CONNOR BEDARD: THE ROOKIE ON EVERYONE’S RADAR
A new campaign means a new crop of rookies hold the opportunity to earn a position on an opening-night roster and begin their journey toward being an NHL regular. In this case, the 2023-24 season is expected to feature the highly-anticipated debut of 18-year-old Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick from the 2023 NHL Draft and the potential face of the future for the 97-year-old Blackhawks.

* While 18-year-olds are not unheard of in the NHL – 345 players have made their NHL debut at age 18 or younger, including 76 active players and five last season – it is rare for a player to break into the League and produce points at that age. Only seven 18-year-olds have averaged at least a point-per-game at that age (min. 20 GP), including No. 1 picks Dale Hawerchuk, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane.

* Across other leagues, the presence and impact of 18-year-olds is even less common. In the MLB, it has been nearly 50 years since an 18-year-old cracked an Opening Day roster (Robin Yount in 1974 at age 18; source: MLB.com) – though the league has had prominent 18-year-olds debut since, including Alex Rodriguez with the Seattle Mariners in 1994 (just shy of his 19th birthday). Some NBA stars broke into the Association at age 18, including Giannis Antetokounmpo (18 in 2013-14 w/ Milwaukee Bucks), Dwight Howard (18 in 2004-05 w/ Orlando Magic), Lebron James (18 in 2003-04 w/ Cleveland Cavaliers) and Kobe Bryant (18 in 1996-97 w/ Los Angeles Lakers). Bryant (18 years, 158 days on Jan. 28, 1997) remains the youngest player in NBA history to start a game (though he didn’t crack the opening night lineup; source: NBA.com). A handful of teenagers have played in the NFL, but none before their 19th birthday.

* Bedard (18 years, 85 days on Oct. 10) will have a chance to become the youngest Blackhawks player to make his NHL debut sinceEddie Olczyk (18 years, 56 days on Oct. 11, 1984). A goal on opening night would make Bedard the third-youngest player in League history to score a goal in his NHL debut – he would trail only Aleksander Barkov (18 years, 31 days on Oct. 3, 2013 w/ FLA) and Olczyk.

* After scoring a hat trick in his first rookie-tournament game with Chicago, the “what-ifs” for Bedard’s rookie season kicked into high gear. In terms of historic benchmarks for 18-year-olds during an NHL season, only nine have hit the 30-goal mark and only seven have produced 65 or more points.

* Looking specifically at No. 1 picks from the NHL Draft, 12 have gone on to lead their team in scoring the season after their draft year – a feat last achieved by Auston Matthews.

* For more #NHLStats on the 2023-24 rookie class, click here. For a “By the Numbers” look at 18-year-olds in the NHL, click here.

MORE McDAVID MAGIC IN STORE FOR 2023-24?
Connor McDavid is set to begin his ninth NHL campaign after concluding 2022-23 with 153 points – the highest single-season total by any player in 27 years. A five-time Art Ross Trophy winner, including each of the past three, McDavid (303-547—850 in 569 GP) now sits 50 points shy of 900 in his career and 150 shy of 1,000. Only two players have hit both those milestones in one season.

* With 50 points through his first 30 contests of 2023-24, McDavid can join Wayne Gretzky (385 GP), Mario Lemieux (463 GP), Mike Bossy (582 GP) and Peter Stastny (599 GP) as the fifth player in NHL history to reach 900 career points before his 600th game. Should McDavid also hit the 1,000-point milestone at some point this season, he would join Gretzky (424 GP) and Lemieux (513 GP) as the third player in League history to reach the mark in 651 contests or fewer.

* McDavid will turn 27 on Jan. 13, 2024. Gretzky, Lemieux, Dale Hawerchuk, Steve Yzerman, Bryan Trottier, Jaromir Jagr and Denis Savard all reached the 900-point milestone at age 27 or younger. Only Gretzky, Lemieux, Hawerchuk and Yzerman collected 1,000 career points before their 28th birthday.

