Photo credit: Jamie Sabau/Reuters
Chicago Blackhawks complete major lineup move with Connor Bedard
The Chicago Blackhawks and head coach Luke Richardson have brought out the line blender.
They are trying out a new line, where they have shifted Connor Bedard to the wing and brought up a surprising player to be the 1st line Center.
That is, Jason Dickinson who we all know and love as a great depth center and who has been on a hot streak during the 2023-2024 season.
Richardson doesn't consider this move a long-term move, more so as an experiment.
He has decided to test out what a line with the teams best 5v5 scorers with Philipp Kurashev, Connor Bedard and Jason Dickinson. Dickinson(18), Bedard(18) and Kurashev(11) currently the teams best even strength scorers.
‘‘We just felt like [it was] three smart hockey players,'' Richardson said. ‘‘It's just to get a good look at it. I liked the result last game. Not only did they score a nice rush goal, they created a few other [rushes] that we showed this morning on video and were good in the [defensive] zone.
‘‘It's not necessarily [a] long-term [thing] for Connor, being on the wing. It's just sometimes where he starts out.''
‘‘It's not necessarily [a] long-term [thing] for Connor, being on the wing. It's just sometimes where he starts out.''
Despite the Hawks defiant beatdown of the Flyers, 5-1 Richardson would shuffled the lines and wings.
Connor Bedard is currently slotted on Jason Dickinson's wing — a new look for the Blackhawks. That should help Bedard on faceoffs and in defensive coverage.
«A lot of the time, I think we probably want him down there instead of me.»
Story: https://t.co/UWE8WCbAj9— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 2, 2024
Dickinson is also the best on face-offs for the Hawks this season, winning 50.4% of draws this season as well, compared to Bedard's 39%. This statistic isn't concerning for most considering Bedard is a rookie, but he isn't happy about it.
‘‘It's definitely something I need to get better at,'' Bedard said. ‘‘There's some games you feel good and some games you're going 0-for-10. . . . It's frustrating when you're out there and you keep giving them possession.''
This also meant, that Dickinson won all 14 face-offs against the Flyers, while Bedard would take none, but Dickinson is a left-handed player, so both players have been given the autonomy to decide who takes face-offs on Bedard's strong side, on the right.
Dickinson will help cover Bedard's weaknesses, as well as they have spent 37 TOI on 5v5 together, and 11 of it was spent together on Saturday.
‘‘Dickinson makes it pretty easy,'' Bedard said. ‘‘He's one of the best players in his own end in the league. A lot of the time, I think we probably want him down there instead of me.''
There's no timetable for the end of this experiment, but there's nothing permanent about this combination as of yet.
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April 2 | 161 answers Chicago Blackhawks complete major lineup move with Connor Bedard Do you think Jason Dickinson should be 1C for the Blackhawks? | ||
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