Bedard’s Impact on Regina, Seattle’s Memorial Cup Begins, Favorite Celly Options, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

There was no hockey last night because the Florida Panthers are already in the Stanley Cup Final. Tonight, we find out if they’re playing the Vegas Golden Knights or… if we have to wait to determine their opponent at least a couple more days. Big game tonight in Vegas. Can Dallas win without their captain available again?

  • It looks like Dallas will be down at least two forwards again on Saturday night as they try to stay alive.
  • The Stars aren’t at home, but will their new-found superfans travel with them to Vegas? I’m fairly confident these three could find something to do in that town for a day or two… The Nature Boy Ric Flair, Mike Tyson and Tie Domi? This is better than the cast of “The Hangover.” They watched Game 4 together in Domi’s suite in Dallas.
  • Ben Pope at the Chicago Sun-Times wrote a terrific piece about the bright lights that followed Connor Bedard to Regina. Chicago is a big market better prepared for a superstar; indeed, athletes many times need to be ready for Chicago more than the other way around. Regina? Not exactly the same deal. But everywhere the team went was like a small-market version of the Beatles because of Bedard. And the young prospect took everything in stride. This is a fun weekend read.
  • After Matthew Tkachuk skated off two overtime wins against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, there’s been some conversation about that as a preferred celly for young players. So the good folks at BarDown asked a bunch of prospects getting ready for the Memorial Cup about their celly options. You might notice Colton Dach making an appearance. He’s a slider guy. (Oh, remember we’ve seen Bedard drop Patrick Kane’s Heartbreaker move in the past, too…)
  • The Seattle Thunderbirds will play their first game of the Memorial Cup tournament tonight, with all three Blackhawks prospects — Kevin Korchinski, Nolan Allan and Dach — playing an important role for their title hopes. I’m all about excellent hype videos so let’s roll this beautiful hockey footage.
  • This week we started running a series looking at the offseasons ahead for the rest of the teams in the Central Division, starting at the bottom with the Coyotes. This could shape up as one of the more interesting summers I can remember in this division, with more than a few teams at a crossroads in the history of their franchise. With limited cap space and some teams not having great collections of prospects — and others having limited draft assets — there could be a lot of wheeling and dealing this summer. Here are the three we’ve run so far:
  • Arizona Coyotes
  • St. Louis Blues
  • Nashville Predators
  • Speaking of wheeling and dealing, remember a couple weeks back when I wrote a three-part series in which we considered the Blackhawks trading up in the coming draft from their spot at No. 19 overall? Well, that concept continues to gain momentum as fewer teams remain in the playoffs and we get closer to June. I mentioned the Canucks as a likely trade partner if the Blackhawks wanted to move up; they need to dump more salary and currently sit at No. 11 where the Blackhawks could target another coveted forward (I’ve heard a lot of Ryan Leonard’s name recently — I mentioned him, too). Here’s a nice piece from The Athletic in which Chicago and Vancouver writers banter back and forth about making a deal. And a lot of their scenario sounds awfully familiar.
  • If you’re looking for some hockey to watch later this morning, the United States will face Germany in the semifinals of the World Championship. Canada will face Latvia, who stunned Sweden this week. The games are on NHL Network.
  • Elsewhere in Chicago sports, the Chicago Bears are entering a season with some excitement for the first time in a while. There are still some serious questions about their ability to get to the quarterback, though. Luis has some weekend hope for those wanting to buy the 2023 Chicago Bears.
  • Finally, so many Blackhawks fans are still hoping to see Patrick Kane come back at some point for a farewell tour. And Bulls fans are similarly hoping to see Derrick Rose come back to his hometown this summer as well. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear either scenario is likely.
  • written by

    Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the author of two books about the Blackhawks: "100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagram/Threads at @The1Tab

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