from Dave Poulin at the Toronto Star,

“Gimme the puck?”

It’s nowhere near as common a phrase in the ultimate team game of hockey, where the perfect pass is a treasure. Get the goalie moving, change the point of attack and set up your teammate for a scoring chance.

But what if that is changing? And what if the change is being dictated by an upstart 18-year-old deemed a generational player before he stepped onto an NHL playing surface?

Chicago’s Connor Bedard could be driving a new norm. When the Blackhawks skated into Pittsburgh to upend Sidney Crosby’s revamped Penguins on opening night, Bedard’s name was called early and often. It seemed he had the puck the entire night, and was willing to shoot at every opportunity: 10 attempts, five on net.

He followed opening night on a daunting road trip with visits to Boston (eight shot attempts), Montreal (10) and Toronto (six). The bright lights not only left Bedard unfazed, they seemed to inspire his confidence as a shooting machine.

It was an impressive start for the first pick in the 2023 draft, and one that seemed to be noticed around the league. It was his confidence and willingness to control the play. It was a whole new level of permission to shoot the puck.

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