Bedard Talks Chicago, Vegas Rolls, Olympics on the Table, Drafting Another Goalie? and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Some fans are still out there saying “What if Connor Bedard ‘pulls a Lindros’ and doesn’t want to come to Chicago?” I’ve laughed at that for a while, but it appears we can put that mind-numbing thought line to bed. Bedard met with the media at the Stanley Cup Final on Monday and was asked about the Blackhawks winning the draft lottery. I’m not breaking news here when I tell the young man it’s going to be unbelievable.

  • As we continue to consider names of prospects the Blackhawks might select with their eight picks in the first three rounds of the 2023 NHL Draft, file this one away for future use. Scott Wheeler at The Athletic released his final Top 100 prospect rankings on Monday. Again, I really like the layout they used for their final rankings this year. Lots of really good work in this.
  • After Bedard blasted Biz, Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final happened. And it was… not good for Florida. Again.
  • This hit late in the second period started a parade to the penalty boxes. Eichel returned and had a beautiful assist in the third period, but we’ve seen the Panthers now try to initiate extracurriculars in both games and end up on the wrong end of the whistle almost every time. If they can’t control their emotions, this series is going to be over quickly.
  • Commissioner Gary Bettman was on NHL Network Radio on Sirius/XM before Game 2 and was asked about both the World Cup of Hockey and the Winter Olympics. He noted that the league and players need to reach agreements on a few key items (insurance, travel, scheduling, etc) with the International Olympic Committee and the IIHF if the Olympics are going to happen in three years. He also said the World Cup was in play if they can make it work with the players.
  • My guy Charlie Roumeliotis at NBCSN wrote an interesting piece on Monday about the Blackhawks possibly — likely? — drafting a goaltender this summer. It’s an interesting proposition and Charlie makes some very good points, especially when he brings up the timeframe for a netminder to be ready for the NHL and the reality that teams need at least two (more likely 3-4) viable goaltenders now. I do wonder if the Blackhawks will take a goaltender in a class that has 4-5 interesting prospects, but we’ll have to wait and see how they use their draft capital in a few weeks. My gut is they’ll weaponize their picks to move up (at least once) and won’t make 11 selections. But there’s a good case to be made to take another goaltender. Charlie puts it together well here.
  • The Anaheim Ducks announced Greg Cronin will serve as their new head coach. Cronin, 60, is a fascinating hire; he is a co-founder of the United States National Development Program (USNTDP) and has been around the game at various levels for more than three decades.
  • Does it feel like this summer is absolutely flying by? It’s June already, which means it’s already time to start talking about trades in baseball. And a reunion might make sense for the Cubs.
  • 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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