![\"Bedard](\"https:\/\/media.d3.nhle.com\/image\/private\/t_ratio16_9-size50\/v1735607565\/prd\/rt27yq67lzpp6xxvlold.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFor many Blackhawks, heading outside for the Winter Classic conjures memories of skating on frozen ponds and backyard rinks as kids in Canada, Finland, the northeastern United States or elsewhere.<\/p>\n
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But for Vancouver native Connor Bedard \u2014 the very reason why the NHL wanted the Hawks in this event this year \u2014 it doesn\u2019t. The Hawks\u2019 outdoor practice Monday at Wrigley Field before the game Tuesday against the Blues was one of the first times he had skated outside.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It doesn\u2019t really get that cold [in Vancouver],\u2019\u2019 Bedard said. \u2018\u2018A couple of times, [we] drove up to Whistler.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Bedard has mastered the art of deflecting hype, but he admitted this Winter Classic is \u2018\u2018one of the coolest experiences of my life so far, and the game hasn\u2019t even started yet.\u2019\u2019 Although skating outside might not bring back many childhood memories in his case, it still fuels a sense that this is the way hockey is meant to be played.<\/p>\n
![\"Chicago's](\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/migration\/2023\/10\/25\/AXHYIEQSPRWCAS2OAXJGO7KPVU.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,900\")
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\u2018\u2018When you first get out on the ice with open air, it does get your lungs a little bit,\u2019\u2019 captain Nick Foligno said. \u2018\u2018Then all of a sudden it lets go, and you feel like you can play forever. By the end of .\u2009.\u2009. practice, I was like, \u2018I want to stay out here for hours.\u2019\u2009\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Bedard unquestionably will be the featured attraction and focal point of the game, both on TNT\u2019s broadcast and in person at Wrigley.<\/p>\n
There will be countless graphics, iso-cams, analyses, anecdotes and more. The crowd will roar twice as loud for his entrance than for anyone else\u2019s. And if he scores, the highlight will be included in Bedard montages for years, just like Sidney Crosby\u2019s shootout goal in 2008.<\/p>\n
Bedard\u2019s parents and sister got to skate with him on the Wrigley rink Monday \u2014 he quipped that his mom, Melanie, has \u2018\u2018an ugly stride\u2019\u2019 \u2014 and his grandparents and cousins also are flying in.<\/p>\n
While the Classic comes at an unfortunate time for the Hawks as a team, considering how poorly they\u2019ve played recently, it\u2019s relatively good timing for Bedard individually. He has played much better since interim coach Anders Sorensen took over.<\/p>\n
Bedard has 13 points (including six goals) in 11 games under Sorensen and will enter the Classic on a four-game point streak. His surge has eased concerns about stagnating development, which arose when he had only 12 points (including only four goals) in his last 21 games under former coach Luke Richardson.<\/p>\n
![\"Bedard](\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/clintonherald.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/e\/93\/e93e2b2b-ce0e-57cd-af52-3d23164b059b\/67734890c505a.image.jpg?resize=750%2C500\")
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\u2018\u2018I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve been on a run,\u2019\u2019 Bedard said. \u2018\u2018This is more what I am as a player. It\u2019s about how much I\u2019m creating and how many plays I\u2019m making, and I feel like I\u2019ve been doing that pretty well. Obviously, you want the points to come. They don\u2019t always, but hopefully they do.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
It\u2019s going to be awhile until Bedard is featured on the NHL\u2019s biggest stage: the playoffs. Until then, the league is going to all lengths to capitalize on his popularity in other ways.<\/p>\n
He was hockey\u2019s version of Taylor Swift at the NHL Draft in 2023 and during the Hawks\u2019 road trip to Pittsburgh, Boston, Montreal and Toronto to begin his NHL career last season. Personally, he thinks the 2023 world junior championships in Nova Scotia are the biggest stage he has played on. Even his homecoming game with the Hawks last month in Vancouver became a ballyhooed event, even though it turned into a disappointment.<\/p>\n
This Classic, however, marks another milestone on Bedard\u2019s road from celebrity prospect to NHL superstar. That\u2019s what he and the Hawks are hoping for, at least.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It\u2019s all just part of the journey and part of growing and learning how to deal with attention,\u2019\u2019 linemate Taylor Hall said. \u2018\u2018Obviously, he\u2019s got a lot of it. You can\u2019t really mature and grow and get used to the spotlight until you\u2019re in it and you\u2019re doing stuff, and this is a big steppingstone.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The young Blackhawks star, who has 13 points in his last 11 games, will be the focal point of the TNT broadcast and in-person experience at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n