Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson announced that rookie Artyom Levshunov will miss the entire preseason with a lower-body injury and is expected to be out for four weeks.

With that free time and much more, Bedard went to work. After his first NHL season, his biggest focus was adding speed this offseason while he was back home in Vancouver. He sought to simulate NHL play as much and increase his skating within it. It’s early, but Bedard does look faster than he did a season ago. He feels it, too.

Chicago Blackhawks superstar-in-the-making Connor Bedard is heading into the 2024-25 NHL season with plenty of expectations after an impressive rookie campaign, but he will not tell you what his goals are.