Not every trick that works in junior hockey works in the NHL. Still, Bedard has been pretty slick and sick so far with the Blackhawks. Story with videos
Blackhawks rookie phenom Connor Bedard has been showing all season he might be one of the — if not the — NHL's quickest on-the-fly learners.
Still, moves that could work in junior hockey often don't always translate to and fool opponents in "The Show."
Bedard closed in down the slot, carrying the puck 1-on-1 against veteran Philadelphia defenseman Nick Seeler on Wednesday in Chicago's 3-1 loss. The shifty Bedard let the puck slide off his stick for a split second, swatted at Seeler's strick, regathered the puck and tried to get around the 30-year-old, 6-foot-2 D-man.
Seeler, didn't fall for it, closed the gap on Bedard and forced the rookie to the outside. Despite all his dancing, Bedard had to settle for flipping a backhand shot that goalie Samuel Ersson steered away.
See a video of the play in the following link: https://x.com/BarDown/status/1760677666204889542?s=20
Got Idea From WHL Pal
Bedard, the NHL's top draft pick of 2023, said he got the idea for the stick-hook on Seeler from his Vancouver-area friend Andrew Cristall.
The 19-year-old Cristall current skates for the Western Hockey League Kelowna Rockets after being drafted by Washington in the second round, 40th overall last June. Bedard set all kinds of records playing for the WHL Regina Pats through last season.
“It's kinda' rare you get a clean 1-on-1 like that, so I thought I'd give it a try," Bedard said. "I don't think it really did anything, to be honest.” See Bedard's full explanation in the video.
Bedard, of course, has made the jump from the WHL to the NHL in a hurry. Many of his deceptive moves and shots have worked.
The 18-year-old center entered Friday as the league's rookie points leader with 39 in 43 games. Bedard's 17 goals were tied with Minnesota's Marco Rossi for tops among first-year players.