Connor Bedard shares insights of preparations ahead of season opener against the Florida Panthers
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Connor Bedard revealed in a new interview how he and the Chicago Blackhawks have been preparing for their season opener against the Florida Panthers.
Tomorrow, the Chicago Blackhawks will finally be back on the ice for the first game of the 2025-26 NHL regular season in Florida, after the Panthers raise their second Stanley Cup banner in two years.
For a young team like the Chicago Blackhawks, learning from the best teams in the league is crucial.
In a recent article posted on NHL.com, Bedard revealed the takeaways he observed from the Stanley Cup Finals after his new head coach, Jeff Blashill, asked him to learn from the Panthers.
Connor Bedard Studied The Florida Panthers Ahead Of Season Opener
Bedard is poised for a breakout season this year after a productive offseason spent training on and off the ice.
He learned a lot by simply watching the Panthers, notably about how to play with speed and toughness.
When he talked about that, he also mentioned how teams don't have to have the best players to compete hard every night.
In his own words:
"I think the biggest thing he mentioned was just how they swarm pucks. You've seen in our camp, a lot of skating, a lot of getting on the guys, playing with speed, playing hard, and Florida's kind of the epitome of that, I'd say."
"You don't need to have the No. 1 lineup in the League to work hard, and I think that's just the biggest thing, hounding pucks and getting on guys."
"You don't need to have the No. 1 lineup in the League to work hard, and I think that's just the biggest thing, hounding pucks and getting on guys."
Jeff Blashill also shared comments on what he wanted his players to see by watching the Panthers in action:
"What are those things? Florida does a really good job of tracking back and reloading hard, and they don't wait for offense and hope the [defense] turns the puck over. They're a five-man connected unit, and those are things we want to be. Those are things that I value."
Bedard showed that he gained maturity and experience with his renewed approach to the game:
"I think you hear it so much, like you only have the puck on your stick for, in a good game, a minute. So, you have however many minutes you're not playing [with the puck], and to be in the right spots, to go get it or make a play defensively or offensively, that's something that I can improve on, and you see the best teams do."
The Blackhawks are not different from what the Panthers were at some point, and Bedard knows it. He wants to get better and help the team reach its former glory.
"Those guys were our age at one point and the worst team in the League for a while. So, they were looking at Pittsburgh, Chicago: the teams that were good at the time, and trying to reach that, and eventually they did. Everyone starts in that spot, and I'm pretty confident that we're going to get there."
It's hard to predict what the season will look like for Bedard, but improvement can already be noticed. What fans are eager to see is whether he will be able to bring a steady impact over the course of a full season.
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