Connor Bedard discusses offseason training, Blackhawks contract talks, learning from Panthers

At home this summer in Vancouver, Blackhawks star Connor Bedard feels as though the days are creeping by.

It’s late July, but he wishes it was late September, when Hawks training camp will finally get underway.

‘‘Last year I got home at the start of June, so you feel that [impatience] a little bit later on,’’ Bedard told the Sun-Times. ‘‘Now it’s been since mid-April that we played our last game, so you want to be in that environment again. I think that’s good, though, to be really craving it once the time comes.’’

The reason Bedard has been home longer, of course, is because he chose not to accept Canada’s invitation to participate in the world championships after the NHL regular season ended.

The now-20-year-old center wanted to spend this offseason focusing solely on training and improving before his third season in Chicago, and that’s exactly what he has done. The boredom is worth it for the extra speed and strength.

‘‘An opportunity like that, it’s hard to say no . . . but it is a pretty long event,’’ he said. ‘‘I thought for me it would be more beneficial to be home for that month of May to get started and ahead of the curve.

‘‘I feel good. [Increasing my speed] was my big thing coming into the offseason, and I feel like I’ve definitely increased that. And, obviously, there’s still some time to go here.’’

Training tweaks

Bedard’s speed inexplicably decreased last season. He had only 70 speed bursts of 20 mph or higher, down from 102 as a rookie. His fastest recorded speed was 21.4 mph, below the league average and 1.3 mph slower than his peak rookie speed.

He admitted he might have taken the ‘‘wrong approach’’ to his skating training last summer, but he thinks he has rectified that this time around.

‘‘A lot of it is in the gym, and then you do stuff on the ice to see how you move most efficiently,’’ he said.

Bedard also tweaked his stick flex this offseason, going up from a 70-flex to a 75-flex (meaning it takes 75 pounds of pressure to bend the stick one inch). A 75-flex stick is still whippy by NHL standards, but it’s slightly stiffer than a 70.

‘‘Summer is the best time to try something and get used to it,’’ he said. ‘‘The more you can go up [in flex] and feel comfortable, it helps with other things.’’

One of those things is faceoffs, during which a stiffer stick is an advantage. Bedard already has made strides in the faceoff dot — he won 47.1% of his draws after Jan. 27 last season, up from an abysmal 32% before then — but he still seemed frustrated in that regard.

He’s testing out each of these adjustments against young Sharks star Macklin Celebrini, one of his summer training partners in Vancouver, which should give him a good sense of whether they’ll work.

Their scrimmage group also includes Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson, Canucks forward Arshdeep Bains and Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall.

‘‘[In] a lot of skates, there’s a lot of thinking involved, and you’re putting yourself in game situations,’’ Bedard said. ‘‘When you put yourself in the spots you’ll be [in] more, you get more and more comfortable with it.’’

Game plan

Bedard’s lack of speed last season led to a lack of separation from opponents in the offensive zone, which led to fewer opportunities to use his shot — one of his best skills. Despite playing 14 more games as a sophomore than as a rookie, he had only one more goal (23 vs. 22), one more shot attempt (402 vs. 401) and 11 fewer shots on goal (195 vs. 206).

He was still the Hawks’ leading scorer, doing things very few teenagers could do, but those facts somehow got overshadowed at times amid the pressure and scrutiny on him.

Nonetheless, he must improve for the Hawks to improve, and the Hawks need to improve enormously. He’s the face of the franchise, and that status carries inescapable weight.

That remains the case after the team’s quiet offseason. The Hawks again will enter camp without any obvious first-line wingers to slot next to Bedard. He didn’t raise a fuss about that, though.

‘‘I think it makes sense,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re in a spot where a lot of our young guys — Frank [Nazar], myself, Sammy [Rinzel], you go down the list — all feel like we can take a step as a group.

‘‘It gives a lot of guys opportunities to come into camp and earn a spot on the team, have an impact and learn. That being said, we’re not going to . . . not have any expectations. We’re going to try to win every game and be confident in every guy in the room. It’s exciting for us to start that together and grow together over the next however many years.’’

The Hawks’ biggest addition might be coach Jeff Blashill, who talked in May about Bedard’s offensive-zone separation and wanting to teach him more ‘‘winning habits.’’ They haven’t gotten to work together on the ice yet, but they already have been in close communication.

‘‘Throughout the [Stanley] Cup Final, he would text me a little bit and ask me what I’m seeing in those games and what he wanted me to watch,’’ Bedard said.

‘‘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.

‘‘That’s somewhat [based on] personnel, but [it’s also about] just doing it, having the wherewithal to be in the right spots and be going hard. I think anyone can really do that.’’

‘Better bond’

Entering the last year of his entry-level contract, Bedard is eligible to sign an extension at any time. But it probably would make the most sense financially for him to wait until next summer to sign one.

‘‘You talk here and there,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s all been positive. Obviously, it hasn’t happened yet, but there’s no concern [about] anything from either end. There’s a good relationship there, so that will get done when it gets done.’’

Perhaps most interesting is how publicly emphatic and outspoken Bedard has been that he will sign an extension and that he wants to stay in Chicago for the long term. He spoke passionately about that during his exit interview, then repeated it to The Athletic last month.

Considering how private and understated he typically is, he clearly did that with intent: to squash any misguided speculation about him wanting to play elsewhere before it gained traction. And he succeeded.

‘‘We have such a great fan base and organization, and they’ve been the reason I’ve got to live out my dream so far for two years,’’ Bedard said. ‘‘If we all show that appreciation, then it creates a better bond for everyone. That’s important.’’