Chicago Blackhawks generational talent Connor Bedard is quickly making his mark in the NHL even though he’s barely a season into his professional career.
That said, there’s one part of the job Bedard could do without: the off-ice media responsibilities.
Bedard had an interview with Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic published on Wednesday and he revealed that dealing with media obligations isn’t exactly his favorite part of NHL life.
“It’s not fun, really,” Bedard said about having to deal with media availability, filming commercials, and addressing reporters. “But it’s part of it.
“It’s not what I love to do. If I did, I’d be an actor. But I’m a hockey player. It’s not my No. 1 thing, but it’s fine.”
Bedard’s comments come on the heels of appearing in a popular Gen-Z NHL commercial featuring fellow NHL superstars Jack Hughes, Nick Suzuki, Auston Matthews, and Sidney Crosby.
Bedard noted the league’s efforts to promote players off the ice, saying, “They did a good job” with that commercial.
“It was fine. It was in Vegas (during the player media tour), we were just going station to station. But it turned out really well, I think,” Bedard told The Athletic. “People enjoyed it. I think the NHL is doing a lot of stuff like that, trying to promote us off the ice, as well, a little bit.”
Meanwhile, Bedard continues to let his skills do the talking on the ice. The Blackhawks phenom forward has already scored 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) in 14 games this season coming off winning the Rookie of the Year (Calder Trophy) award last campaign.
Meanwhile, Chicago has struggled as it keeps navigating a rebuilding effort by going 5-8-1 through Wednesday’s matchups.