Why did rebuilding Blackhawks stock up with older players?
Here's a question for the start of Blackhawks season:
Obviously Connor Bedard is the team's best player and hope for a brighter future. Who ranks No. 2 on the list of future stars worth getting excited about?
Answers may vary. Feel free to pass along any personal thoughts. But the correct answer seems to be there isn't one, which is strange for a team that's missed the playoffs seven of the past eight seasons.
There is a nucleus of young players collected through recent drafts, but just about all of them were sent to Rockford when preseason ended. In some ways, Bedard, 19, must feel like a gifted kid sent straight from middle school to college. There's (virtually) no one in his age range.
“Those guys looked great (in preseason),” Bedard said after Thursday's home opener. “I think them getting to play together in Rockford and work on their games (is a positive). Eventually going to be big difference makers for us.”
The Icehogs have played just two games so far. Center Frank Nazar, a first-round pick in 2022, has 3 points in those two contests, which seems encouraging. Center Colton Dach, a second-rounder in '21, is another name to watch. Defenseman Kevin Korchinski, the No. 7 overall pick in '22, played 76 games with the Blackhawks last year and the team decided more time in the minors was the best move.
Defenseman Artyom Levshunov, the No. 2 overall pick this year, should be that second future star. He hasn't played because of a foot injury and it's not clear whether the Hawks will start him in Rockford or Chicago.
Is Bedard at least friends with some of these guys, his future long-term teammates?
“I'm tight with a good amount of them through camp and there are some that I played with at different tournaments in juniors and whatnot,” he said. “So a really good group. It's going to be fun when they come up one day.”
The Blackhawks adopted an interesting strategy. They decided the best move for the future was to stock the current roster with older veterans and try to ensure Bedard is playing on a competitive team. Of the 23 players who have seen ice time so far, 14 are age 29 or older.
Through five games, it appears they've succeeded in building a formidable first line. Bedard, Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Foligno have accounted for 47% of the team's points heading into Saturday's home date with Buffalo. Sharp passing by those three led to a couple picturesque goals Thursday against San Jose.
Speaking of goals, coach Luke Richardson described the intended benefit of surrounding Bedard with experienced players, rather than sending a group of young guys onto the ice to learn together.
“I think it really helps us to know that those guys are surrounding Connor and getting him to play the right way,” Richardson said. “Realizing pucks are going to come back to him and trusting his teammates. He's not on a junior team anymore that wasn't that great and he has to do everything himself.”
It's also got to be a strange feeling to be the youngest player in the locker room, but also the most talented — maybe by a wide margin.
“This is a tough league,” Richardson added. “The ice time that Connor's going to get, especially if games are tight, to (be able to) manage that so he's prepared. It's good to have him surrounded (by veterans) on and off the ice for the lifestyle.”
The ceiling for this team seems relatively low. Flirting with .500, maybe? Whatever the result, the Blackhawks decided putting Bedard in the advanced classroom was worth more than another top-two draft pick.