Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Connor Bedard received a unique gift for his 18th birthday Monday. The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Bedard with the first pick in June’s draft. However, he hadn’t signed his contract with the team, even after Bedard participated in the Blackhawks development camp.

Connor Bedard signs with the Chicago Blackhawks

According to Scott Powers with The Athletic, Bedard signed his entry-level contract with the Blackhawks Monday morning. Powers wrote the team wanted to wait until he turned 18 before inking the deal:

“There wasn’t a doubt whether Bedard would sign his entry-level contract with the Blackhawks, but it was a question of when. Since neither the Blackhawks nor Bedard was in any rush, they decided to wait until Bedard officially turned 18 to finalize the contract.”

The Blackhawks made sure to give Bedard an 18th birthday he won’t forget. Now the official adult will get to learn a lot about the tax code in the coming months.

Bedard is young, but the Blackhawks expect big things from the rookie. Bedard will play for the Blackhawks this season, while most of his colleagues won’t play on the ice for Chicago.

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