The Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard Era Officially Begins
By Jim Lynch
For just the second time in franchise history, the Blackhawks drafted first overall. The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Connor Bedard first overall at the 2023 NHL Draft tonight. With the pick now official, a new era of hockey officially begins in Chicago.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard Era Officially Begins.
Bedard donned a #98 Blackhawks jersey up on the stage after getting drafted by the Blackhawks. Chicago fans have been wearing a lot of #19 and #88 at the United Center, but now a new era begins with Bedard getting drafted.
I do not think anyone needs a refresher on Connor Bedard’s stats, but incase you were unaware, Bedard is projected to be one of those star players, someone like Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid. Now, he is officially a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
This past season with the Regina Pats of the WHL Bedard scored 71 goals and had 72 assists in 57 games. He also registered 23 points at the 2023 World Junior Championships. He is someone who is instantly going to step into the Blackhawks lineup and make them better.
He is a big reason for the team going out of their way to trade for Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno, and he is someone who will drastically shift the direction of the Blackhawks rebuild. While the team won’t be competing for the Stanley Cup in the next few seasons, they are going to be more competitive sooner rather than later.
Drafting Bedard was the easy part, what comes next will be more challenging for Kyle Davidson and the Blackhawks. The team still has another first round pick to draft, as well as four second round picks that really will highlight the Blackhawks 2023 Draft Class.
The Blackhawks took Bedard, but what comes next will be harder to navigate. The next ten picks all are very talented players, and every team drafting will definitely have to take their time to decide who should go second or third or fourth overall. Connor Bedard is definitely the star of the 2023 NHL Draft class, but there are a ton of talented players still available! The night is just beginning.