The disconcerting thing is that he hasn’t risen above the mediocrity around him.

The Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard has been up and down in his second season in the NHL.Michael Reaves/Getty Images

What if Connor Bedard isn’t as good as we thought he’d be, as good as the Blackhawks thought he’d be and as good as the entire hockey world thought he’d be?

Is ‘‘uh-oh’’ considered one word or two?

We’re asking these questions because Bedard has had a rough season, because the Hawks aren’t what anyone would refer to as ‘‘any good’’ and because he didn’t make Team Canada’s 4 Nations roster.

Mostly, we’re asking because the NHL cognoscenti seem to have passed judgment on the 2024 Calder Trophy winner, and it’s a harsh judgment. Earlier this month, two national TV analysts, Mark Messier and Paul Bissonnette, sharply criticized Bedard, who never had experienced the business end of a flamethrower until he reached the NHL. Remember, he was more than the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft; he was a once-in-a-generation talent. Everybody said so.

Now, everybody seems to be saying, ‘‘Yeah, about that.’’

‘‘There’s so many little details to his game that he’s lacking right now,’’ Bissonnette said on TNT. ‘‘Yes, he might put up 30 to 35 goals a season . . . but they’re going to continue to lose hockey games if that’s how he’s playing. That is pond hockey.’’

It could have been worse, Hawks fans. He could have said floor hockey.

And there was Messier, the ABC/ESPN analyst, sounding like somebody who had just been hit over the head with a hockey stick.

‘‘I’m sorry, the excuses for a young player are over now,’’ he said. ‘‘He has to be better than that. Sure enough, they get a power play, and who goes right onto the ice? Bedard. There’s no quicker way to destroy the morale of the team than having players who don’t earn their ice time.’’

Right. The Hawks were supposed to bench Bedard — their future, their franchise — because he hadn’t been able to stop the Panthers’ Sam Reinhart from scoring in front of the net. The morale of a last-place team is more important than the best player on the roster, a young player, getting more on-ice experience? There is no world in which that’s true.

Bedard deserves criticism. He should be better than he has been. But the recent unloading of abuse felt almost coordinated, as though the powers that be in the national media had decided that Bedard was soft and entitled, was everything that was wrong with today’s game. Maybe Don Cherry had called a Zoom meeting.

For the Hawks and their fans, the disconcerting element here is that Bedard hasn’t risen above the mediocrity around him. Yes, the Hawks’ talent level is low, but that shouldn’t prevent him from being great more often than he has been. No doubt it’s hard being a young, skilled player on a bad team. But other great players have done it in the past because their gifts couldn’t be snuffed out.

Still, a reality check is in order for those ready to throw in the towel on the kid. He’s still only 19. He already has gone through a coaching change in his brief association with the team. He had five goals in his first 28 games this season and 11 in his next 27. That’s not incredible improvement, but it’s improvement.

The talent is there. He still can do things few humans can. The power behind his wrist shot seems to involve a combustion engine.

But he has to be stronger on the puck. No one thought we’d be having this discussion in Year 2. He was supposed to make a big leap from his rookie season, when he had 61 points in 68 games. His 49 points in 55 games this season paint a picture of someone skating in place developmentally.

How much of Bedard’s fall from grace is based on reality and how much is simply a reflection of our modern need for immediate results? He’s carrying not just the expectation of a city and a hockey team; he’s carrying the expectation of a league that desperately needs him to succeed. Young stars mean momentum, and momentum means stability and profit. So, no pressure, kid.

Chicago seems to be the epicenter of huge expectations and hasty judgments. It didn’t take long for the NFL to move on from Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick by the Bears in 2024, and decide that the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick, was actually the better quarterback.

But hopes are big again for Williams because he has an innovative new coach in Ben Johnson. The thing to remember is that he never lost all that talent, even in a 5-12 season.

And Bedard hasn’t lost his, either.