Blackhawks' Connor Bedard: '100 Things' I Could Improve amid Slump In 2nd NHL Season

Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard said he "could name 100 things" he could do better amid his slow start to the 2024-25 season.

"I don't know, man," Bedard said Friday, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "It has been frustrating, for sure. I just don't feel like I'm really doing anything. So just keep chipping away at it, I guess, and hopefully find my game again."

Bedard continued: "It's been a tough stretch. You just feel like you don't have it or whatever, and you lose a bit of confidence. And it just kind of goes on."

After leading all rookies with 22 goals in 68 games last season, Bedard has been held to three goals in the first 20 games of his sophomore campaign.

Bedard last scored during an Oct. 26 loss to the Dallas Stars and has been held without a goal for 11 straight games.

Most recently he was held to zero shots for the first time this season, and just the sixth time in his NHL career, during a Thursday win over the visiting Florida Panthers.

The contest marked Bedard's third game in the Blackhawks' latest top line configuration, which features Bedard flanking Jason Dickinson and opposite Joey Anderson. Both Dickinson and Anderson were also held without shots in the victory.

Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson still praised Bedard after the win for his efforts on defense.

"We didn't get him here to be a defensive specialist, but the responsibility of playing against good lines comes first... He did everything right on the defensive side," Richardson said about Bedard, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Opponents still largely controlled play when Bedard's line was on the ice at even strength, per Natural Stat Trick.

Playing Bedard on the wing has the advantage of taking him off the face-off dot, where he has a 29.7 percent success rate this season, and he recently said he sees the position as "less work."

The Blackhawks may still be due for another line shuffle as the team looks to build a top line that can control play and get Bedard back on the scoresheet.

Chicago could try slotting the second-year forward in alongside a veteran like Taylor Hall or a young, speedy winger like Lukas Reichel as the team prepares for its next contest on Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers.