Sweeney: Bedard in contention for Olympics despite missing 4 Nations

Team Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off general manager Don Sweeney said Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard is still a strong candidate to qualify for his country's 2026 Olympic team despite missing the cut for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

"He is a terrific young player ... We just know the special qualities he has​ ... There are several other players that fall into the same category that very well could be a part of (Team Canada) in the Olympics," Sweeney said, per TSN.

He added: "Going through (his second year) ... there's some challenges associated with that. He's working through that, in a situation where he gets all the attention possible from the best players that he's playing against each and every night. So I think he's living and breathing it right now, and it's only going to help him to continue to build his resume, and we're excited about that."

Bedard was expected to compete for a spot on the squad at only 19 years old, but a modest start to the campaign left him out of the picture. He's managed five goals and 14 assists across 24 games so far this season after winning the Calder Trophy with 61 points in 68 contests in his rookie year.

"You kind of sleep in the bed you make," Bedard told NHL on TNT during an interview Wednesday. "And I obviously haven't been too happy with the start of the year ... You can try to use something like that for a little motivation and just keep going, keep working hard, keep trying to get better. That's what I'm going to do."

Bedard represented Canada at the most recent world championships and had a prolific career on the international stage before being drafted. He led Canada to a gold medal at the 2023 world juniors and won tournament MVP after posting 23 points in seven games.