![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/66143eb\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5255x3503+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F07%2Fea%2F2658e6024862951cb8255f2a955f%2Fnazar-2.jpg\")
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Connor Bedard\u2019s misconduct penalties in consecutive games on the Blackhawks\u2019 last road trip have ignited a discussion: Do NHL referees treat young players unfairly?<\/p>\n
Interim coach Anders Sorensen passionately defended Bedard\u2019s actions Monday, saying he remembers Sidney Crosby and Peter Forsberg also needing to learn how to rein in frustrations on the ice when they first entered the league. Sorensen called it \u201chuman nature\u201d to get frustrated about a lack of success.<\/p>\n
But he added that captains and alternate captains are \u201cthe guys refs want to talk to.\u201d They\u2019re much less keen on discussing calls or taking flak from guys they don\u2019t know as well.<\/p>\n
Even beyond the misconducts, there has been a marked shift in how Bedard has been officiated this season, although it\u2019s debatable whether that\u2019s because he\u2019s not as effectively walking the legality line or because referees are being harsher toward him.<\/p>\n
Last season, Bedard led the Hawks with a plus-11 penalty differential (25 drawn, 14 against). This season, he entered Tuesday with the Hawks\u2019 worst penalty differential at minus-11 (12 drawn, 23 against).<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no question he is prone to hooking or holding opponents who get past him, so the calls made against him are usually fair enough. As he improves defensively, those should decrease. But it does seem like he\u2019s often held or hooked just as much without equivalent punishment.<\/p>\n
Are referees subconsciously biased against Bedard because they believe he hasn\u2019t earned his fame or paid his dues long enough yet? Are they instead biased against him because they don\u2019t like how frequently he complains about non-calls, creating a snowball effect in which they call even fewer?<\/p>\n
Or can the marked shift be explained solely by coincidence and Bedard\u2019s sophomore slump, indicating no bias at all? It\u2019s hard to say.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, another young Hawks forward \u2014 Frank Nazar \u2014 has experienced much different results in the penalty category this season.<\/p>\n
Nazar\u2019s plus-six penalty differential entered Tuesday tied with Tyler Bertuzzi as the Hawks\u2019 best this season. He has drawn 13 penalties, including six in 12 games since the 4 Nations break, while simultaneously committing only three penalties in his last 33 games (after committing four in his first five games).<\/p>\n
Much of Nazar\u2019s proficiency with drawing penalties stems from his constant hustle. Like a basketball player intentionally trying to draw contact in the lane to get a foul call, Nazar knows how to put himself in positions where opponents are inclined to interfere.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe drives the puck a lot [and he] moves his feet a lot,\u201d Sorensen said Tuesday. \u201cHe is really good at getting into someone while his feet are moving. Because of that, a lot of times, the guy is going to take you down \u2014 or you\u2019re going to find space for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nazar mentioned moving his feet as a key, too, but he also believes he has established a good reputation with referees that\u2019s helping him get favorable treatment. He thinks they\u2019ve learned to trust he\u2019s \u201cnot here to goon up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first couple games, I was getting kicked out of every [faceoff],\u201d Nazar said. \u201cIt\u2019s more [about] respecting them, not mouthing off and cheating on every faceoff. If they tell you, \u2018Watch your skate,\u2019 I go, \u2018OK, OK.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Considering rookie Bedard drew just as many penalties as rookie Nazar has, does that suggest Nazar could run into more problems with referees next season? Does Nazar\u2019s relative lack of fame compared to Bedard instead mean referees will always view him differently? Or does it really come down to coincidence and differing skill sets, not bias?<\/p>\n
Again, it\u2019s hard to say. NHL referees are never made available for interviews, and there are a number of chicken-or-egg psychological conundrums to untangle here that referees probably wouldn\u2019t be able to explain even if made available.<\/p>\n
But it would certainly behoove the Hawks to figure out what\u2019s happening on this front.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If NHL referees are biased against young players, what explains Nazar’s success drawing calls as a rookie \u2014 and Bedard’s success drawing calls last season as a rookie, too? Or are there other psychological or skill-based factors at play?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n