One of the NHL’s most historic clubs has acquired a new face of their franchise. Just a few months after saying their goodbyes to Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the Chicago Blackhawks have selected generational prospect Connor Bedard first overall at the 2023 NHL draft.
The Blackhawks’ selection is perhaps the least surprising first-overall choice since 2015, when Connor McDavid was picked by the Edmonton Oilers. He’s had a junior career for the ages, ever since he first joined the Regina Pats at 15 years old.
Despite not having the strongest supporting cast around him, Bedard managed to post video game numbers with Regina. He totaled 134 goals and 271 points in just 134 games of major junior hockey, taking home an endless number of league awards.
His international play has been similarly stunning. There aren’t enough words in the English language to describe Bedard’s performance at the most recent World Junior Championships, where he scored nine goals and 23 points in just seven games.
Besides size, Bedard offers just about anything a team could want out of an NHL scoring center. He’s arguably the most intelligent player in this year’s class, with the type of hockey IQ that makes him stand out shift after shift.
The moment he steps into the NHL he’ll be among the league’s most lethal shooters as well. Not only is Bedard’s shot extremely powerful and accurate, but it’s also the deception in his shooting motion that really sets him apart. He’s able to let high-end shots loose from a variety of angles and in the face of all sorts of defensive pressure, and he’s got legitimate Rocket Richard Trophy upside.
The Blackhawks are still missing a lot of pieces that Stanley Cup contenders typically boast. Their long-term goalie of the future is still a mystery (Drew Commesso showed some promise at Boston University) and outside of Seth Jones they still lack high-end NHL defensemen.
But Bedard signals an important shift for Chicago. The Blackhawks might not make the playoffs next year, but they’re no longer wandering the hockey wilderness in search of a young, league-altering star to build around. With this pick, they’ve drafted one.
Photos Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
No surprise, This will really speed up the rebuild. No pun Intended.
Well, Chicago has something to look forward too.
Considering all of the pro teams in Chicago, we’ll take this one. If they do the rebuild right, we might eventually have at least one winning team.
Pretty psyched about this, I’m a 2009 bandwagon hockey fan who learned the rules by playing hours upon hours of NHL10 and 11, but the Blackhawks lost me with how boring and terrible they were, glad to be back
Nice rigged draft
Hopefully he stays away from the trainers
If you are going to make comments at least have them be correct. It was not a personal or athletic trainer.
“an unnamed former player filed a lawsuit alleging a prolonged sexual assault at the hands of then-video coach Brad Aldrich during an off-ice incident during the”
Must of been rigged when Oilers had 4 number 1 picks in a 7 year time frame as well. Or when NYR won the lottery a couple years ago after being in the postseason the year prior. Let me pour salt on your wounds for being so sour.
Don’t get me wrong, Bedard is going to be a VERY good player, but I don’t see “generational” coming. He will be elite, a game changer in the likes of Patrick Kane and Tarasenko. A player you do need to focus on. But not a player that changes the game like McDavid, Ovechkin, Foppa, or Crosby have recently. People are thinking because he is the 1st in a very good draft year it means he is a going to be the elite of the elite. How did that work out for Eichel? People thought he would be elite because he was drafted right behind McDavid. Eichel is a very good player, but I wouldn’t consider him a top 10-15 talent in the game rn or at anytime in his career to date.
Bedard will be a great player, maybe even a top 5 guy in the league at some point, but that doesn’t make him generational. Generational means you are one of the top 3 guys year in and out, if not the top guy for 10ish years. A guy who actually changes the game, not just a game plan for a couple seasons.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. And the 50+ pro hockey scouts and analysts who make a living identifying and analyzing players and talent who all have said they have never seen anyone with a shot like his ever, are entitled to theirs. I tend to lean in their corner.
Could not agree with you anymore then what you said CluHaywood. Bedard also rises to the occasion at the biggest stage, just by the showing he had for team Canada at this past season world juniors.
@Clu, 50 eh? That’s funny as I have heard numerous pro scouts also say that they feel he will also be an elite talent but not generational as well.
So did Jordan Eberle. Is he generational?
I fail to see based on your definition of generational talent, and what literally every single pro scouting module that is used by NHL scouts says about him, that he won’t fit that criteria. He is very much a franchise-altering player, and time will prove that.
I also don’t understand your Eichel comparison. Eichel was taken after McDavid, who was considered a generational talent in 2015. Eichel himself was considered very good and would be #1 in any other year draft. Which is exactly the comp that was made of Fantilli, not Bedard. And not to make excuses because I agree with your take on Eichel’s status, but Eichel has also dealt with significant injuries. Eichel hasn’t lived up to his hype.