NEWSLETTER
Look, I get it. The Blackhawks being terrible this season is a tough sell, and the constant talk about landing a top draft pick as a result of the historically bad season is hard to rationalize for some.
But then you turn on the NHL Network on a Wednesday night after Christmas to watch Canada play Germany and get a stunning reminder of why teams are okay with being awful.
His name is Connor Bedard, folks. And he had seven points tonight. Here are his three goals, scored in succession in the second period to give him a natural hat trick.
Bedard added assists on goals from Dylan Guenther in the first period, a power play goal for Guenther in the second, a second power play for for Guenther (on the same major penalty) in the second, and Joshua Roy in the third period.
If you watched this game you would understand why scouts salivate watching Bedard play. He really is like another Connor McDavid. He just plays the game at a different speed than anyone else on the ice. And, reminder, this edition of Canada’s roster has seven first-round picks on the roster not including Bedard and Adam Fantilli, the presumed top-two picks in the 2023 NHL Draft.
He’s a special player who is going to change the trajectory of whatever franchise wins the draft lottery. And right now, teams including the Blackhawks are just trying to have the best odds they possibly can at getting Bedard on their roster.
As for the four players who have already been drafted by the Blackhawks, Kevin Korchinski had two assists in the third period and Colton Dach picked up an assist in the 11-2 Canada victory.
