Connor Bedard’s first goal in a Chicago Blackhawks sweater won’t be recorded in any official box score, just the memories of fans.
And already it has been overshadowed by his first hat trick.
Bedard had a dazzling debut in his first competitive game as a Hawk, scoring twice in the second period and once in the third of the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase on Saturday to lead the Hawks to a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Blues at TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Louis Crevier and Colton Dach also scored.
Drew Commesso made a glove save with about 17 seconds left to secure the shutout.
The Hawks play the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, which streams at 3 p.m. on Blackhawks.com and the Hawks’ YouTube channel.
Then Bedard and many of his fellow prospects return to Chicago where they will join the veterans for the start of training camp at Fifth Third Arena on Thursday.
But Saturday, the spotlight was on Bedard.
He looked completely at ease maneuvering around defenders, firing shots and finding linemates on cross-ice passes. Perhaps his most eventful moment was breaking his stick on a windup in the second.
Well, that and some friendly fire: Lucas Romeo took a puck to the face off Bedard’s shot and left the game in the first.
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Blues goalie Colten Ellis put up a stiff defense as he and Commesso dueled to a first-period stalemate. Three penalties didn’t help Chicago’s cause.
But in the second, Will Cranley relieved Ellis just as the Hawks were suitably warmed up.
Crevier fired through a wall of defenders from point to put the Hawks on the board with about 6 minutes remaining in the second period.
The next shift, on the Hawks’ end, St. Louis’ Zach Dean knocked Paul Ludwinski into the wall, starting a scrum.
Don’t poke the bear, apparently.
With Dean sitting in the penalty box, Bedard took a feed and drifted to the right circle, toe-dragged in front of Leo Loof and ripped a power play goal top shelf the far side.
Cranley craned to see past Dach, looking for a short-side shot, and was a beat too late shifting back to his right when he realized his mistake.
The moment made Rockford IceHogs coach Anders Sorensen’s assessment of Bedard almost prophetic.
“His awareness is fantastic,” Sorensen said before the game. “He just baits guys in. He waits, he looks and sees, and then once they give him a little bit of inkling of what they’re trying to do, he exploits that and just takes advantage of it.
“It’s pretty impressive to watch.”
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Bedard’s second goal was more notable than the first.
Bedard skated the left side a few feet above the goal line and ripped a sharp-angle shot to the far side of Cranley.
His third goal — the hat trick — looked generic by comparison, a simple wrister from the right circle.
It was a busy night.
During prospect camp, Sorensen said he’d try to evenly distribute ice time, but Bedard and defenseman Kevin Korchinski got a lot of run, playing on the penalty kill together and teaming up for all of the Hawks’ first power play.
Wyatt Kaiser also stood out, charging the net a couple of times in the first period to set the tone.
Dach’s goal led off the third period and seemed to put the game out of reach for the Hawks.
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