The Blackhawks rookie, Connor Bedard is already making a name for himself in the NHL and was listed as the NHL December Player of the Month.
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The Chicago Blackhawks are not a very good team. Sitting in last place in the Central division with the record of 11–23–2 and sitting at a measly 24 points, the Hawk’s season is going to be a long one. And unfortunately, Connor Bedard cannot play all six positions.
Standing at 5’10” and 185 pounds, Bedard would not be a very good choice at goaltending. Also standing at such a height would not be very beneficial for a defensive skater, let alone to be used as an enforcer. So that leaves center left wing and right wing positions available.
Of course everyone would love to see three Bedard’s out on the ice for the Chicago Blackhawks starting lineup. However, the young rookie from Canada is playing quite well. He is tied for 29th with 15 goals, tied for 70th with 18 assist, tied for 43rd with 33 points and has a -20 +/-.
So why are the Blackhawks doing so poorly? Bernard has absolutely nobody to back him up and play with. Hockey is a team sport. You can only ask so much of one player when the whole rest of the team is lacking in talent. The next closest point player is at 22 points, the young 24-year-old Philipp Kurashev. Everyone else on the Chicago Blackhawks roster has 18 point or less. It’s not goaltending, as their top goaltender is in the top 40 for average goals scored against, and save percentage.
It comes down to bad defense and the lack of talent, scoring goals and helping teammates score goals. Most organizations build their foundation from the bottom up. The lack of talent on the Chicago Blackhawks has forced them to sign an combination of older, and not as talented players to younger inexperienced ones. The rebuild has been building for quite a few years now. The December player of the month, Bedard is who you can firmly build around. With young talent on the Rockford Ice Hogs and coming up in next year’s draft, section the right players can make or break the franchise.
Connor Bernard can only do so much with his amazing stickhandling and goal scoring ability. This whole season, the entire league has been focusing on Bedard and the player who he will become. It seems as only two months into the season Bedard has already made an impact by becoming Decembers MVP. Will this continue into January, February, maybe even March? That is yet to be seen but the arrow is pointing up for Bedard and possibly with a little more help from his teammates, Bedard can continue to grow and claim more Player of the Month awards.
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