Blackhawks Daily: Bedard Is A Top-20 Center; McGroarty Trade

The Chicago Blackhawks had a legitimate modern-day dynasty from 2009-2017. There were five trips to the Western Conference Finals and three of them resulted in appearances in the Stanley Cup Final. They won all three.

They did that through the draft which is the only way to do so in the salary cap version of the NHL. Guys like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith came in and lived up to the position in which they were selected.

As guys started to be shipped out, the team started to reach new lows in the standings. That led to them being draft lottery contenders year after year. In 2023, they were the big winners in the perfect season to do so.

Chicago selected Regina Pats center Connor Bedard with the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. He was considered to be a generational talent mentioned with the likes of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Wayne Gretzky.

Bedard’s rookie season went even better than anyone could have hoped for. He broke his jaw about halfway through the season but that didn’t stop him from being the Calder Trophy winner as the league’s top rookie.

He finished the season with 22 goals and 39 assists for 61 points in 68 games played. For being the youngest player in the NHL, this was an incredible point total at 18 years old.

We knew that Bedard had an incredible shot and he was going to score some goals but he showed that he is an even better playmaker than projected as well.

This great rookie season earned Bedard a nice compliment from the NHL. They named him to be the 13th-best center in the league right now. To be named in the same sentence as some of these great players is a compliment of the highest order and Bedard earned it.

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At the top of the list is Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid. Other stars like Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby amongst others are there as well.

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If Bedard keeps doing what he’s doing, this is the lowest he’ll ever be on the list. He will continue to climb up the rankings and become known as one of the best centers in the world as he gets older. The talent is there for him to be amongst the truly elite.

This list of amazing centers isn’t the only thing to come across as far as NHL news over the last week. There have been a couple of big-time trades including Rutger McGroarty going to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Yaroslav Askarov going to the San Jose Sharks. National Hockey Now’s sites have great stories going over these big-time moves:

Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks Q&A: Focus on Frank Nazar, win totals, and more.

The Chicago Blackhawks have some decisions to make with their captaincy.

A look at the Chicago Blackhawks depth chart and salary cap.

National Hockey Now

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pittsburgh Penguins changed everything with the Rutger McGroarty trade.

San Jose Hockey Now: The San Jose Sharks acquired goaltender Yaroslav Askarov from the Nashville Predators.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The New Jersey Devils have had a lot of amazing Canadian players.

Boston Hockey Now: Charlie Coyle believes the Boston Bruins have something to prove.