All eyes were on Connor Bedard last season given the unprecedented hype surrounding the No. 1 overall draft pick of 2023. He has been billed as hockey's next generational talent. Fans, media and opposing teams zoned in on an 18-year-old Bedard at every stop in the NHL. Bedard (right) and Kurashev celebrate a goal. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2NTAzMTA1ODk2OTE2Njg2/connor-bedard--philipp-kurashev.jpg] Bedard (right) and Kurashev celebrate a goal. Bedard finished with 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games to lead Chicago and rookies in scoring. Had he not missed 14 games with a broken jaw, the eventual Calder Trophy winner's numbers would have been higher. Bedard also would have benefitted from skating with legitimate top-6 forwards all season. Opponents were able focus on Bedard, given how thin the Blackhawks were even before being hit by waves of injuries. BETTER THIS YEAR? Bedard should have more help this season, given the Blackhawks free agent forward additions lead by Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi. Winger Taylor Hall is back from knee surgery. Philipp Kurashev, second in scoring on Chicago last season and Bedard's linemate most nights in 2023-2024, figures to be better too. See video Connor Bedard won't give himself a letter grade for his rookie season. He's not happy with it. Despite plenty of slick moves, Bedard wasn't a factor in many games last season as Chicago finished at 23-53-6 and in 31st place. He was held without a point in 26 contests. He had one point in 30 games and 12 multi-point games. Bedard led rookies in shots on goal (206). He scored two goals four times, but failed to record a hat trick. Neither did Sidney Crosby as a rookie. But Bedard had some impactful games, helping undermanned Chicago win or stay in the contest. We covered them all. Here's a list, with links to game stories. DEC. 27, 2023. CHICAGO 2, WINNIPEG 1 IN OT. Bedard's most dramatic effort was on Dec. 27. He scored in regulation and then beat Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck in overtime for a 2-1 win over the Jets that brought a teenage fan at the packed United Center to tears. Bedard batted in a rebound in the first period. He won it with a sneaky shot from the slot to cap a wild OT. See the story in the link. NOV. 9, 2023 CHICAGO 5, TAMPA BAY 3 This was Bedard's first multi-point game and a biggie, leading the Blackhawks past the Lightning in Tampa. The buzz was huge. Prematurely there was a sense that Bedard could do this sort of thing all the time already. Linemate Nick Foligno says Connor Bedard is already a difference-maker, a gamebreaker. Still, it was an electric night for Chicago and Bedard, who played the first game of the team's "mom's trip." Hall, acquired to be Bedard's linemate, was hurt late in the game on an awkward hit. The former Hart Trophy winner crumbled to his knees, exacerbating what was likely a previous injury, and had right ACL surgery a few weeks later. See the story in the link. MARCH 12, 2024. CHICAGO 7, ANAHEIM 2. Bedard topped out with a five-point contest (one goal, four assists) in a 7-2 rout of Anaheim at the United Center. Bedard fired in his 20th goal on a wicked one-timer. His five points tied a Blackhawks for a rookie, set by Ken Wharram in 1954. See story in the link. MARCH 10, 2024. CHICAGO 7. ARIZONA 4 Bedard broke an eight-game scoring drought with two goals and an assist, then narrowly missed is first hat trick in this one. Energy forward Colin Blackwell, now with Dallas, did net his first hat trick. See the story in the link. NOV. 12, 2023. FLORIDA 4, CHICAGO 3 Following up on his big night in Tampa, Bedard scored twice on amazing shots against Sergei Bobrovsky at Florida to keep the game close. On one goal, Bedard pickpocketed Kevin Stenlund deep in the Panthers' zone and whipped a shot past Bobrovsky in one motion. HONORABLE MENTION: DEC. 23, 2023. ST. LOUIS 7, CHICAGO 5 Bedard scored a lacrosse style, or "Michigan" goal against Jordan Binnington in a loss at St. Louis on Dec. 23 to make headlines. The Blackhawks blew a 5-2 lead in the third period to sour any celebration.
