It’s official. The NHL’s next generational talent has arrived, as Connor Bedard went No. 1 to the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2023 NHL Draft.
The 2023 NHL Draft is being heralded as one of the deepest talent pools in decades.
So when all was said and done, perhaps it’s no surprise that not a single trade was consummated in Nashville during Wednesday’s first round.
The Chicago Blackhawks — clearly — were not going to be presented with a package that would tempt them to part with their draft lottery prize, Connor Bedard.
The Regina Pats’ center didn’t just follow through on the consensus No. 1 status that he has carried since he entered the Western Hockey League at age 15. He has somehow managed to increase his draft stock in the two-and-a-half months since the last time he played a game, when the Pats were eliminated in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series against the Saskatoon Blades — a series where he had 20 points in seven games.
Bedard made history earlier this month by becoming the first player ever to win the Canadian Hockey League’s player of the year, top scorer and prospect of the year awards. He won the IIHF’s brand-new male player of the year award, beating out established pros from across the hockey world. And while making the media rounds ahead of the draft, he displayed humility, wit and perspective that has impressed everyone who crossed his path.
Bedard, who turns 18 in mid-July, has an elite, well-rounded skillset and competitive nature that bodes well for a quick transition to the NHL. He also has a been-there, done-that temperament that has served him well in hockey-mad Western Canada and should translate well to the big stage.
For the Blackhawks, Bedard’s impact has already been felt. An elite team that won three Stanley Cups between 2010 and 2015, the organization has just said goodbye to its two most important recent franchise cornerstones, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, and is embarking on a new era after five playoff misses in the last six years and an organizational scandal in 2021 involving sexual misconduct against former first-round draft pick Kyle Beach a decade earlier by a team video coach, which led to the departure of then-general manager Stan Bowman.
