NHL: Dallas Stars at Chicago Blackhawks - Source: Imagn — Connor Bedard should not make Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off roster, says analyst (Source: Imagn)

NHL analyst delivers hot take on Connor Bedard making Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off, 2026 Olympics rosters

Modified Dec 03, 2024 16:37 GMT

Connor Bedard is in the race to fill one of the remaining eight forward spots on Team Canada's roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which will be revealed on Wednesday. The tournament will run from Feb. 12 through Feb. 20, 2025, in Montreal's Bell Centre and Boston's TD Garden.

Owing to the 2023 No. 1 overall pick's sophomore slump this season for the Chicago Blackhawks, Bedard is not an instant lock to make the roster. Currently, he is tied for 27th in scoring among Canadian forwards with 19 points from five goals and 14 assists.

NHL analyst Bryan Hayes delivered his hot take on whether Bedard should make Team Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off roster amid his sophomore slump, on a TSN segment with Jay Onrait.

"No, and I don't think it's particularly close," Hayes said (0:37). "I don't think he's even close to being at a position right now where he'd be comfortable with best-on-best or Jon Cooper and his staff would even think about putting him into the lineup."

Hayes said a partial reason for Bedard's slump is his team, the Chicago Blackhawks, who are currently the worst team in the NHL, having an 8-15-2 record.

Hayes added that the 19-year-old Canadian could still have been in the conversation to make Canada's roster, had he been on par with other NHLers like Travis Konecny (30 pts), Mark Scheifele (26 pts) or Brandon Hagel (29 pts).

"Bedard hasn't played himself into that conversation. If anything, he's played himself off that conversation or away from that conversation. And I don't completely blame him," Hayes said (1:19)

Team Canada has already announced six players for the 4 Nations Face-Off: Cale Makar, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Connor McDavid and Brayden Point.

Hayes went a step further and predicted that Connor Bedard probably will not even make Team Canada's roster for the 2026 Olympics.

"I'm not sure he's on the Olympic team next year, if I had to guess right now, I don't think he will be," Hayes said.

Hayes also added that the 2030 Olympics Team Canada roster will likely feature the Blackhawks rookie, and in 2034, Connor Bedard will be the team's superstar after Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon hang up their skates.

Connor Bedard self confident but "not focused" on making Team Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off roster

In late October, Connor Bedard told TSN's Jay Onrait that he was not focused on possibly making Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off roster, but instead prioritized the Chicago Blackhawks and their regular season. But was also excited at the possibility of playing alongside Connor McDavid.

“But obviously, if I play well enough and give myself a chance (to make the roster), that'd be great," Bedard said. "There's so many players in Canada that could be on that team. … Of course, I have confidence in myself, but we'll see what happens down the road.”

At the time of this interview, Bedard had seven points in seven games but has since hit a major scoring slump scoring five goals in 25 games. He only recently broke his 12-game goal slump after scoring in the Hawks' 6-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Nov. 27.

Connor Bedard spoke about losing confidence in himself during his rough patch and vented his frustration over his inability to shoot the puck into the net. He said:

"You just feel like you don't have it or whatever and you lose a bit of confidence." (via Sportsnet)

It remains to be seen if Connor Bedard features for Team Canada in near future.