By The Numbers: Bedard’s sophomore slump
Published
Connor Bedard is having a different sophomore season than he envisioned.
After winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2023-24, the 19-year-old has struggled mightily in his second season. He has scored three goals and 13 points through 18 games and is on pace for 14 goals and 59 points in 82 games, a far cry from the 22 goals and 61 points he scored in 68 games last season.
Connor Bedard Point Pace By Season
| Year | Goals (82-Game Pace) | Points (82-Game Pace) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 22 (26) | 61 (73) |
| 2024-25 | 3 (14) | 13 (59) |
The North Vancouver, B.C. native has recorded one assist in his past five games and has not scored since Oct. 26.
“Right now, he looks lost,” said Ray Ferraro on the Ray and Dregs Podcast.
“They’re not a very good team, they never score, and he doesn’t generate anything for two reasons. A) He doesn’t really have a good fit to play with, there’s no strong offensive player to play with and B), he’s doing the thing young players do when they’re struggling to score.
“There are five players in the league who average over a minute per shift, and he’s one of them. That’s got to be cut by a third. There’s no pace to his game, there’s no ‘get up and go’, there’s no threat.
“There’s always a tendency to push some of these guys ahead of where they are. In my mind, he’s not there.”
The Blackhawks traded for 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner and fellow first-overall pick, Taylor Hall, to give Bedard a veteran offensive player to learn from. However, the experiment has not worked, as Hall has played just 27 games over two seasons with the Blackhawks and was recently made a healthy scratch, as he has recorded just two goals and six points through 17 games this season.
The Blackhawks averaged a league-worst 2.17 goals per game last season and are once again on pace to be the lowest-scoring club in the NHL, averaging 2.33 goals per game through 18 contests.
Chicago Blackhawks Team Offence
| Year | Goals For | Goals/GP (NHL Rank) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 178 | 2.17 (32) |
| 2024-25 | 42 | 2.33 (32) |
Bedard entered the season with hopes of playing for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-off but appears to be on the outside looking in after his lacklustre start to the season.
“You can’t make this Team Canada roster by virtue of where you were drafted,” said TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger on the Ray and Dregs Podcast. “To this point in the NHL regular season, he had to show that there would be way more consistency in his game at the NHL level, than what they saw at the men’s worlds. He’s not on my team at this stage.”