WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The situation in which Connor Bedard currently finds himself is unfair.
He knows it. His teammates know it. Blackhawks management, coaches and fans know it. Everyone with a hint of logic knows it.
Having done nothing whatsoever — other than earn the NHL’s Rookie of the Month award for November, that is — and with a supportive family that has also done nothing whatsoever, Bedard has been unwittingly hurled headfirst into the Corey Perry saga by social media.
Rampant rumors lacking a shred of truth — or even a shred of believability — that his family was involved in the misconduct that led to Perry’s contract termination earlier this week piled even more scrutiny upon him as an 18-year-old teenager just settling into the NHL.
Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson had to hold back tears Tuesday, and while the factual aspects of the Perry situation were surely disconcerting for him, his emotions seemed to stem even more from the undeserved negative impact he knows this has had on Bedard.
Perry, in his apology statement Thursday, also went out of his way to mention he’s “sickened by the impact this has had” and to clarify that “in no way did this involve any of my teammates or their families.” Davidson said the same thing Thursday.
And yet on Friday, Bedard — in his first time back in Western Canada, where he grew up and played his junior hockey, since joining the Hawks — was confronted by repeated questions about the matter from several Winnipeg-based reporters.
“[When] you’ve got the attention on you, stuff’s going to happen,” Bedard responded after a pause and eye-glance. “Whether you did nothing or you’re not involved in the situation at all, somehow it’s all about you. That’s not fair, but that’s how life works.”
He grew increasingly uncomfortable — and understandably so — with every ensuing question.
His second response: “I don’t need to answer any more questions about this stuff. Obviously, it’s all just a bunch of ‘BS’ on the internet. It’s of course [had] an effect on myself and my family, but who cares. It’s out of our control. And it’s all just fake, made-up stuff.”
His third response: “It’s whatever, like I said. Stuff gets out there, and people want to make jokes. Obviously, what happened with [Perry] is serious, and the first concern is he’s OK and his family [is OK]. It’s not great, but it’s out of our control. I don’t need to talk too much further on it.”
At that point, the interview finally went in a different direction, allowing Bedard to talk about newly acquired forward Anthony Beauvillier’s first day of practice on Bedard’s line.
Nonetheless, the poise Bedard showed in a very difficult situation — a situation in which a more experienced player probably would’ve shut down the line of questioning entirely and immediately — demonstrated again his remarkable maturity.
He’s not just mature for an 18-year-old. He’s mature, period.
Many an athlete has been overwhelmed, overinflated or crushed by a spotlight half the brightness of the one that illuminates Bedard’s every move — and even, as this situation indicates, the moves he’s falsely claimed to have made. Even teenage stars who eventually do find their footing and succeed often make missteps along the way.
The Hawks saw that firsthand with Patrick Kane, who was arrested in 2009 (during his second NHL offseason) for beating a cab driver — his first of several off-ice controversies. Kane has certainly matured since, cleaning up his image considerably along the way, but he’s proof of how easily the fame, attention and never-ending pressure of being a No. 1 overall pick in a market like Chicago can lead someone astray.
Bedard is encountering the same challenges to an even greater degree, due to the growth of hockey’s popularity and proliferation of social media over the last 16 years, yet handling them far better. He hasn’t made a single misstep of any size so far.
It would be naive to claim he’s immune. Beneath his baby face and ever-polite demeanor, he probably deals with a full array of emotions internally.
But his ability to never let those emotions get the best of him, to keep his ego in check, to maintain the values he was taught by his family, to keep his focus solely on his on-ice performance and to be a fantastic role model for the millions of kids who now idolize him deserves endless praise.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, and it’s impressive how he’s handled it,” Nick Foligno, the Hawks’ de facto captain, said recently.
“After every game, there’s somebody that wants to meet him. Some kid from some other team; it could be anybody. It’s hilarious, actually, how many people come out of the woodwork just to bring their kid down to meet him. He always has time. Whether he’s in a good mood or a bad mood, he just goes over and makes that kid’s day.
“For some of those kids...that might be the only opportunity they ever get to meet somebody like that. For him to be selfless like that, it speaks volumes about him as a person and how he understands his role in this league. It’s a great sign for a guy that’s going to play for a lot of years.”
On Thursday, Red Wings forward David Perron was the latest person to make that request, and the adorable photo Perron posted afterward of his starstruck son with Bedard exemplified the valuable side of social media.
Bedard has been exposed a million times too much to the cruel side, though. It was good to hear him at least call it as it is: “Unfair.” But it wasn’t good to hear him forced to continue discussing it even after calling it such.
It’s impressive how well he’s playing for the Hawks, having tallied 18 points in his first 21 career games — including 12 points in 12 games in November, earning him that NHL recognition — heading into a Saturday matinee against the Jets.
It’s even more impressive, however, how he’s navigating a nearly impossible situation off the ice with impossibly strong wisdom, patience and maturity.
