'Bedard effect': Regina Pats' captain makes immediate impact in Chicago following draft lottery

Regina Pats’ captain Connor Bedard won’t officially be a member of the Chicago Blackhawks until June 28 when the NHL Draft takes place in Nashville, Tenn., but the 17-year-old has already had a significant impact on the franchise and city.

According to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Blackhawks sold $2.5 million worth of season-ticket plans for the 2023-24 season, including more than 500 new full-season plans in just an hour and a half following the NHL Draft Lottery that revealed them as the winners of the top pick.

“The fact that it happened so quickly has been surprising. I know they had 20 reps last night working the phones and email and I think that number is actually 1,200 new full season tickets plans,” Pope said as of 2 p.m. CST Tuesday.

He also believes that the organization may have to put a cap on season tickets, in order to have single games available should the Canadian phenom lace his skates in Chicago.

The Blackhawks finished the 2022-23 NHL regular season with the second-worst points total, which meant they had an 11.5 percent chance of winning the draft lottery and a 99.9 per cent chance of drafting Bedard, according to Pope.

Only Anaheim had better odds of winning the lottery.

“They aren’t going to be able to say until we get to the NHL Draft on June 28, but it’s pretty much all but certain based on every conversation I’ve had— just based on his talent, it would be kind of absurd to pass that up,” Pope said.

However, one player won’t be the end all in Chicago, some experts say. NHL insider, John Shannon, said it’s too soon to answer the many questions around Bedard’s impact in the original six franchise.

“Is he generational? Maybe, probably…are there comparisons, fair or unfair, to Sidney Crosby, sure. Crosby didn’t make the playoffs the first year he played for the Penguins, Mario Lemieux didn’t make the playoffs for the first five years he played in the National Hockey League,” Shannon stressed.

But one thing is for certain, should the Chicago Blackhawks take Bedard first overall, they will have a leader on and off the ice.

“I think the people of Regina understand how mature this young guy is, the responsibility he’s accepted for a long period of time since he was 12 or 13-years-old, in dealing with the media and dealing with the celebrity status of being a phenomenal hockey player,” Shannon added.

As for the 17-year-olds’ reaction to the draft lottery, according to Twitter, Bedard was playing road hockey with some kids during the lottery.

“That’s just the kind of guy he is, right? Not about himself, he’s about other people, and he’s somebody I think the NHL is going to be very excited to market,” said Dante De Caria, communications and play-by-play announcer for the Regina Pats.

Bedard going first overall would make him the first Regina Pat to do so since Doug Wickenheiser went to Montreal in 1980.

“Now that he’s now finished his career with the Regina Pats, I think everybody will remember that and I think the day that Chicago comes up on June 28 and says, ‘Connor Bedard from the Regina Pats,’ will be a very special moment for the organization,” De- Caria said.

Bedard has been the overwhelming favorite to be selected first overall in the 2023 NHL Draft since he was 15 and became the first player to play in the Western Hockey League (WHL) fulltime as a 15-year-old after receiving exceptional player status.