Bedard 'would do anything' to make Canada's Olympic team

Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard put forth arguably the best performance of his NHL career Tuesday, scoring his first hat trick and adding an assist in a 7-3 drubbing of the Ottawa Senators.

If he's lucky, the decision-makers for Canada's Olympic team took notice.

"If that's something that I get to do, that would be unbelievable, and I would do anything to be on that team," Bedard told reporters postgame when asked if he was thinking about the Olympics. "But I'm just trying to take things day by day and have fun playing in the NHL and trying to grow as a team and win hockey games and do everything I can to play my best hockey. In the end, that'll be what puts me in a spot to make it."

Bedard was one of 26 forwards invited to Canada's Olympic orientation camp in the summer. With five forwards already named to the team in June, and several others on the inside track due to strong showings at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Bedard knows making the roster won't be easy.

"I mean, it's Canada, there's so many amazing players, you never know," the 20-year-old said. "I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm focused on the Hawks. That stuff kind of comes later down the line."

The 2023 No. 1 pick appears to be making the kind of leap that could earn him serious consideration for the roster. He's up to six goals and six assists in 10 games this season with a plus-4 rating.

Bedard's skating has also improved enough that the pace of Olympic hockey wouldn't be an issue. His max speed of 22.36 mph ranks in the 79th percentile among NHL players this season, up from 21.44 mph last season, which ranked below the 50th percentile.

His two-way game remains a work in progress, however. Chicago owns a 36.9% share of the expected goals with Bedard on the ice at five-on-five, per Evolving-Hockey. He also owns a negative defensive goals above replacement at minus-0.8.