CREATED BY SPORTS BETTORS FOR SPORTS BETTORS
LET’S HEAR YOUR STORY
As many expected would be the case, it certainly did not take long for Blackhawks super-rookie Connor Bedard to burst onto the scene.
Just over five minutes into his second career regular-season game, Bedard buried the one he's been dreaming about forever — giving Chicago the early lead with his first NHL goal.
It was an absolute beauty, too:
Bedard literally did it all on this goal. From the brilliant take at the blue line to cradle a bad pass and gain possession across the blue line without going offside, to the nifty back pass that followed, to him cradling his own rebound and finally the all-world, wraparound finish — this whole sequence of events was an absolute sight to behold.
The milestone marker comes just one night after Bedard finally made his highly-anticipated regular-season debut as the 18-year-old phenom squared off against 36-year-old Sidney Crosby in Chicago's season opener Tuesday night.
Though that secondary assist for his first point won’t be on any career highlight reels, his effort leading upto the marker did show why he's the most highly regarding prospect since Connor McDavid came out of junior nearly a decade ago. Flying through the neutral zone and entering the offensive zone with blazing speed, Bedard dangled around reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.
Then, seconds later along the wall, Bedard executed a beautiful drop pass to Alex Vlasic, who threw a shot before Ryan Donato tapped it in, queuing Chicago's opening-night comeback win.
Buddy also has a rookie moment for the ages on Tuesday, nearly forgetting his stick of all things before hitting the ice for warmups in Pittsburgh.
Bedard finished his first career contest with one assist, five shots on goal and 11 shot attempts, while controlling a 63.25% share of the expected goals at 5-on-5 before seamlessly carrying his electrifying play over to Wednesday's clash with the Bruins — his first regular-season contest in Chicago.
Your experience on this site will be improved by allowing cookies.