from Tracey Myers of the NHL's website,
Connor Bedard has experienced a lot with the Chicago Blackhawks in his first five regular-season games.
There have been a lot of minutes, a lot of shots on goal, a lot of media attention, a few points and plenty of experiences that will only help the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft moving forward.
“I think he’s getting a good dose of learning, right? I think we all are, not just him,” Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno said after a 4-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Thursday. “I think he’s understanding how hard this league is and he’s still up to the task.”
Bedard entered this season with a lot on his shoulders. The 18-year-old forward is considered the next Connor McDavid, the No. 1 pick by the Edmonton Oilers at the 2015 NHL Draft. He’s expected to help usher the Blackhawks back to their glory days, when they won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015 with forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews as the faces of the franchise.
His competition on his road trip was challenging. Bedard faced five fellow No. 1 picks in his first five career games, including forward Nathan MacKinnon, who was selected by Colorado with the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and scored Thursday. Bedard became the second player in League history to play against at least five (Nico Hischier, selected by the New Jersey Devils with the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, played against six No. 1 selections through his first five games).
from Mark Lazerus of The Athletic,
Twelve seasons into my time covering the Chicago Blackhawks, I cant imagine how many stories I wrote about some star opponent having grown up idolizing Patrick Kane. I cant fathom how many times I wrote about Jonathan Toews working with a young teammate on faceoffs. I probably mentioned the 2013 playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings a dozen times a year. Please dont search my archives for references to Duncan Keiths long way from the heart line in 2010 or Toews mentally shattering Anaheim Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen in 2015, or someone being the next Andrew Shaw.
And, Sweet McJesus, I dont even want to know the number of times I wrote about how the Colorado Avalanche the Central Divisions perennial little brothers were trying to be the new Blackhawks, to build a team in Chicagos image.
But hockey isnt just repetitive, its cyclical, too. The powerful fall and the meek rise. The leagues center of gravity shifts over time, migrating across the continent and back again. And so here we are, four games into Nathan MacKinnons 11th season and five games into Connor Bedards first, with the Blackhawks trying to be the next Avalanche, to build a team in Colorados image. Life comes at you pretty fast.
And sure, if you squint, you can see Bedard as Chicagos MacKinnon, the brilliant and fanatical No. 1 center, obsessed with greatness. You can see Kevin Korchinski as Chicagos Cale Makar, the blazing No. 1 defenseman. Lukas Reichel and Oliver Moore could someday be Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, the secondary but similarly scintillating stars. And on down the rosters.
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it's almost 4am and normally I delete most of the in-article links, but I am going back to bed which right now is more important than deleting those links.
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