NHL EDGE stats behind Bedard’s prowess, surprising Blackhawks 

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we look at the underlying metrics behind Connor Bedard and the surprising Chicago Blackhawks.

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The Chicago Blackhawks have been arguably the NHL’s most surprising team over the first month of the season, led by high-scoring forward Connor Bedard and breakout goalie Spencer Knight.

Chicago is 10-5-4 and currently in Stanley Cup Playoffs position approaching the one-quarter mark of the season (Nov. 20). Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, is among the League leaders in points (29 in 19 games; fourth) and goals (13; tied for second) at only 20 years old.

Bedard scored the second hat trick of his career against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, each coming in the past 10 games; the only 20-or-younger player in Blackhawks history with more points in any 10-game span than Bedard (21) is Denis Savard in 1981-82. Chicago has stockpiled 11 first-round draft picks over the past four years, including a top-three selection in each of the previous three years, and is the third-youngest team in the League (average age of 26.66 years).

The rebuild for the Blackhawks, who have not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2019-20, has also been accelerated thanks to Knight (acquired from Florida Panthers last season as part of Seth Jones trade), who ranks second in the NHL in save percentage (.924) behind Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals (.925) among those who have played at least 10 games this season.

Here are three underlying reasons behind the Blackhawks’ strong start:

1. Bedard’s robust EDGE profile

Bedard, who’s having a full-fledged breakout in his third NHL season, is thriving in various advanced stats. His speed is the most notable improvement compared to last season; he already has five 22-plus mile per hour speed bursts (94th percentile among forwards) after having none last season.

He also ranks in the 90th percentile or higher among forwards in the following EDGE categories:

• 20-plus mph speed bursts: 70 (97th percentile)
• Total skating distance: 66.41 miles (97th percentile)
• Even-strength skating distance: 56.84 miles (sixth among forwards; 99th percentile)
• Average shot speed: 60.95 mph (91st percentile)
• Midrange shots on goal: 33 (third; 99th percentile)
• Midrange goals: 6 (tied for fifth; 99th percentile)
• High-danger goals: 5 (90th percentile)

2. High-danger goals

Chicago is third in high-danger goals (39) behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks (40 each) after it ranked 27th in that category last season (105). Wing Tyler Bertuzzi, who was Bedard’s frequent linemate prior to missing the past two games because of injury, is third in the NHL in high-danger goals (nine) this season.

Bedard already has more goals from high-danger zones this season (five) than he had all of last season (three); forwards Andre Burakovsky, who is also playing on Bedard’s line, Frank Nazar and Ryan Donato also rank highly in high-danger goals (four each; 84th percentile among forwards).

The Blackhawks have dressed seven defensemen in a League-most 16 games this season, and are 9-3-4 in those games. Four of those defensemen rank highly at the position in a key NHL EDGE stat:

• Artyom Levshunov’s offensive zone start percentage: 47 (98th percentile)
• Louis Crevier’s average shot speed: 77.81 mph (99th percentile); includes 102.41 mph slap shot against the Flames on Nov. 18 (second-fastest shot in the NHL this season)
• Sam Rinzel’s average skating distance per 60 minutes: 9.02 miles (92nd percentile)
• Alex Vlasic’s max skating speed: 22.23 mph (85th percentile)

3. Knight’s save percentages by location

Among goalies to play at least 10 games this season, Knight ranks highly in high-danger save percentage (.884; second) and midrange save percentage (.930; fifth) despite facing the third-most high-danger shots on goal (129). Knight is second behind Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders (121) for the most high-danger saves (114) and also leads NHL qualifiers in 5-on-5 save percentage in close situations (.966), meaning when games are tied in the first or second period or within one goal in the third period.

It’s worth noting the Blackhawks have allowed the fourth-most shots per game (31.3) and have the fifth-worst 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (46.3), indicating they could see some regression in the coming months, especially in the difficult Central Division. But with franchise building blocks in Bedard, Knight, Levshunov and a much-improved supporting cast, Chicago has a chance to hang around in the postseason race, making coach Jeff Blashill a dark horse candidate for the Jack Adams Award (coach of the year), Knight a sleeper for the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) and Bedard a contender for the Art Ross Trophy (most regular-season points), Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (most goals) and Hart Trophy (most valuable player).

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