Connor Bedard RUMORS & NEWS

The Hockey Writers "The Chicago Blackhawks won the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery, and with that, they will have the right to select Connor Bedard at the top of the draft. Bedard has been one of the best prospects since Connor McDavid, and while it is tough to project his true NHL ceiling, he looks as promising..." May 16

CBS Sports "The Chicago Blackhawks have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and as such, the Connor Bedard hype train has reached terminal velocity. It may seem like too much buzz for a 17-year-old stud who has yet to play an NHL shift, but Bedard really does have..." May 16

The Hockey Writers "The Chicago Blackhawks had a monumental moment on Monday night when they miraculously landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft despite an 11.5% chance of lading it. They can now select generational talent Connor Bedard, the 17-year-old prospect who has drawn comparisons..." May 12

The Hockey Writers "On Monday evening (May 8), the Chicago Blackhawks won the 2023 Draft Lottery and will be the eventual home of generational prospect Connor Bedard because of it. This is exactly what Chicago was hoping for when general manager (GM) Kyle Davidson announced the club’s..." May 09

Daily Faceoff "Frank Seravalli was joined by Colby Cohen to discuss how Connor Bedard can change the Chicago Blackhawks trajectory on the latest episode of Daily Faceoff Live. Frank Seravalli: To spin it forward for the Chicago Blackhawks, they’re kind of in a really interesting spot..." May 09

The Athletic "They had already done the parade down Michigan Avenue, the streets and sidewalks and bridges of Chicago choked with fans wearing heavy red sweaters on an 88-degree day in June of 2010. They had filled massive Grant Park from Columbus Drive to the lake shore in 2013, the green fields becoming a..." May 09

ESPN "Hockey's most scrutinized teenager seeks the quiet life -- for now. Connor Bedard, the most hyped NHL prospect since that Connor, was finishing up his third season in junior hockey when I visited him in March. His team, the Regina Pats, is located in the broad plains of..." May 08

The Athletic "As the much-awaited 2023 NHL Draft Lottery takes place tonight, the top two picks will be awarded and the rest of the first-round draft order will be determined. Most hockey fans are aware that the main thing at stake is the privilege of being able to draft Regina center Connor..." May 08

Bleacher Report "The NHL's annual draft lottery will be held Monday at 8 p.m. ET. The prize for the winner is the opportunity to select the top prospect in this year's draft class, Connor Bedard, a 17-year-old center with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. Scouts consider..." May 07

Daily Faceoff "So this is our final Roundtable before Monday’s Connor Bedard Draft lottery. There’s just no way we can discuss anything else in this space. It’s too seismic an event for the NHL. Previously, we’ve speculated on the “best” landing spot for him. I..." May 06

The Athletic "How much does a ping-pong ball weigh? In a literal sense, it weighs 2.7 grams, or less than one-tenth of an ounce. But for several NHL franchises — this year especially — it’s the weight of the world, the future of their entire organization and their best..." May 05

Daily Faceoff "Hi. It’s me, Matt. The guy who tweets the ‘Elmo with a raging fire behind him’ meme regularly. Why do I do it? Because it represents something I love in sports: chaos. The Tage Thompson late breakout is chaos. The Florida Panthers and Seattle Kraken pulling..." May 04

The Athletic "Anyone who turned on their televisions in December and watched the world juniors is aware that Regina center and projected first pick in the 2023 NHL Draft Connor Bedard is an elite NHL prospect. But how good exactly? How would he compare to some of the very best prospects of the last..." May 04

The Athletic "To watch Jack Hughes execute a zone entry at speed is to see the aurora borealis dance across the night sky, an ineffable force of nature that causes your breath to get stuck in your throat for just a moment. It’s the way he switches gears from coasting to toasting, suddenly..." April 25

The Athletic "Anyone searching for the wildest race at the end of the 2022-23 NHL season should look to the bottom of the league standings, not the middle. Chicago’s win against playoff contender Calgary on Tuesday night left three teams — the Blackhawks, Blue..." April 05

