Bedard is trying to replicate Patrick Kane's feat of being drafted first overall, then winning the Calder the next season as a teenager.
Connor Bedard is the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year on Thursday, June 27 at the NHL Awards event in Las Vegas.
If Bedard beats out Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber and New Jersey D-Man Luke Hughes, the 18-year-old Blackhawks center will become the ninth Chicago player to claim the Calder as the "NHL's most proficient first-year player."
Most of the previous Blackhawks who won the trophy went on to terrific careers. That includes two Hall-of-Famers in goalies Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito; sure-fire future Hall-of-Fame forward Patrick Kane; right-winger Steve Larmer, who probably deserves to be in the Hall; and current Rangers sniper Artemi Panarin who's coming off a 120-point season.
Another, Bill Hay, played eight solid seasons in the NHL, then was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the builders category.
Bedard, the heralded No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has been billed as hockey's next generational talent and already started with memorable performances and solid numbers. Putting up 22 goals and 39 assists in 68 games on 31st place Chicago last season was a start, especially since Bedard often was easy to target for coverage on a thin, injury-depleted Blackhawks team. He missed 14 games himself with a broken jaw.
Bedard said he wasn't thinking about the Calder at the end of the season. He can't help but consider as the awards ceremony approaches. See video.
Chicago's Calder History
Here's a full rundown on previous Blackhawks Calder winners, starting with the most recent.
Artemi Panarin: 2016. The Blackhawks signed Panarin as free agent at age 24 out of Russia on May 1, 2015. He made an immediate impact with 30 goals and 47 assists in 80 games as an NHL rookie. A right-handed shooter, Panarin clicked with Kane, especially for one-timers from the left circle off cross-ice passes.
Panarin played just two seasons in Chicago before he was shipped by former Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman to Columbus in a dubious trade. He's blossomed as an offensive force on the Rangers over the past five years. Panarin has 265 goals and 781 points in 672 career games over nine seasons and could be en route to Hall of Fame consideration.
Patrick Kane: 2008. Kane, the only other No. 1 overall draft pick in Blackhawks history, skated away with the Calder at age 19 after being selected in Summer 2007 — what Bedard could replicate.
Probably the flashiest stickhander in Blackhawks history along with Denis Savard, Kane posted 21 goals and 51 assists in 80 games as a rookie in 2007-08 and took off from there. Kane is deservedly nicknamed "Showtime" after he shouted the word in a famous post-goal celly.
Kane will always been remembered as a pillar on a Blackhawks team that won Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015. He ranks second in team history only to Stan Mikita in points, with 1,225 in 1,161 games over 16 seasons. Now 35, the current free agent will be in the Hall-of-Fame once eligible.
Ed Belfour: 1991. Belfour was dominant in nets as 25-year-old rookie in 1990-91 on a strong Blackhawks team, going 43-19-7 in 74 games with a 2.47 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. He also won his first of two Vezina Trophies that season.
Belfour atoned for first-round playoff loss that year by backstopping Chicago to the Stanley Cup finals in 1991-92. The Carmen, Manitoba native then came back with another Vezina year in 1992-93, winning 41 of 71 games with a 2.59 goals-against and .906 save percentage.
Ornery and quirky, Belfour played his first eight seasons with Chicago. In 17 for his career, he was 484-320-125 with 2.50 goals-against average and .906 save percentage. "Eddie The Eagle" was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
Steve Larmer: 1983. Larmer scored 43 goals and 90 points as a rookie in 1982-83 as the right winger on a line with Savard at center and Al Second on left wing. He was drafted 120th overall in 1980 and unearthed by former coach Orval Tessier who had been impressed with Larmer's understated skills and smarts at an AHL affiliate in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Larmer enjoyed a consistent, two-way 15-year career in the NHL, scoring 30 or more goals nine times and topping out at 46. He finished with 441 goals and 1,027 points in 1,006 games with the Blackhawks and Rangers. Larmer was a top penalty killer and defensive forward, as well as power-play triggerman.
Tony Esposito: 1970: The late Tony-O is on the shortlist of great goalies in Blackhawks and NHL history. As a 26-year-old rookie in 1969-70, he helped lead Chicago to a first-place finish in the old West Division with a league-leading 38-17-8 record, 2.17 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in 63 games. Like Belfour, Esposito also won the Vezina in his first full NHL season.
Eccentric and often cranky, Esposito played with a hard-to-define flopping style. Still he won three Vezinas and was a three-time All-Star. Before coming to the Blackhawks in an intra-league draft in June 1969, Esposito played 13 games for Montréal. He went on to 15 more seasons with the Blackhawks and finished with a 418-306-152 mark in 886 career game with a 2.93 goals against average and .906 save percentage.
Esposito was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988
Bill Hay: 1960. Like Bedard, Hay was once a center for the Regina Pats The Lumsden, Saskatchewan native posted 18 goals and 55 points in 60 games as a rookie in 1959-60. He went 11-58-59 the following season, then skated in all 12 games in the postseason as the Blackhawks won their third-ever Stanley Cup.
Hay played eight seasons in the NHL, all with Chicago, posting 113 goals and 386 points in 506 assists, before retiring in 1967 to pursue a career in the oil business. Hay returned to hockey to become the president and CEO of the Calgary Flames, president and COO of Hockey Canada and was on the board of the Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Hall in 2015 as an influential builder for the sport. See: https://www.hhof.com/induction_archives/ind15Hay.shtml
Ed Litzenberger: 1955. Litzenberger, another forward from Saskatchewan, posted 23 goals and 51 points in his first full NHL season, 1954-55, split between Montréal and Chicago. The Canadiens traded him to the Blackhawks for cash on Dec. 10, 1954.
He blossomed with the Blackhawks, getting more ice time on a team that usually was near the bottom of the standings in the 1950s. Litzenberger led Chicago in scoring for three straight seasons (1956-1959) with 30-plus goals each time, topping out at 33 goals and 77 points in 1958-59.
He played 12 seasons in the NHL, finishing with 178 goals and 416 assists in 619 games.
Cully Dahlstrom: 1938. From Minneapolis, Dahlstrom was one of the first Americans to make an impact in the NHL. The center was the second winner of the Calder in its current form, after it was designated in 1937 as an award for "a player in his first year of competition."
Dahlstrom had 10 goals and 19 points in 48 games in 1937-38. The Blackhawks were only 14-25-9 that season, but won their second Stanley Cup. Dahlstrom played eight season in the NHL, all with Chicago, and recorded 88 goals and 206 points in 345 games.