Even Chicago Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson had to wait to get quality time with Connor Bedard.
“Just said hello quick at the draft,” Richardson said Saturday during the opening of Hawks development camp at Fifth Third Arena.” I thought I’d leave him alone. He had lots going on, and I’ll see him this week. So I really haven’t had a chance to talk to him.
“But just from watching, very mature and obviously (he’s) been in the spotlight for a while.”
The spotlight is on the Hawks in the coming week, and not just because they selected Bedard — “The Chosen One,” “The Next One,” “Can’t-miss Connor,” whichever superlative used to describe him” — with the No. 1 pick in the draft Wednesday.
After going through the last vestiges of a teardown that saw the exits of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the Hawks have set the foundation for the long road back to relevance.
They traded for Boston Bruins exports Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno on Monday and traded with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday for Corey Perry — hated by Hawks fans during the Stanley Cup years — and signed him to a one-year deal Friday with a $4 million salary-cap hit.
And on Saturday, the Hawks agreed to terms with bottom-sixer Ryan Donato, formerly of the Seattle Kraken, on a two-year contract with a $2 million cap hit.
Bedard may be the biggest name from this year’s draft class, but others at rookie camp are looking to climb the pipeline.
Here are three things we learned from development camp.
Richardson said he doubts there will be any suspense about whether Bedard makes the opening-night roster, but he said there won’t be any shortcuts for the highly touted prospect.
“He’s another player, just like anyone else,” Richardson said. “But he’s obviously got high-end talent, we know that. And that’s going to be evaluated on how we plan our systems going forward.
“And that’s not just five on five, but special teams is going to be crucial this year to get better at.”
The Hawks power play ranked 28th last season at 16.4%.
The Hawks are using rookie camp for testing and physical development — staying mostly off the ice — and they’re throwing at least one twist into the regimen.
“(We’re) giving them some intangibles — a little bit of boxing lessons — just to change things up, to have some fun,” Richardson said.
Bedard said it’s not his first time in the ring.
“I actually did boxing when I was really young for a couple years,” he said. “And then once in a workout a couple years ago.
“It’s been a while. I’m not going to say I’m any good or anything, but I have a little bit of experience with it.”
He said it was good for conditioning.
“I don’t know what we’re doing,” he said. “I don’t think we’re fighting each other, but it’ll be a lot of fun to see everybody do that.”
The Hawks want to keep the prospects off the ice and focus more on physical development as part of a new approach, but apparently Bedard tried to get on the ice at Fifth Third Arena anyway.
“They’ve got a nice setup to shoot pucks and stuff, so it’s all pretty good,” he said.
Bedard and other prospects say they’re fine with how the Hawks are running rookie camp.
“We’re going to be working really hard in the gym and everything, and then a lot of team bonding and getting to know the city and stuff,” Bedard said. “I’m really looking forward to it. … It’s really surreal to be here and get started.”
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Fellow first-round pick Oliver Moore said he’s just happy to be at camp in Chicago.
“I’m looking forward to just getting stronger and knowing what I can get better at and having the strength coach and the people around here help me out,” said Moore, the No. 19 selection. “We just did testing this morning, and it’s going to be good to see where I can improve off-ice.”
Richardson said camp is “not all off-ice, but it’s a good thing.” He noted how some prospects are coming off junior league playoffs and tournaments such as the Memorial Cup, while others have had long layoffs.
“So you’ve got guys that are tired and you’ve got guys that aren’t really ready for that full-out, (full-)bore (workout),” Richardson said. “But when you’re looking up and you see the manager, the coach or people looking down, you’re going to turn it on whether you’re ready or you’re overtired or whatever your situation is.”
Also prospects interrupt their “gym cycle” to get ready for World Juniors or rookie camps.
“There’s no rest for their bodies,” Richardson said. “You don’t want (them) to rest and do nothing, but you can take a rest from the grinds of the everyday wear-and-tear.
“A guy like (2022 first-round pick) Frank Nazar last year — we saw the results in that,” he added, referring to Nazar’s injury early in his season with the University of Michigan. “A lot of wear and tear on him. He ended up missing half a season.”
