Connor Bedard proves he's going to be the next Chicago Blackhawks captain with surprise gesture in practice

At the end of practice, Blashill skated the boys for three to four rounds, and they had a set time that they had to beat.

After the bag skate, they were drained.

Connor Bedard took it upon himself to go down the line of tired bodies and give everyone a fist bump and a job well done, showing why he's a future captain of the team and maybe should even have an «A» on his sweater this upcoming season.

Bedard is only 20 years old but was mature way beyond his years even at 18.

Nothing seems to get to him, and he's just focused on competing and getting better, along with the rest of the team.

Once Nick Foligno retires, he'll be a top candidate for captain alongside Alex Vlasic and possibly Frank Nazar.

After a bit of a sophomore slump for Bedard last year, even though he had a career-high 67-point season, there's a high expectation on him to crack 70, maybe even 80 points this year.

The only problem is there's still a struggle in terms of supporting cast, so the 90-to-100-point talks will have to wait at least until the 2026-27 season.

As a former first overall pick in 2023, he still has a huge chip on his shoulder and is expected to break 100 points at some point in time.

Once the Bedard contract extension is settled, from there, it's all on-ice business and pedal to the metal for him and the Blackhawks organization.

By then, he'll be going into his fourth year and will be 21 years old and will most likely have the «C» on his jersey.