Now that the Blackhawks’ destiny is set, let’s use this excuse to watch and marvel at the consensus 2023 No. 1 pick, Connor Bedard, through the years. He’s been touted as one of the best players since he hit puberty, so we’re going to go by age with these highlights.
If you want more in-depth coverage, please see the Bedard series from SCH’s own Eric Gegenheimer: Jan. 18, Jan. 31, Feb. 15, March 1, March 15 and April 24.
Age 14:
- 84 points (43 G, 41) in 36 games with West Van Academy Prep (CSSHL U18)
Age 15:
- 28 points (12 G, 16 A) in 15 games with Regina Pats (WHL)
- 14 points (7 G, 7A) in 7 games with Canada U18 (2021 WJC)
Age 16:
- 100 points (51 G, 49 A) in 62 games with Regina Pats (WHL)
- 5 points (4 G, 1 A) in 2 games with Canada U20 (2022 WJC)*
- 7 points (6 G, 1 A) in 4 games with Canada U18 (2022 WJC)
- 8 points (4 G, 4 A) in 7 games with Canada U20 (2022 WJC)
*Cancelled due to COVID-19
Age 17:
- 143 points (71 G, 72 A) in 57 regular season games, 20 points (10 G, 10 A) in 7 playoff games with Regina Pats (WHL)
- 23 points (9 G, 14 A) in 7 games with Canada U20 (2023 WJC)
For the nerdy number-oriented fans, here are some more stats from the prior hockey season to salivate over:
Connor Bedard's first 10 games:
• 9 goals
• 10 assists
• 140 shots
• 70 shots on goal
• A full season's worth of highlights#2023NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/pOF4Q9z9LW— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) October 15, 2022
Connor Bedard was on fire last night against the 19-1 Winnipeg ICE.
Led both teams in (5v5 only):
• Shots (8)
• Scoring chances (5)
• Shot assists (5)
• Slot passes (7)
• Controlled entries (9)Highlights: pic.twitter.com/KuvXthQ6LA
— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) November 18, 2022
Connor Bedard leads the tournament in expected goals per 60 by a large margin, and he's also setting up the most chances.
Doing both is insane, but being the top by such margins doesn't seem real. I didn't think 3.5 xG/60 in a 50-minute sample was even possible, let alone 4. pic.twitter.com/w21AnelXqG
— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) January 1, 2023
One last bit of World Juniors:
We're gonna be hearing about Bedard and his tournament for a long time, and thanks to @lassialanen and @MitchLBrown we can put into numbers just how dominant he was.
(And remember, this is just at 5v5) pic.twitter.com/8OKDm0rf5T
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 6, 2023
Connor Bedard last week:
– 4 games
– 9 goals
– 8 assists
– 46 shots, 25 shots on net
– 26 scoring chances, 16 at 5v5A few highlights: pic.twitter.com/0wI7lEGRBi
— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) March 21, 2023
Here are the top 30 single-game performances I've ever tracked by game score (mostly in the last two seasons).
Bedard's Jan 21st performance is No. 1 by a decent margin. He appears four times in the top 30 of a chart with over 11,000 rows. pic.twitter.com/1Q8JWgVc0U
— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) January 31, 2023
Posting this one by itself because Bedard celebrates with the Patrick Kane heartbreaker move:
And then of course there’s this:
Connor Bedard with the Patrick Kane inspired look.
He was always destined for Chicago. pic.twitter.com/RnWjyJoCYR
— Max Markham (@MaxMarkhamNFL) May 9, 2023
Does this mean Bedard is fated for the Blackhawks?
Speaking of Kane, if you’re even a little skeptical about Bedard, don’t just take our word for him – listen to Kane:
Patrick Kane gushing about Connor Bedard in January: “Everyone’s kind of wondering how is he going to do at the next level, how's he going to be. From what I saw, I think it's all right there, he's going to be special." #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/NYJAosoqr6
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) May 9, 2023
