It feels like first overall pick and next Chicago Blackhawks superstar Connor Bedard always knows what to say. He has yet to play in his first NHL game and already he is becoming the face of the league. He has every right to be after putting up record numbers in the WHL and was selected first overall this summer by Chicago, but some insiders are still trying to catch him off guard in interviews ahead of his NHL debut where he will face-off at center ice against one of his idols, Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby.
When Mark Lazerus of The Athletic was the latest to attempt to push Bedard with questions about pressure and his future in the league, the kid remained cool as a cucumber. Which prompted Lazerus to tell Bedard that he says all the right, boring things, which can be seen as him being “rather frustrating to talk to.”
Bedard laughed and added:
“It’s just in interviews,” he grins. “People don’t see the behind-the-scenes stuff. I’m not saying that I’m not a calm guy. I think I am. But I care so much about hockey. I expect a lot of myself, and I want to do well and help my team win. But when I’m getting asked questions, it’s just, you know, giving an answer. I don’t want to sound rude at all, but what the outside world and reporters and whatnot say, it doesn’t really have any effect on me. It’s great for the game to have (people talking about hockey), but for me, I focus on myself, my team and my family.
“Of course, I want to be a great player. And I have a lot of expectations for myself, a lot of pressure on myself. But that outside noise is something that you keep on the outside.”
That explains why Bedard is staying away from social media and focuses on what’s important.
Can he be any more perfect? He sure can. What he said next might explains how he manages to stay so humble.
“When you’re a kid, you don’t really understand how much stuff outside of hockey there is,” he said. “But for me, I feel like I’m the same person I was when I was 5 or 6 years old, lacing them up and just playing. All that other stuff, it’s something that comes with it all. But you don’t really notice it too much because when it comes down to it, you’re doing what you love.”
This is exactly what the Hawks need. I bet they love how “frustrating” he can be in interviews if that makes him amazing on the ice.
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