As the Chicago Blackhawks work through a challenging start to the season with the team going 6-9-1 in their first 16 games, Connor Bedard isn’t shying away from self-reflection.

The Blackhawks have lost nearly double the games they have won in the first month of play and Bedard, regarded as a generational talent and the Hawks’ no. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL draft, has had a disappointing start to his sophomore campaign.

After starting strong with 11 points in the first nine games of the season, Bedard has only produced points in two of the last seven games and has 13 points in 16 games.

In a recent interview shared by Rob Couch of The Hockey News, Bedard openly took responsibility for his play, acknowledging that he hasn’t had the impact he wanted in recent games.

“Definitely not playing great the last little bit, so I’ll try to be better,” Bedard said. “You can look everywhere, but just feeling like I’m having more of an impact on the game.

“Felt like earlier in the year I was making a lot of plays and was pretty dangerous out there. Lately, I’ve just been less of an impact and not really making a difference.

“Hopefully, I can contribute more.”

Bedard’s recent scoring drought has been notable, with only one multi-point game since Oct. 17 when he assisted two goals against the NHL bottom-dwellers San Jose Sharks. Bedard assisted three goals in a win against Anaheim on Nov. 3, but he’s only scored one point (an assist) in the following three games played of late.

While head coach Luke Richardson blamed Bedard’s lacking production on the youngster, he also acknowledged that he might have to make some lineup changes to help him get out of the slump.

“He has to find that consistency, no matter who he’s playing with,” Richardson said. “But we do have to look at the numbers and see who he’s playing well with. It’s definitely in the bingo machine.”