Every year, the National Hockey League does a lottery draft where the best prospects get selected for their team for the upcoming season. The NHL draft is always a big deal for each team, each player and even every fan. The talent that a team drafts may end up determining the team’s future, such as the previous NHL draft where the Chicago Blackhawks drafted Connor Bedard as the first overall pick.

Bedard was projected as a number one draft pick at 15 years old. He was dominating the Western Hockey League with the St. Regina Pats where he played 134 games and had 271 points-averaging two points a game. Bedard then went on to the International World Juniors Tournament where he put up history-making numbers; he had 57 points in 27 games. Bedard was doing all of this as an underage player.

After Bedard dominated the WHL, he would soon be drafted as the number one overall pick to the Chicago Blackhawks. Bedard swept the nation’s media and many sports fans began to follow the Blackhawk’s journey. The tickets for the Blackhawks games skyrocketed after Bedard was drafted to the team. Many fans were excited to see the highly anticipated Connor Bedard compete in the NHL.

“I was very excited,” senior Aiden Van Alstine said. “It seemed like the Blackhawks had this new guy who could be the groundwork of the rebuild.”

Bedard got a quick start on the season putting up 33 points in the first 39 games of the season. He was impressing the league with his skills-until his season came to a sudden stop. During the Blackhawks game against the New Jersey Devils on January 5th, Bedard took a high hit to the face where he would leave the game early. After further evaluation, it was concluded that Bedard had fractured his jaw and would be out for six to eight weeks.

“The Blackhawks weren’t going to perform very well without Bedard because he is their best player,” senior Tyler Wolfe said.

Connor Bedard would quickly heal from his jaw injury and return to playing in mid-February. He picked right back up where he left and continued to put up insane numbers at just 18 years old. As of currently, Connor Bedard has 54 points in 55 games and continues to put up points every game.

Bedard is currently in the lead for the race to win the Calder Memorial Trophy which is the annual award given to the player selected as the most proficient player for their first year in the National Hockey League. Other competitors behind Bedard for this trophy include Brock Fabor, Luke Hughes and Leo Carlsson. Although all of these players are very skilled, Bedard leads the race by a large margin, absolutely smoking the competition.

“Connor Bedard is a great young talent and he has a great future in the league,” senior Justin Crow said.

It is very rare to see a hockey player excel this fast at such a young age in the NHL. Connor Bedard has been able to work his way through the ranks and be named a generational talent. He inspires many young hockey players and provides so much traffic to the media. The fans, the children and his teammates see him as someone to look up to, even at his young age.

Bedard has lived up to the hype and continues to impress the nation with his game-changing skills. Being named a generational talent, Bedard gives his all to try his hardest to stay consistent. Although the Blackhawks are heavily relying on Connor Bedard’s talent, he can only do so much. 

The Blackhawks have acquired the foundation for their rebuild, Connor Bedard, and now they must build off of him. With Bedard, the Blackhawks are looking forward to their generational talent and acquiring players to work well with him. The team’s success will depend on how all the players work together under the team’s management. Connor Bedard is making the Blackhawk’s future look very promising and hockey fans around the world are excited for the new generational talent’s future.