Blackhawks: 3 things Kyle Davidson must do to make 2023-24 successful

The Chicago Blackhawks are looking to make some major improvements this season. After finishing the 2022-23 season with the third-worst record, they won the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery which secured them the number one pick in the draft. That made GM Kyle Davidson’s job very easy in terms of that one decision.
Davidson has done an amazing job drafting since taking over for Stan Bowman. This team needed a new voice at the top and he has been nothing short of brilliant in almost every move he made.
Davidson made it clear that moving on from the greatest era in franchise history was going to be tough. It is hard to get to that level that they were at and it takes time. They may not win three Stanley Cups in a six-year span but they are going to build another good core.
2023-24 is not going to be a winning season for the Blackhawks. Things will certainly be more fun to watch but it isn’t a franchise ready to compete again. This season will be an amazing one if Davidson can make sure that these three things are handled correctly:
1. The development of Connor Bedard
The Chicago Blackhawks need to make sure that Connor Bedard is a superstar.
The Chicago Blackhawks selected Connor Bedard with the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. He is considered to be one of the greatest prospects who ever lived and a generational talent. He is about as hyped as Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid were in their draft years.
Bedard has an incredible shot and can make some plays using his incredible hockey IQ. We saw him have an incredible preseason in terms of both production and the eye test. It should be a good year for him.
GM Kyle Davidson needs to make developing Bedard his number one most important task. He already is off to a good start as he got him a former Hart Trophy winner in Taylor Hall to play with. These two should really make some big plays together this season.
He also brought in some veteran leadership that will help Bedard in a couple of ways. For one, nobody is going to want to mess with Bedard too much knowing that Corey Perry and Nick Foligno will be after them. Those guys will also do a great job helping him in the locker room and off the ice.
Now, Davidson needs to keep making sure that things are going well for Bedard. This team is going to be doing some losing but the kid needs to stay productive and motivated. He seems to truly love hockey so it shouldn’t be a problem.