The NHL's 2023 top draft pick will debut against St. Louis in rookie tournament in Minnesota. Top D-man prospect Kevin Korchinski paired with WJC teammate Nolan Allan.
Connor Bedard, the NHL's No 1. draft pick in 2023, will play his first game in a Chicago Blackhawks jersey on Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues rookies in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase.
Connor Bedard is projected as the NHL's next generational talent and foundation for the rebuilding Blackhawks. Get more with a full THN subscription including a free special edition at https://thn.com/freeBedard will center a line with wingers Nick Lardis and Colton Dach. Like Bedard, Dach skated on Canada's 2023 WJC team until Dach was sidelined by a shoulder injury.
The game with the Blues starts at 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed at https://www.nhl.com/blackhawks/ and the Blackhawks YouTube channel.
It's still not determined if Bedard will play against the Minnesota Wild's prospects in a Sunday afternoon game.
"We'll see," said Anders Sorensen, the coach of the Blackhawks AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs. Sorensen is overseeing Chicago's rookie camp roster on the ice and from the bench, while Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson is observing.
"I'm excited to see him," Sorensen said. "Obviously everybody knows who he is and he's going to be tightly checked, I'm sure."
But that probably won't make much of a difference against Bedard. He could continue to dazzle against rookie pro defenders.
"His awareness is fantastic," Sorensen said. "He just baits guys in, he waits, he looks and sees. And once they give him a little bit of inkling of what they're trying to do, he kind of exploits that and takes advantage of it. It's pretty impressive to watch.
Connor Bedard on ice."His eyes are always up and he's looking."
Kevin Korchinski, Chicago's top defenseman prospect will be paired with Nolan Allan, his teammate from the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds and Canada's gold medal squad at the 2023 WJC. Drew Commesso, the Blackhawks top goaltending prospect, will start.
Kevin KorchinskiHere are the projected lines and defense pairings:
1. Lardis-Bedard-Dach 2. Savoie-Ludwinski-Hayes 3. Misiak-Saarela-Rolston 4. Felcman-Marcel-Pharand
1. Korchinski-Allan 2. Kaiser-Crevier 3. Del Mastro-Perrott
We'll update this story and cover the rookie game on Saturday night.