CHICAGO -- Jeff Blashill was still settling into his job as Chicago Blackhawks coach when he called Connor Bedard and gave him some offseason homework.

Check out the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. Watch. Learn.

“I think the biggest thing he mentioned was just how they swarm pucks,” said Bedard, the No. 1 pick by the Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Draft. “You’ve seen in our camp, a lot of skating, a lot of getting on the guys, playing with speed, playing hard and Florida’s kind of the epitome of that, I’d say.

“You don’t need to have the No. 1 lineup in the League to work hard, and I think that’s just the biggest thing, is hounding pucks and getting on guys.”

Bedard, who’s entering his third NHL season, would like to mimic the Panthers in another way: winning the Stanley Cup.

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