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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Connor Bedard couldn't wait to play a game for the first time in more than five months.
That was evident as soon as the center, selected No. 1 by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Draft, stepped onto the ice against the St. Louis Blues at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase at TRIA Rink on Saturday. By game’s end, he had three goals and an assist in a 5-0 win.
The 18-year-old, however, was as laid-back as always after his performance.
“Yeah, it doesn’t mean too much. It’s just nice to play a game,” Bedard said. “So much fun to be with the guys, getting here, the music’s playing, and you just have that mojo going in. That was the best part, just getting back into it and yeah, it was fun.”
It was the first game for Bedard since April 10, when Regina, his team for the past three seasons, lost to Saskatoon in Game 7 of the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.
The game may not mean much to Bedard, but it was certainly a reminder of why he is the most anticipated NHL prospect since center Connor McDavid, who was selected No. 1 by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Draft. His release and wrist shot are scintillating. His ability and desire to drive the net despite not being the biggest guy (5-foot-10, 185 pounds), the ability to shoot from anywhere -- it was all on display in his first game in a Blackhawks uniform.
“Yeah, he looked dangerous every time he was on the ice,” said Anders Sorensen, coach of the Blackhawks’ American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford and the prospect team this weekend. “He came up with 11 shots, right? So that’s pretty impressive.
“I mean, just lots of changing angles (on his release), the way he catches passes, deceptive, the way he can pull pucks in and out. Impressive to watch. It was fun.”
Bedard showed the scoring touch that helped him lead the WHL in goals (71), points (143), shots on goal (360), points per game (2.51) and goals per game (1.24) in 57 regular-season games last season.
He had great scoring chances throughout but was thwarted through the first half of the game by Blues goalie Colten Ellis, who didn’t allow a goal before he was replaced by Will Cranley 10:31 into the second period.
Bedard wouldn’t be denied on the Blackhawks’ second power play. He skated into the right face-off circle and sent a wrist shot past Cranley for a 2-0 lead at 14:23 of the second. After scoring, Bedard twirled his stick and playfully placed it back in its “holster.”
“It was nice, of course,” Bedard said of that goal. “A really good screen, just kind of threw it to the other side. It feels good, of course, to get one and of course, just a rookie game here. Doesn’t mean much but it always feels good to score.”
Bedard scored again at 4:54 of the third period, skating to the left circle, then pausing before lifting a shot into the top right corner from a sharp angle to give the Blackhawks a 4-0 lead.
Asked what he saw on that goal, Bedard said, “I saw where it went,” to laughs.
“No, a little far side and I don’t know, it was later on the power play, so I thought I’d go for it and lucky it went in.”
Bedard’s third goal came when he skated to the high slot and his shot off the crossbar went in with just over seven minutes remaining. Fans tried to throw hats on the ice but weren’t able to due to the safety netting around the rink.
The performance was no surprise to Bedard’s teammates.
“Yeah, I was (able to see what he did),” said goalie Drew Commesso, who had a shutout. “It doesn’t shock me. I’ve seen it in practice a lot.”
Louis Crevier and Colton Dach, with an assist from Bedard, also scored for the Blackhawks, who play the Minnesota Wild to wrap up the tournament at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Will Bedard play Sunday? He said he always likes to play but that he’d see what the coaches say. Sorensen said, “We’ll chat, and we’ll see what happens here.”
Even if he doesn’t play, Bedard put on quite the show during the showcase.
“Yeah, it was fun finally playing a game,” Bedard said. “It was a great pace out there, physical. We all had fun, so it was good to get that first one in and go from there, I guess.”
Article From & Read More ( Bedard scores hat trick in Blackhawks debut at Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase - NHL.com )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.
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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.
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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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Chicago Blackhawks prospect Connor Bedard skates on the ice during a practice at Fifth Third Arena on Sept. 14, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
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.
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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.
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“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.
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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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Colorado Women’s Soccer Players School Pat McAfee in Trick Shot Competition Sports Illustrated Article From & Read More ( Colorado Women’s Soccer Players School Pat McAfee in Trick Shot Competition - Sports Illustrated )Some Democrats in the commonwealth of Virginia are rallying around a House of Delegates candidate who posted videos online that showed her engaging in sexual acts with her husband while soliciting tips.
Virginia State Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a leading Democratic lawmaker in Virginia, came to the defense of Democratic House of Delegates candidate Susanna Gibson, calling on voters to "make this the biggest fundraising day of (Gibson’s) campaign" along with a link to donate to the campaign.
"Susanna and I just crossed over 100 donations today to fight back against the Republicans," Lucas wrote in another post. "If you are as pissed as I am then please donate tonight!"
Lucas accused Virginia's Republican governor of being behind the story leak in an effort to "try to embarrass and humiliate her and they failed completely."
LAURA INGRAHAM: SUSANNA GIBSON DID A 'PRETTY GOOD JOB' OF HUMILIATING HERSELF

Virginia Democratic House of Delegates candidate Susanna Gibson (Susanna Gibson campaign website)
A Washington Post report earlier this week first revealed that Gibson, a 40-year-old nurse practitioner and mother of two, used a platform called Chaturbate to stream sex acts with her husband and solicited "tips" from viewers for performing certain acts that would go to a "good cause."
Gibson posted more than a dozen videos in September 2022, after she had officially entered the race in suburban Richmond for the House of Delegates in the 57th district.
"Anybody who looks at this knows it’s a hit job," said Amanda Linton, a 45-year-old defense contractor who donated $25 to Gibson’s campaign after reading about the videos. Linton said she plans to donate another $100 to Gibson’s campaign even though she can’t vote for her because she lives outside her district.
Emily’s List, an advocacy group for Democratic female candidates, also defended Gibson.

In this image taken from a video, Virginia legislative candidate Susanna Gibson addresses the Women's Summit in Virginia Beach, Va., in September of 2022. Gibson has denounced the disclosure of live videos on a pornographic website in which she and her husband engaged in sex acts. ((Neil Smith via AP))
"Susanna originally ran for office because of the overturning of Roe and she’s been very outspoken on standing up for reproductive rights. People are coming out in support of Susanna because they know that Republicans are coming after her because she was standing up for them," said spokesperson Lauren Chou.
Gibson responded to the controversy by calling it "an illegal invasion of my privacy designed to humiliate me."
"My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they’re willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there’s no line they won’t cross to silence women when they speak up," Gibson told CNN in a statement on Tuesday.
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Virginia state Senator Louise L. Lucas(D-18) at work in the statehouse, on February, 20, 2019 in Richmond, VA. ((Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images))
If Gibson stays in the race, she is set to face her GOP opponent, David Owen, in a Nov. 7 election.
Associated Press contributed to this report
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
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