Taylor Hall can empathize with Connor Bedard’s sophomore slump. The Chicago Blackhawks forward remembers his own like it was yesterday.
“My second year, I had three goals after 17 games,” Hall told the Tribune on Monday, comparing his scoring lag in 2011-12 with the Edmonton Oilers to Bedard’s three goals in this season’s first 21 games.
It’s probably cemented in Hall’s memory because in his 18th game, on Nov. 19, 2011, at Rexall Place, he burst out with his second career hat trick.
Against the Hawks, naturally.
“I ended the year at, like, a half-goal-a-game clip and had some good totals,” Hall said, “and I felt that I had a pretty good season, even though it was shortened due to injury.”
One reason the Hawks traded with the Boston Bruins for Hall two summers ago is that, as a fellow former No. 1 draft pick, he can relate to and mentor Bedard. But their ice time together has been negligible.
That’s likely to change Wednesday against the Dallas Stars.
Hall and Philipp Kurashev joined Bedard on the top line at practice Monday, and coach Luke Richardson plans to deploy that lineup for the first time this season after trying Bedard with Hall and Teuvo Teräväinen on Saturday during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
“I thought Taylor skated really well last game and had some opportunities and played a little bit with Connor the second half of the game,” Richardson said. “Kurshy had a good practice today. We talked to him about (having a) more take-charge attitude. He did it today in practice, so that’s a good day, good first sign.”
Hall said the line should have plenty of skill.
“It’s just about us being able to get pucks back and check well and do the proper things in our (defensive) zone to collect pucks and move in transition,” he said.
Bedard told the Tribune he’s “excited” to play more with Hall.
“He’s someone that likes to make a lot of plays, and obviously that’s fun hockey to play,” he said.
The Hawks tried the trio in a couple of games last season when they jumbled the lines in the third period against the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 15 and against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 9. Hall played in just 10 games last season because of knee and shoulder injuries.
He and Bedard have something else in common: Bedard has gone 12 games without a goal, and Hall’s drought has reached 13 games.
The Hawks have gone through seemingly every conceivable combination to get Bedard going, but Hall said there’s more to consider for a team that ranks second-to-last with 2.33 goals per game.
“It’s not all about getting Connor going,” Hall said. “The whole thing doesn’t revolve around Connor. We have a lot of guys on our team that are trying to find their game, and he’s one of them. I’m one of them. There’s a lot of guys.”
However, Bedard seemed despondent while addressing reporters Friday, saying: “You just feel like you don’t have it or whatever, and you lose a bit of confidence.”
Hall, 33, isn’t indifferent to Bedard’s plight and the role he could play, saying they’ve “had a couple chats in the last few games.” He also has texted Bedard with advice, which the 19-year-old can read in his own time, digest it and discuss it with Hall the next day if he wants.
“There’s going to be slumps and there’s going to be good times and there’s going to be bad times,” Hall said. “There’s going to be times where the puck seems to follow you around and you’re playing well.
“And then there’s times where it seems like everything’s going against you and you just can’t find the back of the net. You can’t make the plays that seemed so easy four or five days ago.”
Hall said Bedard probably is overanalyzing his game and putting too much pressure on himself — because Hall has done it too.
“He’s got to be easier on himself, give himself a little bit of leash,” he said. “You can’t be too critical because you wouldn’t want to be critical (of) someone else, right?”
Richardson agreed.
“Most people are harder on themselves than everybody else is,” he said.
He added that Bedard should play more simply, take a page from Lukas Reichel and what his line has been doing lately.
“They’re moving the puck quickly, not holding on to it too long, and just trying to get the legs going, feet moving, pucks at the net,” Richardson said. “We could use that from everybody, but Connor is a young guy and I think simple is sometimes better than trying to make something happen out of nothing and you just stay frustrated.”
Hall said he gives Bedard similar counsel to what veterans once gave him at that age, and there are things Bedard can do on and off the ice to help turn things around.
- First, he said, “you have to get your game in order. You have to start playing better (all around) before the production really comes. Your habits have to be pretty sharp, your preparation is good.”
- Look for positives on film; see you’re not that far off.
- Be honest with yourself, what you’re doing well and where you’re falling short.
- Good or bad, throw out the previous game from your mind: “Whether you’re plus-3 or minus-3, it’s a new game, it’s a new day.”
On the other hand, Hall said Bedard has to devote as much attention and energy to his off-ice world as he does practice. That can be a tough ask for a rink rat like Bedard, but Hall is insistent.
“You have to relax and let your body recover and mentally get a break from it,” he said. “I know he loves hockey, probably watches a lot of hockey, maybe too much.
“Sometimes it’s just about finding a balance in your life, too, away from the rink, that can help you come back to the rink and it’s fresher and it’s more fun. Maybe you just kind of forget about what’s going on.”
Bedard said he values the perspective Hall brings.
“He’s been probably the guy I’ve gone to most for stuff, (if) I had questions or whatever, just because we’ve been in the same situation with him being a first overall pick,” Bedard said. “The magnitude was similar because (it was a) big market he was in, in Canada.
“If he has something to tell me, or if I have a question, then it’s good to have a guy that kind of knows what it’s like to be in your shoes a little bit.”
It doesn’t hurt that Hall is trying to dig out of a slump himself.
“Even after 15 years,” he said, “I’m still trying to get better at self-improvement and just being able to get yourself out of slumps and get yourself out of some habits that maybe have crept in.”
He said he, Bedard or anyone else should focus on the small habits — winning battles, stealing pucks, placing yourself in the right position — and those habits, done consistently, eventually will lead to making plays and getting yourself back on track.
“You look at my production for the year and it’s (crappy),” Hall said, “but I feel like I’m skating well and playing hard and doing some really good things defensively. So I’m going to stick with that.
“I’ve got to take my own advice sometimes, right?”