The Athletic "The Chicago Blackhawks have been able to dream big about the NHL draft for at least a few days. With no tank-related games on Monday, the Blackhawks held their position as the 32nd-placed team for at least another day and continue to possess the greatest odds of..." April 04

The Athletic "All the wheeling and dealing, the scheming and screaming, the waiving (of players) and waving (of white flags) comes down to this. Eleven days. Four teams. One guaranteed top-three pick.  While most of the hockey world has its eyes on the race for the Metropolitan Division title,..." April 03

Daily Faceoff "You don’t have to go deep in the bowels of Facebook comment sections to find your weird uncle talking about how Connor Bedard will get ripped apart in the NHL because he’s 5-foot-10. That’s when you know someone hasn’t watched Bedard play. When it comes to..." April 03

ESPN "The 2023 NHL draft lottery is scheduled for May 8. That's when we'll find out which team has earned the right, perhaps through self-immolation or blind luck, to draft Connor Bedard, the 17-year-old Regina Pats center who is expected to be no less than a franchise savior. Which..." March 30

The Athletic "Connor Bedard will change the fortunes of a lucky franchise the second he dons an NHL sweater. Every basement-dwelling team is hoping, praying and drooling about the possibility of announcing his name as the No. 1 selection on June 28 in Nashville. The 17-year-old from North..." March 30

Daily Faceoff "So, the Connor Bedard 2023 Draft hype will soon reach a fever pitch as the NHL regular season wraps up and the eliminated teams begin their lottery watch.  For this week’s Roundtable, we tackle a ridiculous but fun hypothetical question. Let’s say every player in..." March 25

The Athletic "In early November, Kent Hughes emerged from a general managers meeting in Toronto and was met by reporters with surprising questions about his team’s surprising start to the 2022-23 season. Specifically, the Canadiens GM was asked if the plan could change and the Habs..." March 21

Daily Faceoff "Today on Daily Faceoff Live, The Athletic’s Cam Charron joined the show to discuss which teams are starting to hurt themselves in the race for Connor Bedard.  Tyler Yaremchuk: We’re going to pick your brain a little bit about Connor Bedard and the race for..." March 16

The Hockey Writers "It’s all but guaranteed at this point that Regina Pats centerman Connor Bedard will be the first overall pick in the 2023 Draft, and NHL teams are doing whatever it takes to get a better chance at winning the first overall pick in the draft lottery. He has the potential to be a..." March 15

The Athletic "If you’re Connor Bedard, you’re probably taking a closer look at the NHL standings these days. What are you hoping for? Could it be stepping into a line with Johnny Gaudreau and being set up for instant success? Filling the void left by Patrick..." March 10

Daily Faceoff "Credit: Keith Hershmiller/WHL Regina Pats’ phenom Connor Bedard notched his 60th goal tonight in just 49 games this season. That marks the first time in 24 years that milestone has been achieved. Wow! Bedard who is unanimously projected as the number one overall..." March 09

Daily Faceoff "To Be(dard) or not to Be(dard). That’s the world’s easiest question. Regardless of what Gary Bettman thinks, teams are purposely tanking hard for the chance to land Connor Bedard at the 2023 NHL Draft. He’s the real deal, and for the teams at the bottom, he..." February 16

The Athletic "John Paddock is in his 40th year of managing and coaching hockey, and the 68-year-old has worked with some of the NHL’s previous “generational” talents — Teemu Selanne, Zdeno Chara and Claude Giroux, to name a few. This is not a man who throws around..." February 06

Bleacher Report "As the second half of the NHL season ramps up and teams begin jockeying for playoff spots, there's another battle going on at the bottom of the standings. The allure of drafting NHL Central Scouting's No. 1 skater in their midterm rankings, Connor Bedard, is strong...." January 30

The Athletic "Officially, every NHL team is already past the halfway point of their season. By the time you read this, most teams will have played 50 or more games. But the All-Star Game is this weekend and that marks a sort of unofficial midseason point for the year. So we’re using..." January 30

The Score "After reasserting his dominance as the projected 2023 first overall pick at the world juniors, Connor Bedard is well aware that the hype surrounding him is real. But that doesn't mean he's completely on board with the lofty comparisons he's garnered throughout..." January 28