Blackhawks coach said the quiet part out loud following Bedard’s Olympic snub

Wednesday’s Team Canada Olympic roster reveal had the makings of an official election result event. Team Canada’s top brass were on hand to reveal the 25 names that will comprise Canada’s shot at gold in Milano-Cortina.

One of the names absent from said roster was Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard. Bedard wasn’t initially expected to be on the team. But his unbelievable performance this season catapulted him to the bubble of Team Canada’s roster selection.

To make matters worse, 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks did get the nod. While he’s unlikely to crack the starting lineup, his equally impressive performance landed him on the Canadian roster.

So, why Celebrini and not Bedard?

That’s something that Blackhawks Jeff Blashill didn’t take too kindly. Blashill issued some words pointing out why Team Canada was wrong to pass on Bedard. In particular, Blashill blasted the talk of Bedard’s poor defensive metrics.

Blashill defended Bedard, stating that he’s a much better defensive player than he gets credit for. Fair enough. Anyone who regularly watches the Blackhawks can attest to Bedard’s improved defensive game. While he’s hardly at the same level as Anze Kopitar or Patrice Bergeron, he’s making strides as a 20-year-old.

But then, Blashill said the quiet part out loud. That’s the quiet part that everyone in the NHL has figured out.

Blashill stated:

“The metric that I trust is your impact on winning. The reason why I know he’s a big-time winning hockey player [is] when he was in our lineup, we were one point out of the wild card, and since then we’re 1-6-1. That’s the impact he’s had… You don’t have that impact if you’re just a point-getter. You only have that impact if you’re a true two-way kind of winning player, and that’s what he’s become.”

Yes, Blashill is right. Everything he’s said is right. Bedard’s impact on the Blackhawks is spot on. However, Blashill inadvertently admitted that the Blackhawks are not a good hockey team without Bedard.

It’s pretty evident. Anyone can see that by the numbers and the eye test. But then again, saying, “our team is good with him and bad without him. So, you should pick him,” isn’t exactly the best argument to make. At least, it’s not the sort of thing you want to publicly state.

Perhaps something along the lines of, “our team suffered a devastating loss and has struggled to recover,” could have been a more poetic way of saying, “yeah, we’re 1-6-1 and in last place because Bedard got hurt.”

But there is one thing to keep an eye on. If the Blackhawks recover upon Bedard’s return, Blashill will have been proven correct. Bedard is truly the impact player that Blashill claims him to be. In contrast, if the Blackhawks continue to flounder, well, Blashill might have put himself in an awkward position.