Through 68 games in each of his first two seasons, Connor Bedard has not given the Blackhawks a sound return on their investment.

Mar 15, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard (98) handles the puck against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images | Bob Frid-Imagn Images

In the NHL, generational talents have more on their shoulders at such a young age since they’re either 17 or 18 on draft day. Contrast this with the NFL, in which nearly all draftees are at least 20 years old, if not 21, 22, or even 23.

That’s quite an age difference, so when you see a generational talent like Connor Bedard or Macklin Celebrini, you can argue that the expectations for both players can be unreasonably high. But Connor Bedard, who was solid in Year 1, should have brought back better returns than he had in Year 2, even if nobody’s gone easy on him lately.

And maybe through the final 14 games of the season, that will occur, since his sophomore season isn’t finished yet. But unfortunately for Bedard, who played in his 68th game in Year 2 last night, which matched the total he played in Year 1, the results are less-than-promising.

Connor Bedard’s productivity has been on the backslide in most categories

This isn’t to bash Bedard, whose situation in Chicago isn’t ideal. I wouldn’t even expect a young Patrick Kane to take over games and lead this version of the Blackhawks to new heights, so Bedard deserves some slack. Heck, maybe bringing Kane back into the mix will help the young prodigy?

But still, 53 points and 18 goals in 68 games is all he has to show for it after putting up 61 points and 22 goals in Year 1? We don’t need to get pessimistic or push the panic button yet, but there should be a little concern here.

He’s yet to make the Blackhawks even remotely better, and so far, he’s looked more like a role player than a future superstar. Yeah, he’s shown flashes of stardom, but they haven’t been enough to get me on board and say he’s one of the future faces of the league.

Here are Bedard’s full numbers from 2024-25 through those 68 contests: 18 goals, 35 assists, 53 points, a minus-36, 163 shots on goal, 11.0 shooting percentage, 37.3 faceoff win percentage, 33 blocks, 36 hits, 20 takeaways, and 71 giveaways. You look at his body of work this year and it’s clear to even the most layman hockey fan that there’s way too much room for growth.

What does Connor Bedard’s numbers look like when compared to 2023-24?

In 2023-24, Bedard snagged 61 points, 22 goals, 39 assists, a minus-44, 206 shots on goal, a 10.7 shooting percentage, a 38.9 faceoff win percentage, 27 blocks, 54 hits, 47 takeaways, and 57 giveaways. His points total, goals, assists, shots on goal, faceoff win percentage, hits, takeaways, and giveaways have all fallen back this season.

Yes, Bedard’s numbers need a major rebound throughout the final 14 games of the season if fans want any optimism that their team selected a true generational talent first overall in 2023. I never like bringing his name up, but you got Macklin Celebrini in just as bad of a situation with the San Jose Sharks whose productivity has been better in quite a few areas.

Now, as mentioned earlier, Bedard is still a young player more than capable of figuring out how to grow from solid but unspectacular into something that resembles a future superstar. That jump could come in Year 3, rendering all the concerns we have about him void. Here’s to hoping we see better performances from here on out.