Connor Bedard’s snub could fuel a monster season with Chicago Blackhawks

Connor Bedard has the talent to be one of the best players in the NHL, and it was why the Chicago Blackhawks selected him first overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. In the first two seasons in the NHL, Bedard has been good with 128 points over that span but it feels like he is just scratching the surface on a monster season.

Last season, Bedard wasn't selected for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and in a recent article by Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, he acknowledged that he really wasn't surprised, based on how he started the season. "I mean, I kind of knew. I had a slow start last year. There are so many great players in Canada. Even if I went out and played great and didn't make the team, it's not like I was going to be butt-hurt."

While there isn't the 4 Nations Face-off this year, there will be a chance for Bedard to perform on the international stage in the Olympics. Recently, Canada brought together players who could make the roster, and Bedard was one of the players to attend orientation.

Chance to play in the Olympics could be the extra motivation Connor Bedard needs for that breakout season

The chance to play for Team Canada is something that Bedard says he doesn't think about much but it seems to be a motivating factor based on that ESPN article: "It'd be incredible. It's not something I think about now too much. I just want to go into camp and have a good start, personally and as a team, and then you see what happens."

This could be good news for the Blackhawks who could benefit most from a motivated Connor Bedard to begin the season. They are slowly trying to rebuild a franchise that had a stretch where it was competing for a Stanley Cup on a yearly basis.

This season, they are expected to see the beginning returns of building through the NHL Draft with players like Bedard, Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov, and Sam Rinzel. For them to get back there, though, it is going to be Bedard that has to lead them and be the difference maker.

Last season, Bedard did have a slow start, as he mentioned, and he had 17 points in 23 games. However, there were points during the season where he was averaging around a point per game, like in December and January, when he had 28 points in 28 games.

If Connor Bedard hopes to be a part of Team Canada, he is going to have to play at that level right from the start of the season. It is going to be hard to make the cut among a forward group that is very deep, and the roster should be finalized sometime around the beginning of January.

There is no question that Bedard is going to need to have some urgency but it might be just enough motivation for him to establish himself on the ice as one of the best in the NHL and take that next step in his career.