* The Oilers captain could secure a fourth consecutive 100-point campaign and seventh overall. A second straight 150-point season would make McDavid the third player ever to achieve that feat in the NHL – only Gretzky (7 from 1980-81 – 1986-87 w/ EDM) and Lemieux (2 from 1987-88 – 1988-89) have done so.

* Should McDavid lead the League in points in 2023-24, the Oilers captain would join the likes of Gretzky (7 from 1980-81 – 1986-87), Jagr (4 from 1997-98 – 2000-01), Phil Esposito (4 from 1970-71 – 1973-74) and Gordie Howe (4 from 1950-51 – 1953-54) as the fifth player in NHL history to capture at least four consecutive Art Ross Trophies.

WILL WE SEE MORE PLAYOFF TURNOVER IN 2023-24?
A new season brings new hope for all 32 teams looking to win the Stanley Cup. Recent trends indicate five non-playoff teams from 2022-23 will qualify for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs (there has been a turnover of 5+ teams in every season under the Wild Card format, introduced in 2013-14). Most notably, the Golden Knights went on to win the Stanley Cup last season after missing the previous playoffs, while the Kraken (+49) and Devils (+40) each produced a year-over-year increase of at least 40 points before each advancing to the 2023 Second Round.

* The Penguins bolstered their lineup with three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson and 2023 Stanley Cup champion Reilly Smith after having their 16-season run of postseason appearances snapped in 2022-23. Karlsson, who produced the NHL’s first 100-point campaign by a blueliner since 1991-92, joins Kris Letang on the Pittsburgh blueline. The duo ranks first and fourth in points among their position, respectively, since Karlsson made his NHL debut in 2009-10.

* The Sabres produced their first 40-win campaign in a dozen seasons in 2022-23 and fell just short of their first Stanley Cup Playoffs berth since 2010-11. Tage Thompson will look to build off a 47-goal campaign and become the fourth player in franchise history with consecutive 40-goal seasons and first since Pat Lafontaine (2 from 1991-92 - 1992-93).

* The Predators narrowly missed a Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance in 2022-23 after eight consecutive seasons of postseason hockey. With Barry Trotztransitioning into the general manager role following the retirement of David Poile, Nashville added 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner and Stanley Cup-champion Ryan O’Reilly during the offseason to join the likes of captain Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg. O’Reilly (0.94 P/GP) ranks eighth in playoff points per game since the 2019 postseason (min. 40 GP).

* The Senators have summoned the services of six-time 30-goal scorer Vladimir Tarasenko for 2023-24 in hopes of helping the franchise return to the playoffs for the first time since their run to the 2017 Eastern Conference Final. Tarasenko will join a group of three players who scored 30+ goals for Ottawa in 2022-23 (Tim Stützle: 39, Brady Tkachuk: 35 & Claude Giroux: 35). The Senators have never had four players hit the 30-goal mark in the same season.

ETCHING THEMSELVES AMONG THE ALL-TIME GREATSMonumental moments are on the horizon as the NHL closes in on beginning its 2023-24 campaign. Click here to read a detailed overview of stats for teams, players, head coaches and NHL records in season-opening games, including notes on the reigning Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights and Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin.

* Ovechkin and his 822 career goals are also one of a plethora of achievements featured in #NHLStats: Approaching Milestones entering 2023-24, as the 13-time 40-goal scorer begins his 19th career season 72 tallies shy of tying Wayne Gretzky (894) for the most in League history.

* Sidney Crosby (550-952—1,502 in 1,190 GP) produced his seventh career campaign with 90-plus points in 2022-23 and enters 2023-24 just 48 assists shy of reaching 1,000 in his career. He has had at least 43 assists in 13 of 18 seasons to date. Of the 13 players in NHL history who have registered at least 1,000 assists, only seven hit the milestone within their first 1,300 games.

* Marc-Andre Fleury, Crosby’s longtime teammate in Pittsburgh from 2005-06 to 2016-17, also has his eyes on the NHL’s record book as he enters his 20th campaign. Fleury (544-315-91 in 985 GP) has the opportunity to become the fourth-ever goaltender to appear in 1,000 career games and enters his second full season with the Wild just eight wins shy of surpassing Patrick Roy (551) for the second most by a netminder in League history, behind Martin Brodeur (691).

