Coach Luke Richardson says the NHL's No. 1 draft pick of 2023 is "hungry" and figuring out the league in a hurry. Bedard did this all the time as a junior player and it's translating upward.
Multi-point nights were the norm for Connor Bedard as a junior star with the WHL Regina Pats, and on a bigger stage for Team Canada in the 2023 World Junior Championships.
Bedard recorded 271 points (134 goals, 137 assists) in 134 games with Regina in his junior career; his 2.022 points-per-game pace was the 10th highest in WHL history and best in the league in 40 years. He added a record-setting 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in seven WJC games to lead Canada to a gold medal last January.
Bedard earned another medal, of sorts, on Thursday when he broke through for his first multi-point night in the NHL, notching two goals and two assists to lead the Chicago Blackhawks past the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 in Florida. See the photo on the left and clip in the link below with teammate Taylor Hall presenting the NHL's 2023 top draft pick with a postgame award. https://x.com/NHLBlackhawks/status/1722822214783738266?s=20
Difference Maker
Bedard was the smart, sometimes subtle, difference-maker in the contest who drove Chicago's attack. The Blackhawks popped in four straight goals in a 5:29 span to take charge after NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov connected late in the first period to give Tampa Bay a short-lived 2-1 advantage.
Bedard, who upped his NHL totals to seven goals and four assists in 12 games, was in the middle of the rally. He scored his second goal of the game, while setting up Tyler Johnson on a 2-on-1 and Corey Perry for a power-play deflection.
"He's new to the league and he's been here for a dozen games now and he's starting to really figure it out, using his skills at the best of his ability," coach Luke Richardson said. "And it paid of for him and us tonight." See video"
Richardson expects the focused, driven Bedard to just keep going. The center took five shots on goal, attempted four others, kept generating chances and narrowly missed a hat trick on Thursday. The 18-year-old's drive may already be having a quiet leadership effect on the rebuilding Blackhawks, Richardson said. See video:
As for Bedard, he downplayed his big night, pointing to support and play for teammates, including linemates Nick Foligno and Philipp Kurashev, as well as the 38-year-old Perry.
"All those goals, you can look at other guys and what they did, and I got to benefit," Bedard said. See video:
So was Bedard aware of his point total on the night and that he was on the cusp of a hat trick? He knew, even if he skirted around it by saying he just "wants to make the right play." See video:
The Blackhawks have Friday off. They will practice again on Saturday before facing off against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET