"Excuses for a young player are over now" - Mark Messier rips into Connor Bedard over his 'soft' defensive display against Panthers

Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks are struggling through another difficult season. They once again find themselves at No. 31 in the league, with a 16-31-5 record, totaling just 37 points.

Their poor performance was evident in Saturday afternoon's 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. The Panthers dominated from start to finish, outshooting the Blackhawks 44-25, and the team was fortunate that Petr Mrazek only allowed five goals.

The Panthers' second goal came when Sam Reinhart outmuscled Connor Bedard in front of the net to bury a feed from Aleksander Barkov. During the first intermission, former NHLer and now ESPN analyst Mark Messier called out Bedard for his lackluster defense on the play.

"This is a choice, and this is a consequence for a young player there," Messier said. "He's right on Reinhart. This is a 50-50 battle. 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, and sure enough, they get a power play and who goes right onto the ice, Bedard.

"There's no quicker way to destroy the morale of the team than having players that don't earn their ice-time. When the player makes a conscious choice to be soft on the puck in that situation right there, there has to be consequences, and if there's not, it will destroy the morale of the team."

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Connor Bedard has produced at a similar rate in his second NHL season

Many expected Connor Bedard to make the jump and become a superstar in his second NHL season. However, he hasn't been able to do that.

Bedard has recorded 45 points (15 goals, 30 assists) in 52 games played this season. His 0.865 point per game rate is actually lower than the 0.897 clip from his rookie season. He's also a -24 rating following a -44 during the 2023-24 campaign.

While the Blackhawks have provided him with one of the worst supporting casts in the league, more is expected from 2023's first-overall pick that drew comparisons to the likes of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.

It would be silly to write Connor Bedard off just 120 games into his NHL career. Bedard will face off against McDavid as the Hawks host the Oilers on Wednesday night at the United Center. The puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. EST.