The Chicago Blackhawks selected Regina Pats forward Connor Bedard with the first overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft on Wednesday in Nashville.
The selection of Bedard had long been expected at Bridgestone Arena and in hockey circles in general.
Bedard already has been compared to another Connor — that being Edmonton Oilers superstar captain Connor McDavid, himself a top overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. McDavid won his third Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP on Monday.
Like McDavid, Bedard is expected to be ready for the NHL regular season mere months after being drafted. The Blackhawks will open their season on the road on Oct. 10 against superstar captain Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“Gotta make (the team) first, but that’ll be unreal,” Bedard told ESPN, referring to facing Crosby in the season opener. “My favorite player growing up and a big idol of mine. If that happens, for me personally, you can’t script it any better.”
Like Bedard, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson wasn’t interested in jumping the gun when asked about his expectations for the top overall pick in his first season.
“We’ll see. We’ll let him figure that out,” Davidson said of Bedard. “He’s a pretty special player, a very special person. We’ll let him determine how special that first season is.”
Bedard, who turns 18 next month, recorded 143 points (71 goals, 72 assists) in 57 games last season for the Pats of the Western Hockey League.
Bedard became the Blackhawks’ second selection with the top overall pick in an NHL draft. Former Hart Trophy recipient and three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane was taken with the No. 1 pick in 2007.
The Anaheim Ducks followed up the selection of Bedard by making Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year Leo Carlsson the second overall pick of the draft.
“It feels unreal,” Carlsson said in an interview with Sportsnet. “I don’t know what to say right now. I have so many feelings now.”
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 194 pounds, the 18-year-old Carlsson recorded 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 44 games last season with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League.
The Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t let Ohio State’s hatred of the team up north prevent them from taking Michigan forward Adam Fantilli with the third overall pick.
“It will always be ‘Go Blue,'” Fantilli told Sportsnet.
Fantilli, 18, collected 65 points (30 goals, 35 assists) in 36 games last season en route to becoming the third freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award. He joined Hall of Famer Paul Kariya (1993, Maine) and Jack Eichel (2015, Boston University) in that regard.
The San Jose Sharks selected U.S. National Team Development Program two-way center William Smith with the fourth overall pick of the draft.
Smith, 18, who totaled 127 points (51 goals, 76 assists) in 60 games last season, had a bit of fun with the audience by using the theme song of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” He even went the extra mile by singing a couple lyrics in his ESPN interview.
The Montreal Canadiens chose Kloten (Switzerland) defenseman David Reinbacher with the fifth overall selection, while the Arizona Coyotes tabbed Yaroslavl Jr. blueliner Dmitriy Simashev at No. 6 and Russian teammate Daniil But, a forward, at No. 12.
The Philadelphia Flyers selected SKA St. Petersburg forward Matvei Michkov with the seventh pick. A talented player to be certain, however Michkov remains under contract to play in his native Russia for three more years.
“We felt it was the talent we could not pass up,” Philadelphia general manager Daniel Briere said. “We met him a couple times. He loved the Flyers and you can tell he wanted to be a Flyer.”
The Washington Capitals chose USNTDP forward Ryan Leonard with the eighth pick, the Detroit Red Wings followed with Brandon (WHL) forward Nate Danielson and the St. Louis Blues tabbed AIK (Sweden) forward Dalibor Dvorsky at No. 10 overall.
The Vancouver Canucks chose Rogle Jr. (Sweden) defenseman Tom Willander with the 11th overall pick, the Buffalo Sabres tabbed Winnipeg (WHL) forward Zach Benson at No. 13 and the Penguins selected Moose Jaw (WHL) forward Brayden Yager with the next pick.
The host Predators chose UConn (Hockey East) forward Matthew Wood at No. 15, the Calgary Flames added Vancouver (WHL) forward Samuel Honzek, the Red Wings tabbed Skelleftea Jr. (Sweden) defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka and the Winnipeg Jets claimed Owen Sound (Ontario Hockey League) forward Colby Barlow at No. 18.
The Blackhawks selected USNTDP forward Oliver Moore with their second first-round pick at No. 19 overall. The Seattle Kraken followed with BRNO (Czechia) forward Eduard Sale, the Minnesota Wild tabbed Wisconsin (Big 10) forward Charlie Stramel and the Flyers added their second first-round pick at No. 22 by taking London (OHL) defenseman Oliver Bonk, who is the son of former NHL forward Radek Bonk.
The New York Rangers selected USNTDP forward Gabriel Perreault at No. 23 before the Predators chose Saskatoon (WHL) defenseman Tanner Molendyk with their second first-round pick. The Blues’ second pick of the round at No. 25 was Frolunda Jr. (Sweden) forward Otto Stenberg, while the Sharks added Sudbury (OHL) forward Quentin Musty at No. 26.
The Colorado Avalanche chose Oshawa (OHL) center Calum Ritchie at No. 27 and OMSK Jr. (Russia) defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev at No. 31. The Toronto Maple Leafs tabbed London (OHL) forward Easton Cowan at No. 28, Brynas (Sweden) defenseman Theo Lindstein was taken by the St. Louis Blues at No. 29, the Carolina Hurricanes named Penticton (BCHL) forward Bradly Nadeau at No. 30 and the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights concluded the round at No. 32 by selecting Frolunda Jr. (Sweden) center David Edstrom.
There were no trades during the first round of the draft. The remainder of the seven-round draft will be completed on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
