Connor Bedard Joins Connor McDavid With Third Rookie of the Month Honor

Connor Bedard being mentioned in the same sentence as Connor McDavid is hardly anything new. But joining him with his third rookie of the month honors is. Bedard was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for the third time this season, a feat last matched by the other Connor he’s often compared to.

Bedard was named the rookie of the month in both November and December, and now he’s notched his third accolade with the honor in March. The Blackhawks rookie was good for 17 points (3-14) in 14 games, a chunk of output that has had him rocketing up the Blackhawks career rookie points board for the last month.

A Hat Trick of Honors for Connor Bedard

Bedard’s point explosion in March was powered by a pair of multi-point games that included tying a 70-year franchise record. Against Anaheim back on March 12th, he scored his 20th goal while also notching five points in the Blackhawks’ 7-2 victory over the Ducks. In the preceding game against Arizona, Bedard had two goals and an assist in the Blackhawks 7-4 victory over the Coyotes. The point total in those consecutive outings made up eight, which included three being goals. His other multi-point game in March was in the 5-2 win over San Jose on March 17th.

Heading into the final month of the season, Bedard has 57 points (21-36) with his most recent assist being in the 5-1 win over Philadelphia Saturday night.

Does it Cinch the Calder Trophy?

It would seem that the Calder Trophy is in his sights, but if using McDavid as an example, the Edmonton Oilers superstar then only played 45 games due to a shoulder injury that sidelined him for 37 games. The major difference, however, is that McDavid will have played exactly 20 games less than Bedard should the latter play out the remainder of the Blackhawks seven games.

Those two games alone seemed to have justify that Bedard deserves the honor, especially as the Blackhawks offense and play improved with the return of their rookie phenom. In March, the Blackhawks had seven wins, which was just one victory short of the previous three months combined. With Bedard’s strong showing in March, there seems another strong case of his importance to the team, hence the idea that he is likely the continued front runner for the award–as he has been since oddsmakers set him as the favorite during the preseason.

But the smart bet continues to be on Connor Bedard, as it has been since the Blackhawks took him first overall last June.