The NHL's No. 1 draft pick set is set to center Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato as Chicago opens preseason.
It's just another step for the NHL's "next generational talent," but Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard is set to play in his first NHL exhibition game, on Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues at the United Center.
Bedard meets with reporters after morning skate.Bedard was on the ice with the team's "game group" in the morning skate, centering a line with Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato. The trio has been together for several days.
"Right now, I'm just excited to play," Bedard said."I was talking to my dad today and, like, I get to play in the United Center and that's pretty unreal."
Bedard dazzled in a rookie game against the Blues youngsters on Sept. 16 in St. Paul, Minnesota, recording three goals and an assist while taking 11 shots. This will be his first contest against what should be close to a legitimate NHL-calibre roster.
"I haven't seen a lot of guys who are trying to make the NHL and play in the NHL," Bedard said. "So that's going to be a good challenge and something good to get used to and kind of build off of."
Bedard at morning skate.- Lukas Reichel, the No. 2 prospect in the Blackhawks organization, will center Andreas Athanasiou and Philipp Kurashev on a speedy second line.
- Top defenseman prospect Kevin Korchinski, along with youngsters Wyatt Kaiser and Nolan Allan will be on the blue line. Veterans Seth Jones and Connor Murphy will anchor the group of D-men.
- Goalies Petr Mrazek and rookie Drew Commesso, also among Chicago's top five prospects, will play in this one.
See coach Luke Richardson's comments in the video below.
The Blackhawks and Bedard open the regular season on Oct. 10 at Pittsburgh. Bedard's expected to square off against Sidney Crosby, one of the stars he idolized.
We'll update this and have coverage after Thurday's game.
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