Connor Bedard addressed his speed this off-season. Now what happens in Year 3?

Blackhawks television play-by-play announcer Rick Ball could have gone in any topical direction as the second period of a recent preseason game began.

He chose to share some observations of Connor Bedard, who was among the players on the ice for the faceoff.

“From training camp to now, he’s got a little extra gear, looks like, this year for No. 98 as he worked on his skating in the off-season — noticeably quicker,” Ball told the viewing audience.

Literally three seconds later, Bedard put Ball’s words into action.

The Blackhawks advanced the puck up to André Burakovsky near center ice, and he had just one Minnesota Wild defender ahead of him. Bedard saw his opportunity. He quickly built speed with a couple crossovers, lengthened his stride and used the power in his legs to lift himself off the surface. Within a few strides, he had blown past two defenders.

All of a sudden, Bedard had created a two-on-one for the Blackhawks, which shifted to a mini-breakaway when Burakovsky passed Bedard the puck as he entered the zone. He bypassed the last defender and drove to the net.

“Right on cue,” Ball exclaimed.

Those few seconds were five-plus months in the making. Bedard was unsatisfied with his speed and quickness in his second NHL season. The league’s EDGE data supported his concerns, too. The data showed he had skated faster in his rookie season, and in his second year, his top speed of 21.44 mph was below the 50th percentile and his speed bursts over 20 mph were in the 54th percentile.

Bedard’s overall talent could often mask that speed deficiency, as he still produced 23 goals and 44 assists in 82 games as a 19-year-old, but he believed there was something more to unlock in his game. After the end of last season, he decided he would devote his off-season to changing that.

“I think the biggest thing is speed and explosiveness is No. 1 for me,” Bedard said before the Blackhawks’ season finale in April. “That’s always been my big thing. Just kind of learn about my body a bit and how to keep consistency throughout the year and stuff like that. Just try to learn as much as I can. Hopefully it’s a successful off-season.”

By nearly every indication, it was. The NHL doesn’t reveal its EDGE tracking in the preseason, so there aren’t any public metrics to say precisely how fast Bedard is skating. But based on the eye test, most everyone — including Bedard — agrees he appears quicker.

“He looks a lot faster already,” said Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato, who played with Bedard more than any other player last season. “It looks like he gained a step this summer. Obviously, he’s a kid that his work ethic is unquestioned. It’s every day he’s working hard and doing the right things. He’s a true pro and I think he put in a lot of work and on the right thing and I think it’ll be cool to see those results pay off.

“It’s a tough league, like I said, but he’s obviously produced already, and if he can get to use those things they worked on this summer and gaining a step and all that stuff, from what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen, he’ll be dangerous and it’ll be fun to play with.”

Ever since being hired as head coach in May, Jeff Blashill has spent a lot of time watching Bedard’s game and figuring out ways to get him to another level. He noticed Bedard looked faster to start camp, and Blashill heard the same from others in the organization who had been around him much longer.

“Everybody says he’s definitely quicker, definitely more agile, definitely more explosive, definitely more endurance within the shift,” Blashill said. “All those things lead to him being in situations to either get the spots quicker to get open or transport the puck up the ice better or pressure and get the puck back. Part of what Connor did this summer, too, is try to come up with a game plan to keep somebody who probably has to watch overworking … getting himself to a spot where he wasn’t going to be burnt out by October. So all I know is what I see. He’s been quick. He’s been agile. He has been on pucks. I certainly like the things that I see out of him.”

Bedard said in April he planned to go about this off-season differently. It began with him turning down an invitation from Team Canada to play in the World Championship. As cool as it would have been to play with Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and company, Bedard had a plan and he was going to stick to it. But what Bedard’s actual plan was or what he exactly did this off-season is unknown. When it comes to the media, Bedard doesn’t like talking about himself, and he especially doesn’t like sharing details about his process.

During a recent interview, he was asked a few different ways what he did this off-season to affect his skating and he divulged little. He said he tried “new things in the summer and kind of see what works.” He said he talked to people, got their opinions and then adapted his own methods. Asked if he worked with anyone specifically, he answered, “I’m kind of just like working out and figuring out a schedule and stuff for me.”

Yes, he trained this off-season. Yes, he was happy with the training. No, he’s not interested in saying much else.

One thing Bedard was willing to disclose was he didn’t alter his crossovers, his stride or anything specific in his skating mechanics, but did put a lot of work into the gym. Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson, who trains with Bedard in the Vancouver area, said as much too.

“We were doing the same program this summer,” Johnson said. “Not always the same gym, same time, but, yeah, we were doing the same program. I don’t want to talk too much about his training, but we’re on the same program.

“We’re pushing each other and talking about our different (fitness metrics) during the summer, our speed, strength or whatever. But especially the speed. We skated like four times a week. Middle of summer a little less. We’ve probably dialed the skating back a little bit than from years before, but obviously the gym is really important. Off-ice stuff I think we make a bit of a priority more now than when we were younger.”

With age and experience — Bedard turned 20 in July — it also appears as if there’s more intent and clarity in his skating. He’s driving the play rather than sitting back. In his four preseason games leading into Tuesday’s season opener, he attacked space, anticipated where he could skate with speed and was more active throughout shifts.

Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno has noticed a change in mentality.

“Even the way he takes off up the ice now, he’s on a mission,” Foligno said. “He’s like, ‘This is who I am and I’m going to go show the world.’ I’m pumped for him.”

Bedard, of course, wouldn’t put it in those sort of words. To hear him talk, he’s merely cautiously optimistic that this season will be different.

“It’s brief, but I think for me, a big part too is consistency,” Bedard said. “I think last year when I was on and feeling good, I was a pretty dynamic player, and then I’d have kind of gaps in the season which weren’t as good. … You can’t have your great be great and your bad be really bad, so it’s just finding consistency and figure out what you need to do to feel good most nights.”

So far, he’s felt good. How he feels over the next 82 games, though, will be what matters.

The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline contributed to this story.

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