Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard makes shocking decision when asked to join Team Canada

Chicago Blackhawks fans will have to temper their appetites, as it appears that superstar center Connor Bedard will not join Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships this year.

According to Blackhawks team reporter Scott Powers, Bedard chose not to attend the World Championships this off-season to work on his speed outside from representing his country.

Quite the bold decision for Bedard, 19, as other former top prospects and even Macklin Celebrini, who was drafted just last year, has accepted the invite to represent Team Canada.

The event will take place in Herning, Denmark, and Stockholm, Sweden, as the groups are split between A & B.

Group A will play in Stockholm, while Group B will play in Denmark.

The first game(s) to be played will be on May 9th. Team Canada won't hit the ice until May 10th, against the Slovakian National Team at Avicii Arena, in Stockholm, Sweden. Coincidentally, the arena is the namesake of the famous DJ.

The arena may hear the music of Avicii blaring over the speakers, but we won't get the pleasure of hearing Bedard's skates hit the ice, especially after a slog of a season in the NHL.

The Blackhawks finished 8th in the Central Division under Interim Coach Anders Sorensen. I imagine the 25-46-11 record is weighing heavily on his mind, as instead of competing for a gold medal, he wants to win in the NHL, even more than in international competition.

Given that the above paragraph is opinion, it's not unreasonable to think that is the case, given his goals he wanted to pursue this offseason.

While it's slightly disappointing we won't get to see Bedard play any postseason hockey with Team Canada, there's always a chance he could end up playing roller hockey with his buddy, Kent Johnson, again.

Until then, we can just assume he's working on improving his game overall, focusing on his speed this year.