It wasn’t without some enormous expectations that Connor Bedard entered his first-ever NHL season a year ago. He’s a generational talent and would go on to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2024 after a great debut season with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Bedard had to be sidelined for some time during the later part of the season due to a broken jaw, but still managed to finish the season with 22 goals and 61 points, leading all NHL rookies.
Bedard was the highlight of the Blackhawks last season, and although they’ve brought some offensive power into the roster this off-season, not many expect them to reach the playoffs this upcoming season.
READ MORE: Connor McDavid’s wife reveals his one big fear
However, many expect Bedard to take another step when it comes to offensive contribution and leadership, and when Bedard played in the Blackhawks’ final preseason game, he did so as an assistant captain.
The hype around Bedard is as always huge as he’s entering his sophomore year as an NHL player this week. Recently, he was on the Jackie Redmond Show and revealed his dream teammate out of all the active players in the NHL. Connor Bedard has previously talked a lot about how he’s always idolized Sidney Crosby growing up. And there’s, of course, Connor McDavid, who’s the best player in the world.
But when Bedard revealed his dream linemate, he picked the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal instead.
”There’s a lot of guys obviously,” Bedard said. ”Sid’s up there, Marchand would be cool, but maybe I’ll go with Barzal just because he’s someone that I skated with when I was like 12, 13 years old up until today.
”So I got to know him really well and looked up to him a lot. He’s a bit of a mentor for me, so that’d be pretty cool.”
READ MORE: Jaromir Jagr names the winger he enjoyed playing with the most
NHL players from different teams usually skate together and play some hockey during the summers, and Connor Bedard has been getting invites since long before making his NHL debut. Last year, Mathew Barzal told The Hockey News about playing with a young Bedard and how he knew he would make it.
”He would have been 12, I think, Barzal said. ”Wearing a cage, and his skates looked a little too big. Then we came back the next summer, and he was beating NHL goalies with his shot. It was like, you know the kid’s the real deal.”
