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Connor Bedard issues a statement on the Florida Panthers and it changes things for the Chicago Blackhawks
Photo credit: michael reaves
Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks should head into the 2025 season with a killer mindset, as Bedard has personally used the Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup final win as an example to emulate this year.
The Chicago Blackhawks are a team whose been known as dumpster divers in recent years.
They've finished last in the Central Division twice now and have had to shuffle coaches recently.
In the meantime, new Head Coach Jeff Blashill has been trying to teach Bedard lessons during the offseason in order to get his mindset right for the upcoming year.
Blashill and Bedard would correspond through texts while they'd be watching the Stanley Cup final, and Blashill wanted him to take away things from the games he watched.
«The biggest thing I talked about with him was how hard Florida is on pucks, whether it's forechecking, backchecking, or reloading. You notice that when you're playing them. When we played in Florida, it felt like there were five guys on you the whole game. It makes it really hard to play against them,» he said.
Which is pretty much how everyone who has a sense of how hockey is played sees them.
A force to be reckoned with on the ice, and it looks like Blashill has that goal in mind for the Blackhawks.
A team that is difficult to play against.
For the Blackhawks, they need size, speed, and a coach who willingly uses an offensive structure that combines the firepower of superstars like Bedard, the speed of Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar, and the punishing game of Louis Crevier.
A New Outlook for Bedard and The Blackhawks
While they're set in the net with Spencer Knight (a former Panther) and Arvid Soderblom, it seems Blashill has already taken the first steps in changing the outlook of Bedard.
Last season, Bedard produced 67 points (23-44), and what he lacked was speed and size.
Something that he should've been focusing on this past offseason in order to make sure it's difficult to push him off the puck this year.
The team will need to make sure they have the proper depth in order to remain a threat with the kind of secondary scoring the Panthers have.
The only question is, can the Blackhawks be a lethal force on the ice, like the Florida Panthers have been the last three years?
Previously on Chicago Hockey Insider
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 29 | 645 ANSWERS Connor Bedard issues a statement on the Florida Panthers and it changes things for the Chicago Blackhawks Do you think head coach Jeff Blashill can make the Chicago Blackhawks difficult to play against? | ||
| Yes | 358 | 55.5 % |
| No | 287 | 44.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