* Auston Matthews (299-243—542 in 481 GP), coming off his fourth consecutive 40-goal season in 2022-23, will have an immediate opportunity to score his 300th career goal when the Maple Leafs open their season versus the Canadiens – the club against whom he has scored the most goals (23; tied w/ OTT). Matthews can become the 10th player in NHL history to reach the milestone in 482 games or fewer and just the second active, joining Alex Ovechkin (473 GP).

* Anze Kopitar (393-748—1,141 in 1,292 GP) is set to appear in his 18th NHL season, all with Los Angeles, and sits five games shy of eclipsing longtime teammate Dustin Brown (1,296 GP) for the most in franchise history. Kopitar can join Crosby (1,190 GP w/ PIT) as the second active player to hold a games-played record for a franchise that joined the NHL during its 1967-68 expansion campaign.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Plenty of shuffling during the offseason slotted familiar faces into new places for 2023-24. In some cases, players returned to their home states or provinces with the hopes of helping their new club take another step toward a Stanley Cup. Click here to access the Offseason Summary, a full breakdown of arrivals and departures by team since the end of 2022-23.

* Alex DeBrincat (Farmington Hills, Mich.) was traded from the Senators to his hometown Red Wings and subsequently signed a four-year contract with the club as Detroit eyes a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015-16. DeBrincat, with 8-7—15 in 10 career games contested in Detroit, has found the score sheet in all but two of his appearances at Little Caesars Arena.

* Max Domi, who grew up in Toronto, and Tyler Bertuzzi (Sudbury, Ont.) both signed one-year contracts to join the Maple Leafs – a club that advanced to the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Domi is set to reunite with former London Knights teammate Mitchell Marner (2013-14 – 2014-15) and play for the same club with whom his dad and fan-favorite, Tie Domi, skated parts of 12 seasons with (1989-90, 1994-95 – 2005-06).

KEEPING AN EYE ON LEAGUE TRENDS
The 2022-23 NHL season produced various storylines from start to finish and now 2023-24 looks to build on the numerous League trends that garnered all kinds of attention:

* After Auston Matthews (2021-22), Connor McDavid (2022-23) and David Pastrnak (2022-23) all hit 60 goals in the past two seasons, the NHL could see a 60-goal scorer in three consecutive campaigns for the first time since a 14-season stretch from 1980-81 to 1993-94.

* The NHL saw 11 players hit the 100-point mark in 2022-23, just the 11th time that has ever occurred. There have been only two spans in NHL history of at least 10 players hitting the 100-point mark in consecutive seasons (6 straight from 1980-81 – 1985-86 and 2 straight from 1989-90 – 1990-91).

* The Golden Knights will seek to become the 10th NHL franchise to repeat as Stanley Cup champions and third to do so within their first seven seasons in the League – the original Ottawa Senators won in their third and fourth seasons (1919-20 and 1920-21), while the Oilers won in their fifth and sixth (1983-84 and 1984-85).

* After setting single-season NHL records for wins (65) and standings points (135) in 2022-23, the Bruins begin celebrating their Centennial year in 2023-24 (and into the 2024-25 campaign). Boston was the first U.S.-based NHL club when they began play in 1924-25 and will become the third franchise overall to reach the Centennial milestone following the Canadiens and Maple Leafs.

* The 6.4 goals-per-game rate in 2022-23 (up from 6.3 in 2021-22) marked the highest scoring rate since 1993-94 (6.5 G/GP) and the fourth time in five seasons that the scoring rate was at 6.0 or higher (also 6.0 G/GP in both 2018-19 and 2019-20). The NHL can feature three consecutive campaigns with at least 6.0 goals-per-game for the first time since a 26-season stretch from 1970-71 to 1995-96.

* The 2022-23 campaign saw 210 third-period comeback wins, following 220 in 2021-22. Should the upcoming season eclipse the 200 benchmark as well, it would be the first time in NHL history that three consecutive seasons have had at least 200 such victories.