to handle such a demanding role.
For now, the 18-year-old forward has mostly focused his off-ice growth on getting to know guys directly rather than addressing the whole team, leaving the latter responsibility to Foligno and other established veterans.
“You know you’re still young,” Bedard said Wednesday. “You’ve got to understand that. I’m not the loudest guy by any means. If I saw a play or something, then I would tell a guy. [But] I’m not really yelling at the group or anything like that.”
He realizes there’s a fine line to walk as a teenage rookie.
He’s aware of his status as the Hawks’ new franchise face, and his long-term aspirations with the franchise are lofty; he knows he’ll be around for the long haul. But he also doesn’t want to step on any toes or act like an entitled kid around teammates that are, in some cases, nearly double his age. That was particularly on his mind earlier this season during the feeling-out process.
“For sure, [you’re careful] when you come in and you’re younger,” Bedard said in December. “It was kind of the same in junior [hockey]. As I turned 15, 16 and 17, I got more vocal as I went on.”
One area where Bedard does provide leadership, however, is in one-on-one settings. Foligno, coach Luke Richardson and others have observed his ability to complement the Hawks’ current leadership group by providing tactical advice and tips.
While other guys talk and think more about the big picture, Bedard focuses on the on-ice minutiae. And since his hockey sense and game-reading abilities are unparalleled, he notices a plethora of little things that are worth noticing.
On the bench or on the ice before faceoffs, he’s “not afraid to come up to you and be like, ‘Hey, try this,'” Foligno said.
“He discusses a lot of things,” Richardson added. “He’s very alert on the bench and on the ice. He really takes in the game. Even when he’s not playing out there, he’s on the bench watching and adjusting what he’s seeing to get ready for his next shift.
“When he takes charge and starts skating and giving a little tap of the stick, the guys see it. So it’s just as good as vocally yelling for it — and [doing that means] not alerting the other team sometimes, as well. His style of communication isn’t the ‘rah-rah, yell-and-scream’ [type]. He’s very in control.”
Since returning Feb. 15 from his broken jaw, his offensive production has picked up where he left off — tallying seven points in six games so far — and his work ethic has arguably increased even more.
During a practice drill Tuesday designed to prevent backcheckers from catching offensive line rushes, Richardson saw Bedard still put his head down and skate back at 100% power. And after practice both Tuesday and Wednesday, he lingered on the ice for an additional 30-45 minutes while everyone else hit the showers.
The maturity Bedard shows in ways like that goes hand-in-hand with leadership, which — as NHL players universally love to mention — can be done by-example just as much as verbally.
“He’s come in with a little more hunger, if anything,” Foligno said. “[At] the start of the year, he was like, ‘What’s this going to be like?’ Now he’s like, ‘I have an understanding of how this is going to be.'”