Connor Bedard’s game took a step forward in the Blackhawks’ season opener

Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks made their 2025-26 debut on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, falling 3-2 in a tightly contested matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Despite being held off the scoresheet, Bedard was buzzing throughout the night, getting shot attempts on net and making a concerted effort to battle for pucks in the defensive zone. After a 2024-25 campaign that saw him score 23 goals and 67 points, expectations for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick are through the roof.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton are joined by former NHL forward and video coach Steve Peters to discuss Bedard’s first game and what’s expected in 2025-26.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I felt like Bedard took a step forward on Tuesday. He looked really confident, he made some nice defensive plays, what did you make of his game?

Steve Peters: I think it’s an important year for Bedard. I know he had back-ot-back 20-goal seasons, but he needs to take a step forward, and it’s not just about his offense. He needs to show that he’s a 200-foot player, and a lot of the time last year, they had him play center but he was still covering the wing spot in the defensive zone. This year, he’s digging in the corner.

I thought he was playing quicker, his feet moved quicker. I know he was talking about how important it was for him to work on his quickness and his speed, and I thought we saw some of that on Tuesday. He led all forwards on both teams in ice time, he had six shot attempts and I think that’s one of the things you’ll look for him this year: he’s going to try and shoot the puck more.

He’s always trying to make the play and make that really nice pass, but I expect him to be a little more selfish this season and get more pucks on net.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…