Connor Bedard's teammate defends him with spear to a painful place

Anytime an opposing player goes after a younger player, some veterans will step in to sort it out with some physical play. For the Blackhawks, they have a clear priority to defend Connor Bedard. Sharks defenceman Calen Addison literally climbed on top of Bedard and ran him into the boards. In defence, Hawks forward Tyler Johnson came by and delivered a hard spear to Addison's mid-section.

Addison went down to the ice hard and looked like he felt it quite a bit, and while Johnson was complaining to the refs, Addison got back up to start a wrestling match. After not much of a fight, the referees separated them and both were assessed minor penalties.

Tyler Johnson isn't a tough player, and what he did here was a dirty play, but it's indicative of the team attitude of sticking up for each other and especially Bedard - and that's the first step in establishing a winning culture with a team. Bedard himself went on to have a great night, scoring an assist and an empty net goal to seal the win.



Despite the Blackhawks still being terrible this year, they have to be commended for their efforts in developing Bedard this season. He's nearing a point per game bow, and incredible milestone for a rookie season on a team with horrific offence. With 21 goals and 53 points in 54 games, he's an easy lock for the Calder, and has lived up to the hype of a generational player.