No. 1 NHL Draft Pick Connor Bedard Takes On No. 1 NBA Draft Pick Victor Wembanyama

Blackhawks 5-foot-10 rookie had puck and photo shoot with 7-foot-4 San Antonio Spurs rookie in Chicago.

The top 2023 NHL draft pick, Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 selection in the 2023 NBA draft, met for the first time on Thursday before the Spurs' game against Chicago Bulls at the United Center.

Bedard, 18, and Wembanyama, 19 are both considered "generational talents" in their sports. The two teens are tasked with leading lowly teams from the depths of their leagues back to respectability.

The staged event was chance to shoot photos, shoot the puck and exchange jerseys before cameras at the Blackhawks practice facility, the Fifth Third Arena. See video in the link from the NBA: https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1737963797233734054?s=20

It might have taken something out of Wembanyama, a French national, in the Spurs 114-95 loss, their 21st in 22 games.

He finished with a season-low seven points and five rebounds against the Bulls after setting an NBA record for a teenager with eight straight double-doubles. Wembanyama missed a lopsided loss Tuesday night at Milwaukee because of a sore right ankle. 

Still, he gave it a go on Thursday with Bedard on dry land. Wembanyama shot the puck using a stick from 6-foot-8 Blackhawks defenseman Louis Crevier.  

"It was too short for him," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said.

Bedard said he enjoyed the tête-à-tête, even if Bedard's head barely comes up to Wembanyama's chest.

"He's going to be, or he already is, really special," Bedard said. "Getting to talk to him a bit and hear his perspective on coming over from Europe and [being in] similar situations — him even more just with how big the NBA is. It was good to get to talk to him."

Bedard leads NHL rookie scorers with 12 goals and 28 points heading into Friday night's game against Montréal. Entering Thursday, Wembanyama, led NBA rookies in points (19.0), rebounds (11.0), blocks (3.0) and steals (2.7) per game.