CHICAGO — Before he’s likely to become a member of the Blackhawks, Connor Bedard made a little bit of history at the last place he played hockey.
After an outstanding season with the Regina Pats of the Canadian Hockey League, the highly-touted center who will likely be the NHL Draft’s No. 1 overall pick cleaned up at their annual awards this weekend.
The center was the first in the history of the CHL to capture three major awards in one year at the ceremony in Kamloops, British Columbia.
- David Branch CHL Player of the Year
- CHL Top Scorer
- CHL Top Prospect
It is the first time since the league introduced the Top Scorer Award in 1994.
Bedard filled up the scoresheet over the course of 64 overall games with Regina in the 2022-2023 season. In the regular season, the center scored 71 goals and 72 assists in 57 regular season games for the Pats. In seven playoff contests, he had ten goals and ten assists.
In 2021-2022 with Regina, Bedard had 51 goals and 49 assists in 62 games. He made his debut for the Pats came during the 2020-2021 season when he scored 12 goals and 16 assists in 15 games.
One of the best NHL draft prospects in years, its very much expected that the Blackhawks will select the center with the No. 1 overall pick at the NHL Draft in Nashville on June 28. The team won the NHL Lottery on May 8 to get the right to select Bedard, though general manager Kyle Davidson has stopped short of saying the team will take the center.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Blackhawks will select a player with the top overall pick for just the second time in team history. Patrick Kane was the other selection by the team with the No. 1 pick back in 2007, when the team also won the draft lottery.