Blackhawks Bedard & Blue Jackets Fantilli Each Battling Sophomore Slumps

2023 Top Picks Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli are off to slow starts in their second season. Can they each find a way to overcome the dreaded "Sophomore Slump?"

Year 2 for most top players in the NHL comes with a certain level of excitement. They’re ready to show how much they’ve grown from their rookie season in order to take the next step in their career.

While there’s excitement in that second year, there’s also more expectations to deal with. For Chicago Blackhawks’ star Connor Bedard and Columbus Blue Jackets’ star Adam Fantilli, each are going through their own version of a “Sophomore Slump.”

While Bedard’s and Fantilli’s situation isn’t exactly the same, both are off to slow starts compared to what was expected in 2024-25. That’s the thing about the Sophomore Slump. Even the game’s best players at that age aren’t immune to being affected by it. The question we will try to consider today is why?

What is a Sophomore Slump?

By definition, a Sophomore Slump is when an athlete has trouble maintaining a high level of performance in Year 2 as compared to their rookie season. It can be the result of individual performance or as a team.

There are a few different theories in play as to why they happen. Each case is unique and must be reviewed on an individual basis. However, there are some patterns of trends that are noticed within these kind of slumps.

One idea is based on the law of averages. A player goes out in Year 1 and has a dominant season. Immediately, expectations are placed on them in Year 2 to be even better. Instead of getting better in many cases, the performance is worse.

Over the long run, a player establishes a base line for their performance. A downtick in Year 2 from Year 1 could just be nothing more than regression towards what’s truly expected of them.

Another idea is based on the mental side of things. If a player enjoys success in Year 1, they might think they can reduce their effort in Year 2 to get similar results. That reduction in effort can lead to poor results.

Bedard and Fantilli are each battling their own version of the Sophomore Slump. A review of each situation does show some similarities and differences. In both cases, they’ll have the means to overcome their challenges.

Bedard’s Frustrating Start

One look at the Blackhawks’ stats tell an interesting story. While Bedard leads the team in scoring with 16 points going into Black Friday, he has just four goals.

To put that in some perspective for you, six of Bedard’s teammates have more than four goals this season. That list includes Ryan Donato (8), Nick Foligno (6), Teuvo Teravainen (6), Tyler Bertuzzi (5), Taylor Hall (5) and Craig Smith (5). Jason Dickinson also has four goals along with Bedard.

Connor Bedard has just four goals this season and is battling through a Sophomore Slump.

Given the pure skill Bedard possesses, one would expect him to lead the Blackhawks in goals. But the 2024-25 season has been a very frustrating start for him. What’s going on here?

In Bedard’s case, he has multiple factors contributing to his Sophomore Slump. When all of these factors work together, it creates a frustrating situation for him in which he’s not used to dealing with.