Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (98) looks on against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Lenovo Center. Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
By Sean Keeley on

National hockey analysts Mark Messier and Paul Bissonnette have recently expressed some negative opinions about Chicago Blackhawks star forward Connor Bedard.

Now, the young hockey star is pushing back with his own thoughts.

While there have been flashes of potential and promise, Bedard’s NHL career with the Blackhawks has yet to fully blossom. Following an injury-shortened rookie season, he has 46 points through 53 games this year, which aren’t exactly superstar statistics. Meanwhile, Chicago has the second-worst record in the NHL at 16-31-6.

During the second intermission of Wednesday’s broadcast of the Blackhawks-Oilers game, TNT’s Bissonnette was highly critical of Bedard, referring to how he’s playing as “pond hockey.”

Those comments came after ESPN’s Messier laid into the Blackhawks phenom a few days earlier.

“This is a choice and a consequence for a young player,” Messier said on Feb. 1. “He’s soft on his stick, and I’m sorry, the excuses for a young player are over now. He has to be better than that. He could destroy the morale of the team.”

Bedard responded to the criticism on Thursday, saying that while he understands pundits are paid to share their opinions, he won’t let them impact his efforts.

“I’m not watching a broadcast or anything, so I’m playing hockey,” he told reporters. “Their job is to say what they see. I couldn’t really care less to be honest, what people on the other side think of me or us or whatever. But of course, I’m not going to be butthurt if someone says I make a bad play or something. I don’t care. It’s their job to say what they feel. I’m not going to take anything personally.”

When asked if Bedard listens to any of the media criticism to see if they have a point, the Blackhawks star said that he doesn’t need external critics to know when something isn’t working.

“Hey, man, I know if I messed up a play,” he said. “And like I said, it’s their job to point that out or to say how they feel about something. But if I make a mistake, I know. So, I don’t need to watch a TNT broadcast to figure out if I made a mistake. I’m going to know.”

Unfortunately for Bedard, we suspect Messier, Bissonnette, and many others in the media will continue to offer their unvarnished criticisms until they see improvement on the ice.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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