Luke Richardson Excited to See Connor Bedard, Other Top Blackhawks' Prospects in 1st Preseason Game

Four of Chicago's five top prospects — Bedard, Lukas Reichel, Kevin Korchinski and Drew Commesso— should be in action versus the St. Louis Blues Thursday night.

Chicago Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson is looking forward to seeing what Connor Bedard can do — and how he adjusts – as the 18-year-old center skates in his first pro exhibition game on Thursday night against St. Louis Blues.

Bedard, the NHL's top draft pick of 2023, is the furthest thing imaginable from being an anonymous rookie.

"I mentioned before he's not slipping into the league unnoticed or unknown, so people are ready for him," Richardson said. "That's going to present some challenges for him, but it also gives him an opportunity where people are going to try to overplay him."

Richardson, himself a first-round draft pick (seventh overall by Toronto in 1987), expects Bedard to "do fine," if not better, as he faces NHL-calibre competition for the first time.

"He's built for that, he's ready for it," Richardson said.

And it's a notch above a rookie camp game against the Blues youngsters. Bedard dominated in the that contest on Sept. 16, notching a hat trick and assist while firing off 11 shots. 

"It's another step" Richardson said. "I'm going to be closer to the action and it'll be fun to see how the players react with him on our bench, as well. It's an exciting time for the whole organization and city and I'm sure for him and a lot of the other young players tonight, too."

Richardson's also looking forward to seeing how other highly rated youngsters perform. Including Bedard, four of the Blackhawks top five prospects should be in action versus the Blues.

Drew Commesso, Chicago's top goalie prospect, is expected to play the second half of the game. Veteran Petr Mrazek will start.

Lukas Reichel will center Andreas Athanasiou and Philipp Kurashev on what should be a speedy second line. The 21-year-old Reichel was Chicago's first-round pick in 2020 and rated as the organization's top prospect before Bedard was drafted.

Top defenseman prospect Kevin Korchinski should be paired with veteran Connor Murphy. Highly rated youngsters Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser and Nolan Allan also will skate, with Seth Jones anchoring the blue line corps.