Bedard excited to see Blackhawks' youth 'make a difference'
Connor Bedard is encouraged by the impact of the Chicago Blackhawks' youth movement, even though the club has endured another difficult season.
"Yeah, big time. You're seeing guys come up and make a difference," Bedard said recently, per NHL.com's Tracey Myers.
One player to catch Bedard's attention is blue-liner Artyom Levshunov, who made his NHL debut earlier in March after being drafted second overall last year.
"He comes up, and he looks great," Bedard said. "You can see why he is projected to be what he is, and that's exciting. He makes that pass, and you can see his hockey IQ. You can definitely see the future of him being a No. 1 guy."
The Blackhawks have built one of the league's deepest prospect pools in recent years and are on track to draft high again as the league's 31st-ranked team with 12 games to go. Chicago also owns the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2025 first-rounder.
Despite the club's potentially bright future, Bedard has voiced his displeasure with the Blackhawks piling up losses and media criticism this season. However, he said he's now focused on ending his sophomore campaign on a positive note.
"I know what I'm trying to do right now is not be so focused on results and just know we're young, we're trying to get better, and just have fun" Bedard said. "It's a great group of guys, and we have, what, three weeks left? So just have fun, enjoy it, and do the best you can. Obviously, you're trying to win every game, and you want to win, but we're going to try to play the best we can."
Bedard leads the Blackhawks with 54 points this season. He won the Calder Trophy last campaign as rookie of the year.