Connor Bedard is getting used to the physical play of the NHL. There’s no denying his incredible talent, and his transition from the WHL, where he recorded a record-breaking number of points, to the NHL has been impressive.
He leads all rookies in points this season despite missing more than a month of play due to a broken jaw.
There’s also been a lot of discussion about how Bedard is handling the physical game and that he’s not putting himself in the best positions.
The hit that suffered a broken jaw on him came after he skated through the neutral zone with his head down, and it seems like other teams are targeting him. Bedard is by far the best player on the Blackhawks, and other teams try everything to get under his skin.
Just earlier this week, Bedard was absolutely crushed into the boards by a hit from Coyotes’ Matt Dumba.
Opinions were divided on whether the hit was dirty or clean, but everyone agreed that Bedard puts himself in vulnerable positions on the ice. In this instance, he had already passed the puck to a teammate and didn’t do anything to protect himself.
And Darren McCarty, a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings, thinks he has no one to blame but himself, as he slams Bedard on X, formerly Twitter.
”Rule #1. Get out of the way. Rule #2. If you’re gonna get hit. Get up against the wall (boards). 2 feet off is (dead emoji),” wrote McCarty.
”This used to be common knowledge. So did skating through neutral zone with head down and get blown up.”
McCarty also slammed back at everyone, saying Bedard was ’defenseless.’
”Defenseless is Football not Hockey.”
