Connor Bedard was the most hyped North American prospect since Connor McDavid, and Chicago won the lottery to draft him first overall in 2023.
He won the Calder as a rookie and has raised his point total in each of his 3 seasons. What he has not done yet is play a playoff game.
| Position | Center |
| Number | #98 |
| Team | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Shoots | Right |
| Height | 5'10" (178 cm) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Born | July 17, 2005 (age 21) |
| Birthplace | North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Drafted | 1st overall in 2023 by Chicago Blackhawks |
| NHL debut | 2023-24 |
| NHL seasons | 3 |
| Career points | 203 in 219 games |
| Stanley Cups | 0 |
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Connor Bedard’s Early Life and Junior Career
Bedard grew up in North Vancouver and was identified as a generational talent absurdly early. He was doing skills sessions on camera as a small child and the clips were circulating years before he was draft-eligible.
In 2019 the WHL granted him exceptional player status, the first time the league had ever done it, which let him join the Regina Pats at 15.
The pandemic wrecked his first full season, so he went to Sweden and played a handful of games for HV71’s junior side before the WHL returned. He came back and put up 100 points in 62 games, then 143 in 57, which is a scoring rate the WHL had not seen in a long time.
Connor Bedard’s NHL Career
Chicago won the 2023 draft lottery from third position and took him first overall. He was the centrepiece of a rebuild that had very little else in place.
He won the Calder in 2023-24 with 61 points in 68 games, on a team that finished near the bottom of the league. Then 67, then 75. The line has gone up every year while the roster around him has slowly been rebuilt.
The playoffs remain the missing piece. Chicago has not qualified in any of his seasons, which means a player with 203 career points has never played a postseason game.
Connor Bedard’s International Career
The 2023 World Juniors in Halifax is the performance that defined him. He had 23 points in seven games, was named tournament MVP, and set four Hockey Canada records along the way.
He had also played the 2021 and 2022 World Under-18s and the 2022 World Juniors before that, and made his senior debut for Canada at the 2024 World Championship.
| Year | Event | Team | GP | G | A | P | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | World U18s | Canada U18 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 2 |
| 2022 | World U18s | Canada U18 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 2022 | World Juniors | Canada U20 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 2023 | World Juniors | Canada U20 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 2 |
| 2024 | World Championship | Canada | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| 2024 | International | Team Canada | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 37 | 31 | 32 | 63 | 20 |
What Makes Connor Bedard So Good
The shot. Bedard releases the puck without the wind-up almost everyone else needs, changing the angle with his hands rather than his body, which gives goalies almost nothing to read.
He shoots in stride and off his back foot, and he does it from places on the ice where a shot is not the expected option. That is why so many of his goals come from spots that look harmless until the puck is already past the goalie.
The knock through his junior years was size and skating. He is not big, and at the NHL level that has meant learning to find space rather than take it.
Connor Bedard Records and Milestones
He was the first player ever granted exceptional status by the WHL.
His 2023 World Juniors was the highest-scoring tournament by a Canadian in the event’s history, and he was named MVP.
He has 203 points in 219 NHL games and won the Calder Trophy in his first season.
What Connor Bedard Is Chasing
A playoff game, first. After that, the individual markers: Chicago has not had a scoring champion since the Blackhawks’ Cup era, and Bedard is the reason to think that changes.
He is 21 years old, so almost everything is still in front of him.
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Stats last updated August 1, 2026. Source: NHL official statistics.