Meet the New Blackhawks: Connor Bedard

It turns out Madisen was a competitive gymnast growing up, and she had a lot of influence on Connor regarding what it takes to be a dedicated athlete. She was also the one that took Connor ice skating for the first time when he was just four or five years old. Apparently, he didn’t like it at all…until they gave him a puck and a stick. The rest is history.

Bedard played minor hockey with the West Vancouver Academy Prep of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. On both his U15 and U18 teams, he led the league in goals and points and was named Most Valuable Player. By the way, Bedard was only 14 years old when he was given exception to play three years up on the under-18 team. He was also granted exceptional status to play in the WHL as a 15-year-old.

When COVID hit, the WHL season was delayed. Bedard had the opportunity to play on loan in Jonkoping, Sweden for their HV71 Junior team. Once again, sister Madisen stepped up to help. The two siblings spent two months in Sweden, allowing Connor a unique chance to play for another team and gain some worldly experience.

“Exception”al With the Regina Pats

When Bedard was given exception to play a year early for the WHL, he was promptly drafted first overall in the league by the Regina Pats. He made his WHL debut in Mar. 2021, notching 12 goals and 28 points in 15 games of the shortened season. In the 2021-22 season he served as alternate captain and contributed 51 goals and 100 points. By the 2022-23 season, Bedard was promoted to captain and upped his totals to 71 goals and 143 points, which led the WHL by a mile. For some perspective , the closest player to this was Chase Wheatcroft, who registered 107 points. But Wheatcroft also suited up for 11 more games, and was 20 years old.

Consequently, Bedard was awarded the Canadian Hockey League’s Top Prospect, Top Scorer and David Branch Player of the Year awards. No player has won all three awards in the same season since 1994.

John Paddock serves as the head coach, general manager and vice president of hockey operations for the Regina Pats. He offers up some thoughts on coaching Bedard.  

…basically it seems his sole focus is training, getting better, working at his skills, shooting pucks. I know his routine right now in B.C. is about three skill sessions a week, and a power skating, a shooting three-on-three or something. So he’s a young man that’s all bought-in to being a hockey player.

But really, since he was probably 11 or 12 or 10 or whatever, he’s always been the best player who was scoring X amount of goals…So it seems to me that those kinds of guys, they just have that ability to rise to the top…But the seriousness of him towards the game of hockey is really, really high…That’s his drive, his personality. It’s going to be like that. There’s nothing that’s going to stand in his way from being the best hockey player he can be. He’ll make sure of that.

From ‘Regina Pats coach John Paddock on Connor Bedard: Center or wing? Linemates? Expectations’, The AthleticCHI – 5/16/23

It sure sounds like this is a very motivated young man. Paddock stressed that Bedard has always been the best player, so it’s just natural for him to take all that pressure in stride. Good to know, because expectations are certainly high for him in the NHL, and for the Blackhawks.

Bedard Takes World Juniors by Storm

There’s one other chapter in Bedard’s story, and that’s his impact with Team Canada in the IIHF World Juniors. The 5-foot-10, 185 pound center competed, and excelled, in both the U18 World Championships and the World Juniors in both 2021 and 2022.

But it was the 2023 World Juniors where he really got noticed. He was by far the best player in the tournament. His 23 points (nine goals and 14 assists in seven games) led all players. Of course, it was none other than Bedard who scored the clutch game-winning overtime goal to win the gold. He was named the tournament’s top forward and most valuable player.  

What Bedard Brings to the Blackhawks

It’s a given that this is a new era for the Blackhawks. Gone are the former faces of the franchise, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. But now Bedard will become the new centerpiece, the new face of the franchise.

I mentioned above that all signs point towards Bedard bypassing all minor leagues and entering the NHL straight away. This will especially be the case with the rebuilding Blackhawks. He will be their most talented player, but also the youngest and the least experienced at the NHL level. The Blackhawks have already taken steps to provide him with veteran mentorship. They acquired Taylor Hall from the Boston Bruins, who coincidentally was the first overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. They also brought in 35-year-old Nick Foligno, who served as team captain for the Columbus Blue Jackets for six seasons. Add two-time Stanley Cup winner Tyler Johnson to the mix, and Bedard should be surrounded by plenty of great leadership.

Bedard is known for his deceptive release and lethal shot, along with his creativity, speed and high hockey IQ. He’s played the center position all of his life, and I would expect the same at the NHL level. The Blackhawks will likely be grooming him as the next top-line center for the team, to replace Toews. I could see Bedard lining up on the first line with Hall and perhaps Johnson, the latter of which could share centering responsibilities if Bedard struggles early on.

I could also envision the Blackhawks matching some of Bedard’s speed by pairing him with the also speedy Andreas Athanasiou . Taylor Raddysh could be a possibility as well. Or maybe Bedard and up-and-coming prospect Lukas Reichel will have some chemistry together.

Either way, it will be exciting to watch this new-look team come together and find their stride. Look for Bedard to become the centerpiece of this rebuilding squad as they head towards improvement and growth on their path back to contention. It won’t happen overnight, but Bedard’s presence should certainly speed up the process.

It’s an exciting time to be a Blackhawks’ fan.