On Sunday night against the Capitals, there were glimpses of Connor Bedard’s special talents. There were also glimpses of where the 18-year-old needs to improve.
Without a goal over the last five games, Bedard still had two assists during the Blackhawks’ 4-2 loss to Washington, and the second assist stood out. Late in the third period with the Hawks down 4-1, Bedard skated down the left side of the attacking zone to a few feet from the goal line and fired a backhand saucer pass through the slot to a wide-open Connor Murphy. Murphy one-timed the feed past Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
“It was really nice,” Murphy said. “I knew I was open, but I didn’t think there was any way he could be on his backhand and get it across.”
To put it mildly, that’s not a pass most players should attempt, let alone complete. Bedard showed, again, he’s different and can create chances that don’t seem obvious.
“As a teammate, it gives you confidence to jump into holes and lanes, knowing a guy is going to find you or make the right play,” Murphy said. “I feel like if it’s someone like me out there skating around, I wouldn’t think my teammates would trust as much for me to [find them and] play it safe. When it’s guys of that caliber, you know that if you make a read to get open, they’re going to find you.”
Bedard has made it clear he’s adept at finding teammates, but he’s still learning how to find the right balance for his shift lengths. And that might’ve cost the Hawks on Sunday.
As the Hawks led 1-0 in the second period, Bedard stayed on the ice for a 93-second shift. Perhaps fatigued from the lengthy stint, which also included Philipp Kurashev’s goal, Bedard couldn’t deter Anthony Mantha from taking a pass and beating Arvid Soderblom to tie the game.
“You have to learn shift length in this league. Sometimes it’s too long,” coach Luke Richardson said. “It’s going to be a learning curve. He’s used to being able to handle that, but Mantha’s a big man, and he has a sneaky, long stride, and if he gets a half-step ahead of you, you’re either taking a penalty on him nowadays or it’s a scoring chance. It ended up being a scoring chance.”
Bedard followed that shift with one that lasted 2:26. On the night, he averaged 1:08 per shift, behind only Seth Jones at 1:09. It’s a learning curve, but one Bedard must figure out as his hyped rookie season rolls on.
“He has to realize that in the NHL, no player is going to play a proper shift two minutes in length and expect to do well at the end of it,” Richardson said. “If you do, you’re cheating out there. I think you need to make sure you’re constantly learning and building yourself up, especially the young players. We give them the information, and hopefully they ingest that and figure that out.”
NOTES: The Hawks put Boris Katchouk on waivers Monday. Katchouk, 25, has been a healthy scratch the past four games. In 17 appearances, he has two goals and two assists.
• The Hawks recalled Filip Roos from Rockford in the AHL and put Jarred Tinordi (concussion protocol) on injured reserve, retroactive to Dec. 5. Roos has played in 16 games this season for the IceHogs.
