Connor Bedard first Pats player to be drafted 1st overall since 1980
Connor Bedard is the first member of the Regina Pats to be selected first overall in the NHL Draft since Doug Wickenheiser in 1980.
To the surprise of virtually no one, the Chicago Blackhawks called Bedard’s name with the first overall pick in Nashville, Tenn. on Wednesday evening.
Bedard has been the projected first overall pick since his rookie season with the Pats in 2021, when he became the first player in Western Hockey League (WHL) history to be given exceptional status allowing him to play full-time in the league as a 15-year-old.
Other than Bedard and Wickenheiser, Greg Joly is the only other Pats alumnus to be selected first overall.
In 1974, Joly went first overall to the Washington Capitals and first overall to Phoenix in the World Hockey Association's Secret Amateur Draft.
In three seasons with the Pats, Bedard has amassed 134 goals, 137 assists and 271 points in 134 regular season games. He added 20 more points in seven playoff games this past spring.
Bedard also won two gold medals with Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships, putting up 31 points in 14 tournament games combined over two events.
After the Blackhawks won the NHL Draft Lottery in May and the right to take Bedard first overall, the franchise almost immediately sold $2.5 million worth of season-ticket plans for the upcoming season, according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.
That included more than 500 new full-season plans in just one hour following the NHL Draft Lottery.
Despite all the craze in Chicago, Bedard stopped short of saying what team he thought he would end up with or even if he’ll play in the NHL next season.
“You know nothing’s happened yet. I think for me kind of take things day by day and you know if they [Chicago] take me that would be unbelievable but you know we’ll see what happens tomorrow,” Bedard said on Tuesday.
Regina Pats’ head coach and general manager John Paddock was a little more confident when talking about Bedard’s future in the NHL.
“It’s a foregone conclusion what’s going to happen here, who’s going to be the first pick regardless of the team and you know, if I was to give any advice, it would just be really to enjoy it and take it all in. Handle it professionally like you’re [already] doing,” Paddock said on Tuesday.
The Blackhawks open their 2023-24 regular season on Oct. 10 against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
-- With files from Brit Dort and Brianne Foley.
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