Bedard Bound For Chi-Town
So, it’s Chicago. I have to be honest. I’m torn about the prospect of Connor Bedard, a player who soon could become the face of the hobby, playing for the Blackhawks a er the team won the NHL Dra Lottery on May 8.
On the one hand, it was the best possible option for his future visibility of all the lottery participants. Chicago is America’s third-largest media market, and the Hawks are a favorite of the league’s broadcast partners. ey’ll be a constant presence on national TV, which means you’ll be able to watch Bedard live instead of waiting for his nightly highlights to go viral.
It’s also an Original Six city, home to a vibrant and deep-rooted hobby base that actively supported the team and superstar players like Ed Belfour, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane through their glory years. ey’ll swallow up Bedard’s cards like a blue whale gulping down krill.
And it’s a mecca for events. Remember, Chicago will host the 43rd National Sports Collectors Convention from July 26-30. Can you imagine the hype on that floor if Bedard comes to town for a signing session? You might want to keep a close eye on the guest list as it gets updated closer to the opening date, just in case. And you can plan on the Winter Classic being staged there, oh, probably three times a year if the league’s fascination with the city holds.
But on an emotional level, I dunno. It feels unearned. e Hawks are a franchise operating under a dark cloud a er the sexual assault scandal that led general manager Stan Bowman to resign from his post, but the team itself faced no repercussions from the league. at hasn’t set well with many fans, including myself.
Plus, the Hawks are just eight years removed from their last Stanley Cup, and only one year into their rebuild. A case can be made that other teams were more “deserving” of adding the first pick to their roster. Take Anaheim, for example. A team already scarred by the heartbreak of coming in second in the Sidney Crosby sweepstakes in 2005 finished last in 2022-23 to earn the best odds of winning the lottery. ey deserved a better fate from the hockey gods than to be runner-up again. Plus, they’ve slowly accumulated some compelling talent, and adding Bedard to a group that includes Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov and others would have brought Showtime back to the West Coast.
But it wasn’t meant to be. And so Bedard will be a Hawk. In the grand scheme of things, that may work out extremely well for both the player and the hobby. It’s already led to a bonanza for the team, which sold $2.5 million worth of season tickets in just two hours a er the lottery.
And torn or not, I’ll be right there with them to watch Bedard pull on that famous red sweater on an opening night that can’t get here soon enough.