Blackhawks' Connor Bedard looks poised for breakout year, records first hat trick

Along with the three goals, Bedard also added an assist in the win and is up to 12 total points (six goals, six assists) through the Blackhawks' first 10 games of the season.

This is a significant development. 

When the Blackhawks selected Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, he arrived with significant fanfare as the NHL's next potential superstar. His arrival was so anticipated that it was pretty clear that the Blackhawks gutted their roster in 2022-23 in an effort to be bad enough to improve their draft lottery odds to get him. Fortunately for them, the lottery balls went their way.

Over his first two years, Bedard showed constant flashes of brilliance and had strong overall numbers. He entered the season with 45 goals and 128 total points in 150 games. Those are strong numbers for a player who was playing in his age-18 and -19 seasons in the NHL. But his offense took a little bit of a step backward in his second year as the Blackhawks put a lousy team on the ice around him. 

The team around him still isn't particularly good this season on paper, but Bedard looks like he is ready to start taking over and doing what he can to elevate the roster. It might not be enough to get them into the playoffs this season, but if he starts to take the next step from being a good young player to becoming a superstar, it will certainly narrow the gap for future seasons.