Connor Bedard's a near-lock to hit the ice for the Chicago Blackhawks to begin next season. Which other 2023 NHL draft picks could or won't be joining him on season-opening rosters?

On Monday, Connor Bedard moved another step closer to making his NHL debut. On his 18th birthday, he signed his entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.

All signs point to Bedard being in the lineup on Oct. 10, when the Blackhawks play Game 2 of a tripleheader against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on the opening night of the 2023-24 NHL season.

Bedard is exceptionally talented. And it's standard for most No. 1 picks to jump immediately into the NHL. The only exceptions in this millennium have been Erik Johnson in 2006 and Owen Power in 2021 — both defensemen spent their draft-plus-one years in the NCAA before going pro.

But after that first pick, there haven't been many freshly minted draftees who have started the season on NHL rosters. For the last few years, we've only seen around five to seven new draft picks get NHL games at any point during the years — and some of those have been emergency injury replacements or players who turned pro at the end of their college seasons.

Despite all the buzz about the high talent level in the class of 2023, this fall might not look much different.

It's rare for a player outside the very top of the draft to crack an NHL lineup in his first season, but it does happen from time to time. Most recently, Cole Sillinger played 79 games as an 18-year-old with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2021-22 season after being selected 12th overall. 

So, we'll keep the focus on the top half of the first round here.

Through Tuesday, a total of 14 players selected in the first two rounds in Nashville have signed their first NHL deals, per PuckPedia. 

It's a step that must happen before a player can debut. And while it certainly doesn't mean that every player is destined for the roster of his big club this fall, it is very reasonable to assume that will be the case for Adam Fantilli.

The third overall selection by the Columbus Blue Jackets became the first member of his class to sign his entry-level deal on July 1, just three days after he was drafted.

Because he came out of college, Fantilli will be eligible to play in the AHL this fall. He's also one of the older players in his draft class — he'll turn 19 on Oct. 12, the night the Blue Jackets host the Philadelphia Flyers for their season opener. And Fantilli showed he could hold his own playing with and against NHLers at this spring's World Championship, where he skated on a regular line on Canada's gold medal-winning squad.

After winning the Hobey Baker Award as a freshman at the University of Michigan, it's unlikely Fantilli would have surrendered his final three years of college eligibility unless he thought he was fast-tracking straight to the NHL. Like Bedard in Chicago, he could be an immediate difference-maker as the Mike Babcock Era begins in Columbus.

As for the second overall pick, Leo Carlsson also showed well at the World Championship, raising his draft stock by capably taking on the first-line center role for Sweden. He signed his entry-level deal on July 12 after a solid performance at the Anaheim Ducks' development camp.

According to Eric Stephens of The Athletic, Carlsson will be back in Anaheim for rookie camp in September. But there's no firm plan for what will happen after that. Already with NHL size at 6-foot-3 and 198 pounds, he could crack the Ducks' lineup or be assigned to the AHL's San Diego Gulls. Or, Carlsson could return to Europe, where he has already logged 79 games over the last two seasons at the men's level with Orebro in the Swedish League. 

If he continues to develop at the rate he showed last season, Carlsson could find himself looking for a place to live in Southern California before Halloween.

Elsewhere, there are a few top picks that we know we won't see on opening night.

For starters: the Russians. As has been widely reported, Matvei Michkov is under contract to St. Petersburg in the KHL for two more seasons. He was selected seventh overall by the Philadelphia Flyers. The Arizona Coyotes' two top picks, Dmitriy Simashev (sixth overall) and Daniil But (12th overall), also have KHL contracts that run for two more seasons. They'll both be suiting up for Yaroslavl.

Next, there are a number of top prospects who are committed to NCAA programs. They could potentially see some NHL games at the end of the year if they decide to turn pro. For now, they remain amateurs.

Coming out of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, the San Jose Sharks' No. 4 pick, Will Smith, will play at Boston College this fall. He'll be joined there by NTDP teammates Ryan Leonard (eighth overall to the Washington Capitals) and Gabe Perreault (23rd overall to the New York Rangers).

Selected 11th overall by the Vancouver Canucks, Tom Willander is also going the college route at rival Boston University. And the Nashville Predators' selection at No. 15, Matthew Wood, will return to the University of Connecticut for his sophomore year.

At No. 5, David Reinbacher acquitted himself well in Switzerland last season. The Austrian-born defender signed his entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens on July 5, and while he'll be back for rookie camp, he's expected to return for another year with Kloten in the Swiss National League this fall.

Tenth overall pick Dalibor Dvorsky is in a similar situation. The Slovakian center played in the second-tier Swedish league last season and signed his entry-level deal with the St. Louis Blues on July 14. He also signed a two-year contract with Oskarshamn in the top-level SHL in June. And while he's in a similar situation to Carlsson, it's expected that he will continue his development with another year in Europe.

Beyond Bedard, the only CHL players selected in the top half of the first round were four other WHLers: Nate Danielson at No. 9 to the Detroit Red Wings, Zach Benson at No. 13 to the Buffalo Sabres, Brayden Yager at 14 to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Samuel Honzek at 16 to the Calgary Flames. 

Of that group, only Danielson has signed his entry-level deal to date.

All four are subject to the CHL-NHL transfer agreement, which applies to all 18 and 19-year-olds drafted out of the WHL, OHL or QMJHL. It states that if these players aren't on an NHL roster, they must be returned to their junior squad. In essence, they can't be sent to the AHL like a player from Europe or one who has come up through the NCAA. The main exception is for a two-week conditioning stint in the AHL, which is what happened to Shane Wright last season.

Expect to see all four get a good look at their NHL training camps before they come back to dominate in the 'Dub.'