Bedard focused on Blackhawks, but has 'confidence' to make 4 Nations

Connor Bedard is more interested in how the Chicago Blackhawks are doing, but that doesn't mean he's unaware of the elite talent he could share the ice with if he makes Canada's roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

"I definitely hope so," he told TSN's Jay Onrait when asked about the possibility of playing with Connor McDavid at February's tournament. "For me, I'm not focused on it right now. I'm focused on here in Chicago and helping us win, but obviously, if I play well enough and give myself a chance (to make the roster), that'd be great.

"There's so many players in Canada that could be on that team. ... Of course, I have confidence in myself, but we'll see what happens down the road."

Canada announced the first six players to qualify for its team in June: McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Brayden Point, and Cale Makar. Full rosters will be revealed between Nov. 29 and Dec. 2.

Bedard has put together a solid campaign for his spot in the early days of the 2024-25 season with seven points in seven outings. He's been limited to one goal, but it hasn't been from lack of trying: Bedard leads the Blackhawks with 25 shots, and he's been handcuffed by a shooting rate of 4%. He's generated 2.82 individual expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.

Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson doesn't think Bedard has been too rattled by his scoring slump.

"I think he keeps calm," he said Wednesday. "I think he gets a little frustrated at instant moments and moves on. He's got some good maturity in that area. I'd like to see him shoot the puck a little bit more and maybe a little quicker, but he knows that, and sometimes it doesn't present itself. You don't want him to start forcing it, either.

"I think he's going to be a guy that, when it goes in, there's going to be a lot of them going in."

The first overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft, Bedard won the Calder Trophy last season after potting 22 goals and 61 points in 68 outings as a rookie. However, the struggling Blackhawks were outscored 67-37 with Bedard on the ice at five-on-five, an area he's looked to improve in his sophomore season.

So far, so good. The 19-year-old is a plus-1 in five-on-five action this campaign.

"I think I was cheating maybe a little too much last year for offense," Bedard admitted Wednesday. "But I think it's just a balance. It's such a mentality, I find, for myself. I always want to have the puck, I always want to be in the offensive zone, but half the game's played in your own end.

"Just being responsible. I feel like when you are better in your own end, you get the puck back, and you go in their end. That's when it's fun to play."

Chicago will face the Nashville Predators on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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