ANAHEIM, Calif. — Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard has the rest of December left to force his way onto Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Bedard’s fantastic play this season has already pushed him into the thick of the debate, but the competition is steep. That’s something he recognizes.
“Obviously I want to be there, and everyone wants to be there,” Bedard said Sunday before the Hawks’ hideous 7-1 loss to the Ducks.
“But there’s so many great players in Canada, they could make two teams and both would compete. … I’m excited to see what ends up shaking out. But it’s not something I’m too worried about.”
Bedard has tallied a ridiculous 16 goals and 17 assists in his last 21 games. Numbers like that are surely difficult for Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong to ignore.
But several other forwards who weren’t on Canada’s 4 Nations roster this past February — especially Sharks star Macklin Celebrini, Capitals bruiser Tom Wilson and Canadiens two-way stalwart Nick Suzuki — are making convincing cases to go to Milan, too.
It feels like Bedard has a truly 50/50 chance right now, looking ahead to the New Year’s Eve roster submission deadline. His teammates are rooting for him.
“Connor has put himself in the conversation,” Jason Dickinson said. “It wasn’t given to him; it wasn’t something that a lot of people were talking about. I think a lot of people had written him off, to be honest. But he has definitely raised his game. He has brought a level of intensity that is turning heads and making them have to think about him as an option.”
Faceoff growth
During Bedard’s first year and a half in the NHL, he became increasingly exasperated about questions about his awful faceoff percentage.
He hasn’t had to deal with many of those lately, though. That’s because he has improved his faceoff skills tremendously.
He inched his percentage up to 46.3% after Feb. 1 last season, and he’s almost breaking even this season, sitting at 48.1% even after a rough weekend. That’s a night-and-day difference from his sub-40% rate before Feb. 1.
“You see the pattern with a lot of guys,” Bedard said. “[In] their first couple years, they’re trying to figure it out, and now they’re great faceoff guys in the league. It’s about just keep practicing, keep getting better, and getting more used to the guys you’re going against.
“[I’m] figuring out what works for me on a consistent basis. I’m going to have bad nights — [Saturday] probably wasn’t great — but I’m trying to keep that consistency, and I feel like I’ve done a better job of that this year.”
Having Ryan Greene, a natural center, playing on his wing helps. Bedard can cheat a little bit more before the puck is dropped because he knows that, even if he’s kicked out, somebody competent will step in his place.
Greene’s faceoff percentage of 44.1% probably undersells how solid he has been in the circle for a rookie.
Leaderboard glances
Bedard claims he doesn’t exactly want to see where he sits on the NHL scoring leaderboard, but he’s finding it hard to avoid finding out anyway.
“You just see it if you have a phone or Instagram,” he said.
It changes every day, but Bedard is currently fourth with 40 points on the season, trailing Nathan MacKinnon (49), Celebrini (43) and Connor McDavid (42).
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