Bedard joked that he's not exactly wearing a signed No. 98 jersey on those walks, but he's not trying to hide, either. Based on how he interacts with screaming kids at Fifth Third Arena before and after practices, he's typically happy to oblige adoring fans' requests. And he has found Chicagoans to be a generally friendly bunch.
«Here and there, I'll get a 'hello' or something, but people are super-respectful,» he said. «That's a great thing. They're not really bugging me too much. I don't mind if someone asks for a picture or whatever, but usually it's just a 'Hello, how are you?' sort of thing. That's been really nice.»