The Athletic has live coverage of Connor Bedard’s debut and the Blackhawks vs. Penguins matchup
Connor Bedard has the perfect sounding board skating right alongside him.
In so many ways, Taylor Hall was made for this role of helping mentor the Chicago Blackhawks’ generational talent. Hall himself, of course, was a No. 1 pick in 2010, but it goes far beyond that.
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Hall also has played with 2015 top pick Connor McDavid and 2017 top pick Nico Hischier, among other No. 1s. He also lived the struggle of playing with a young, rebuilding team trying to get over the hump in Edmonton, as well as in New Jersey and Buffalo.
So, honestly, is there a better-suited dude to help out a rebuilding Blackhawks squad with a generational player?
I asked Hall that very question on my “Got Yer Back” podcast with co-host Ryan Rishaug this past week (yes, the podcast is back for Season Two!), and Hall totally bought into the narrative. He’s eager to be that positive influence in Chicago.
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“Yeah, I’ve seen it all,” Hall said. “I also played with (2019 top pick) Jack Hughes for half a season. I played with (2012 top pick Nail) Yakupov and (2011 top pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins), and I had Connor McDavid living with me when he was playing his first year in Edmonton. So, I’ve seen a lot. That’s a question that comes up: What kind of conversations are you going to have with Connor (Bedard)?
“I’m not going to sit him down and be like, ‘Hey, this is how you got to do things.’ But I think it just happens organically. And at the end of the day, you have to lead by example. You have to lead in the weight room, you have to lead on the ice, and you have to lead with how you carry yourself and how you treat the staff around the arena, all that stuff.
“I think that’s the best way to lead.”
Hall won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2017-18 while forging a bond with Hischier.
“Taylor and Nico were a great match,” Ray Shero, the New Jersey Devils’ general manager at the time, recalled. “Taylor’s first year in (New Jersey) was OK, but you could tell he was determined to make an impact both on and off the ice in Year 2. He did with Nico, and as a former first-overall pick, he was invaluable both on and off the ice during Nico’s rookie season.
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“With Jack in ’19-20, he positively influenced him, but unfortunately, Taylor only played 30 or so games (in 2018-19) due to injury and was trying hard to rehab on and off the ice. The team got off to a bad start, and we ended up moving him 30 games into the season. But I’m sure he’s happy to see the success they’re both having, and he certainly played a role in their development.”
Hall said he’s following an example set by veterans who had a positive influence on him as a youngster.
“I think back to Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky and Ryan Whitney. … These guys were good guys,” Hall said. “You’re at a formative age where you don’t want to be over-coached and you don’t want to be told what to do all the time. But I think you learn the most by just watching guys. And that’s what I’m trying to do. During this training camp, I’m just trying to be the best player I can on the ice, and through the course of the season, if those conversations come up, if I’m with Connor or I’m with (2020 first-rounder) Lukas Reichel, whatever it is, and they ask questions, I’ve got lots to say.
“But I think the biggest thing is just to lead by example.”
Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson said Hall was a trade target for a few reasons.
“We targeted Taylor first and foremost for his play on the ice but also for his experience and leadership,” Davidson said Thursday. “He still has the ability to impact games, and we want players like that on our roster.
“He will have a big role on the ice and inside the locker room.”
And again, Hall lived the hype and pressure of being that No. 1 pick 13 years ago. So he can relate to Bedard to some degree.
“It was a little different — there wasn’t Instagram and Twitter and all those quick highlights you get to your phone in a matter of seconds like you have now,” Hall said. “But there was a lot of pressure. There just was. I think, for him, he’s coming in with different expectations than I had. I don’t think anyone was expecting an 80-point, 70-point season from me my first year.
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“There’s a lot of expectations on him, and I think he feels that, and I think he wants to live up to that. But I also see a guy that just loves hockey. I don’t want to put words into his mouth, but he seems like he was born for it. He seems like a guy that doesn’t shy away from the spotlight. He wants it. And he wants to be the best player on the ice.”
Hall thinks that’s why Bedard trained with McDavid this past summer and why he spent time with Sidney Crosby at the BioSteel camp.
“He wants to be one of these guys,” Hall said. “He wants to be mentioned in that category. And I think, watching him for the first few days of camp, he’s got the game to do it.”
Hall also went to Patrice Bergeron University and soaked in that Boston Bruins culture during a historic regular season. Something else he’s bringing to Chicago.
“I’ve learned from some great people, some super-successful hockey players, and I think my overall game is a lot better than when I came into Boston, from a pure hockey standpoint. There’s not a lot of cheating on the ice.
“And then, from an organizational standpoint, to see what kind of organization they are and why they win so much and why they win year after year, (how) they’re able to turn guys over and to draft well and do all those things, that was pretty cool to see from the inside. I have nothing but good things to say about the coaching staff there, the trainers, the equipment guys and, obviously, the players.”
Hall felt he had found a home with the Bruins, his fifth NHL team. But he’s also someone who follows the business of hockey pretty closely, and as the offseason arrived, he was readying himself for any possibility given the Bruins’ salary-cap situation.
“Yeah, I said to my wife at the start of the summer, ‘If there’s any summer where I wouldn’t be shocked I got traded, it’s probably this summer,’” Hall said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re pretty surprised when you do get that phone call.”
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Everything happens for a reason.
“At the start of my career, I would have probably wanted to play on one team my whole career, but now that I’ve been around, I think I’ve gained some really good life experiences,” Hall said. “I’ve played in some amazing cities, and this is another chapter that I’m really excited for.”
Sure, going from a first-place team to a rebuild isn’t easy. But Hall has landed with another Original Six franchise.
“It’s always been my answer when people asked me what my favorite road city was,” Hall said. “I loved hearing the anthem during the games, and for whatever reason, I always played well here.
“So it’s been a welcome change for me and my wife. We’re expecting here in a couple of weeks. We’re bringing in a little one to the family that’s going to be a Chicago-born baby. We’re excited.”
That’s a reminder of how fast time flies, as we can all recall the baby-faced Hall being drafted in 2010.
I reminded Hall that Bedard wasn’t even 5 years old at the time.
Time flies, and the 31-year-old Hall has gotten up there suddenly. But he still has a lot of hockey in him.
“It’s weird to see a guy at training camp with you and that you’re going to play the season with that’s born in 2005,” Hall said, chuckling. “It’s nuts, honestly. And I don’t feel — I mean, I’m 31, but I don’t feel 31. I don’t feel like there’s a massive age difference when I’m talking to him.
“But it is different. I do want to play for a very long time, and I don’t think I’m anywhere close to being done. But you start seeing 2005 pop up on their HockeyDB, it does make you kind of wonder, ‘Maybe I don’t have as long as I think I have left.’”
Either way, it’s a nice place to be if you’re Hall after so many twists and turns. Perhaps he’s finally found his NHL home.
(Top photo of Taylor Hall and Connor Bedard: Melissa Tamez / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
