Tag: Bedard

BUFFALO, N.Y. — One of the primary reasons the Blackhawks acquired Nick Foligno from Boston two summers ago was so that Connor Bedard would have a gregarious and eager veteran to lean on, to pepper with questions, to help him navigate the meat grinder that is the NHL schedule.

But that’s proven to be a two-way street.

“He obviously sees the game at a different level, right?” Foligno said. “So I like asking him questions and just picking his brain.”

It’s one reason why Foligno has been Bedard’s most successful linemate this season, at least from an expected-goals standpoint (53.37 percent). He tries to understand what Bedard sees, what Bedard thinks. He tries to put himself where Bedard wants him to go. And he tries to put Bedard in the best position to succeed himself.

It might seem awkward for a 37-year-old veteran of nearly 1,200 NHL games to defer to a kid barely half his age, but Foligno is happy to check his ego at the door.

“If it’s for the greater good of the team, then I don’t care what age you are, right?” Foligno said.

Playing with elite players is a skill unto itself, no different than being able to pick a corner or lift a stick or hurl your body in front of a slap shot. Some guys can do it, some guys can’t. For the better part of a decade, once it became clear that the Blackhawks were more dangerous with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on separate lines — forcing opponents to pick their poison, defensively — Chicago coaches struggled to find the right center for Kane. That’s because Kane saw the ice differently than nearly every other play he ever played with. Kane was a winger who commanded the puck like a center, so he needed a center that could not only keep up with him, but who was willing to defer to him — Artem Anisimov and Dylan Strome come to mind.

Bedard’s a center, of course, so he doesn’t have to fight for the puck. The puck is all his. But it’s still tricky to find the right players to mesh with his shot-making and his playmaking. And nearly a year and a half into Bedard’s NHL career, the Blackhawks might have finally found those players in Taylor Hall and Tyler Bertuzzi. Since that unit was finally, at long last, assembled during the Blackhawks’ game in Calgary last Saturday — it was expected to be the top line from Day 1, but one poor preseason outing seemed to convince both Luke Richardson and Anders Sorensen that it was the wrong fit for the next three months — it’s looked effective and dangerous. In their first three games together, they’ve outscored the Flames, Wild and Sabres 4-3 and have had an expected-goals share of 55.73 percent, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Even after an up-and-down evening in Buffalo, in which they combined for a Bertuzzi goal but were on the ice for two goals against, the new top line seems like the right fit for Bedard and the Blackhawks. Sorensen kept the trio together at Saturday’s practice — a luxury rarely afforded by Richardson, who routinely changed his lineup after losses (and sometimes after wins).

“He’s a highly skilled player that wants the puck on his stick, and we want to get it to him as much as we can,” Bertuzzi said. “It’s a little bit of a learning curve, but I feel we’re starting to figure it out a bit. I don’t want the puck on my stick as much as he does, so I’ll just be around the net and try to create space for him, and Taylor will move around. We’ve shown we can create a little bit of offense doing that.”

It’s really that simple. Bedard brings the puck up ice, while Bertuzzi goes straight to the net — either in the low slot or, more likely, at the corner of the goalmouth, hugging a post and looking for loose change. Hall, meanwhile, has the skating ability, the hockey sense and the hands to do pretty much whatever Bedard wants him to do.

Hall particularly likes the fact that Bedard is a right-handed shot, a rarity in the Blackhawks lineup. It allows for more creative and aggressive passing in the offensive zone.

“It’s fun to play with someone who likes to play catch, and likes to give and go,” Hall said. “He’s a guy that I can pass to and expect it back, or vice versa, which is great. And we know where Bert’s going to be — he’s going to be in the middle of the ice or near the post, and he’s so good at it that it’s up to Connor and me to maintain possession and use our speed to get pucks back when we don’t have it. It’s working right now.”

It’s almost shocking how long it’s taken for the Blackhawks to settle on what seemed like such an obvious top line. Both wingers have had stints on Bedard’s line, just not together. In 153 minutes together at five-on-five, Bedard and Hall have outscored opponents 9-8. In 95 minutes together, Bedard and Bertuzzi have played opponents to a 7-7 draw. For comparison’s sake, when paired with his most frequent winger, Philipp Kurashev, Bedard and the Blackhawks were outscored 10-2.

But Bertuzzi’s early season struggles seemed to scare Richardson off of that unit, and it’s taken nearly half the season for them to get their first real look together. Bertuzzi’s always been a streaky scorer — “For some reason, every year, I go through a 15-game skid, at least,’ he said with a shrug — but he’s been heating up of late, with a pair of two-goal games nine days apart before the Christmas break, and a beauty of a quick wrister in the slot against the Sabres. He’s suddenly tied with Ryan Donato for the team lead with 11 goals.

Bedard Hall Bertuzzi pic.twitter.com/JchzSRj4pd

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 28, 2024

Bertuzzi plays a similar offensive game to Foligno, so it’s not surprising that it’s been working.

“The puck’s going to get (to the net) at some point with Connor, right?” Foligno said. “So it’s just being around there and reaping the benefits of it. He’s dynamic offensively, so it allows you to go play in the fun zone. And (Bertuzzi) is pretty elite there.”

Hall had two assists in both the Calgary and Minnesota games, and set up Bertuzzi’s goal in Buffalo. In those first two games in particular, Hall and Bedard were menacingly circling the offensive zone during sustained pressure as Bertuzzi staked out his usual spot down low.

And the way Hall sees it, they’re just getting started, because they’re just figuring each other out.

“I’m still getting used to playing with Connor a bit,” Hall said. “I had a few games with him last year, but then I had so much time off (because of season-ending knee surgery). And he’s changed as a player, as well. He was trying so much one-on-one stuff last year — I remember doing the same stuff (at his age). But then you learn to use your teammates, to trust your teammates. And I think you’re seeing since Anders has come in that Connor’s really starting to play better defensively and buy into that 200-foot role. It’s not going to be perfect as a 19-year-old centerman, that’s one of the hardest jobs in the NHL. But it’s been fun to just continue to get to know him and know how he likes to play.”

Because there’s still no book on Bedard just yet, not as he continues to evolve as a player, not as he’s cycled through so many linemates — a revolving door that might finally be coming to rest.

“You can only have so many conversations,” Hall said. “You’ve just got to play with them and learn their body language. It’s a fun process, and we’re starting to get rolling here.”

(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)