Connor Bedard is starting second grade “more relaxed.”

CHICAGO – Connor Bedard was one of the first players on the ice Monday. He was also one of the last to leave after training.

In many ways, Bedard is the same guy as he enters his second season with the Chicago Blackhawks. In subtle ways, he is a different person and player than he was a year ago.

“He's feeling, I mean even more so than last year, a little more comfortable in his own skin,” Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno said. “I think he understands the league and you can see he is growing as a person and as a player. … I saw a more ambitious player. I think he wants to improve for this season and build on last year.”

Bedard is once again Chicago's most important player heading into Tuesday night's season opener at Utah, just as he was as a rookie. His development will be closely watched, but the hype that accompanied him during his first NHL season has somewhat faded.

That's perfectly fine with Bedard, who, while seemingly comfortable with the attention, has apparently never particularly enjoyed talking about himself.

“It feels good to me to maybe be a little more relaxed,” Bedard said.

The biggest difference with Bedard, who turned 19 in July, may have more to do with his surroundings than the young center himself. To help him take his game to the next level and emerge from the rebuild, Chicago has updated its roster after going 23-53-6 last year.

Bedard skated with Teuvo Teravainen and Ilya Mikheyev — two offseason additions — at the team's final practice before the trip to Utah. During training camp, he also played alongside Tyler Bertuzzi, who signed with Chicago in free agency.

“He always had that confidence with the puck and his plays,” defenseman Connor Murphy said. “I would say more that he has more veterans on his team now, so I think that can help in different situations in the game and that he has more of a 200-foot game.”

Bedard was selected by Chicago with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft. While dealing with all the hustle and bustle that came with his arrival in the NHL, he scored 22 goals and 39 assists despite being sidelined for more than a month with a broken jaw. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year.

When it was over, he applied everything he learned as he prepared for his sophomore season.

“A lot of speed and stuff,” Bedard said. “I was in the gym and on the ice and tried to put myself in game situations as often as possible.”

Part of Bedard's confidence heading into his second year – despite his considerable skills sharpened by his summer work – has to do with the experience he gained in his first season.

“It's just little things that you learn or change a little bit after you get used to the league and play a few games,” he said. “I think there are just a few little pieces that I do now or know that will work and stuff.”

Bedard, listed at 5-foot-10 and weighing 185 pounds, was somewhat lively during preseason games in Chicago, feuding with Minnesota's Joel Eriksson Ek and battling with St. Louis forward Zack Bolduc . He dismissed it as “just hockey” rather than part of an adjustment on his part, wryly pointing out that he would lose a battle against most NHL players.

Coach Luke Richardson also downplayed the importance of Bedard's physical condition in the preseason. But he emphasized where he thinks Bedard's game is headed.

“He's just getting stronger and knowing when to hold on to the puck and knowing when to take it off his stick a little early, turn away and get open again,” Richardson said. “And I think those things will come with time.