Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard disappointed not to make Olympics, puts onus on himself

CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard pointed the finger at someone for not being included on Team Canada’s Olympic team.

It wasn’t at Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong, anyone else who helped select the team or any of the players chosen over him. In his first comments since being excluded from the roster, Bedard saw the decision as a reflection of his game.

“I think the positive I’ve taken out of this is I get to look at my game and, ‘Where can I improve?’” said Bedard, speaking Tuesday after partially participating in his first practice since suffering a shoulder injury Dec. 12. “When you don’t meet an expectation or meet one of your goals, I think the only thing to do is look in the mirror and see where you can get better. That’s an exciting opportunity for me.

“At the end of the day, the players pick the team. How you play … obviously, I was playing well, but, of course, I want to make it where there’s no choice. That’s not on who’s picking the team; that’s on the players. So, I think that’s a positive I’m taking out of that. It’s exciting for me.”

It’s hard to argue with how the 20-year-old Bedard was playing before his injury. He had elevated his game to a new level in his third NHL season, producing 19 goals and 25 assists in 31 games. He still ranks third in the league with 1.42 points per game. His offense was better, but so was his defense. He was a plus-4 at five-on-five compared with being a minus-16 last season.

Armstrong said last week Bedard’s injury didn’t play much of a role in the decision.

“His name was right there till the last second because we could have named him and then moved forward. The reality is there are so many good players, and we just had difficult decisions to make.”

Bedard gets that part. But it was still difficult to hear the final decision.

“There’s disappointment, for sure,” Bedard said. “Everyone in Canada would want to be on that team or any country that is going. You know, there’s so many great players, and they got tough decisions to make. Obviously, you respect that. But I think every player would say they would love to be on the team, disappointed not to. Like I said, it’s a great team; you can’t really be mad at the roster they picked. There’s no hard feelings for me.”

Bedard said he believes he is on a backup list of players.

“They were nice enough to give me a call before it came out,” Bedard said. “Let me know I obviously wouldn’t be there, but I’m pretty sure they did mention that.”

Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill has been careful not to insert his opinion about Team Canada’s decision.

“Like anyone else, you want to look in the mirror first, say, ‘Did I do everything possible to put myself in the very best position I could?’” Blashill said Tuesday. “I think, in the end, his kind of approach this year, although I know it was — I don’t want to say a goal, but maybe a goal — something he would have loved, but his bigger approach was becoming the best player he could for us and trying to help us win. I think he was continuously improving in those areas as well. ”

Bedard and Frank Nazar, who was hit in the face by a puck Dec. 20, ran drills together before the Blackhawks’ practice Tuesday. Bedard joined the team for practice as a non-contact participant. Neither he nor Blashill had an exact timeline for his return. Blashill did say Bedard was closer than Nazar.

“I feel good,” Bedard said. “Feel really good. Obviously, got out with the guys a little bit today and kind of just keep ramping up.”

Bedard has tried to take a positive mentality into his rehab.

“I just kind of wanted to get my gear off and had a little pain,” Bedard said of when the injury occurred. “Just trying to get rid of that, but I think after, once you settle into it, other than on the plane ride home, you expect the worst, hope for the best, and that’s how I thought about it. Obviously, you want to be back as quick as you can, and you always want to be playing.

“Whenever something happens, that’s kind of in your mind, but overall, I feel like I’ve stayed pretty positive throughout. Just trying to keep that mindset and try to not only get back to where I was playing but be better than I was before I got hurt.”