Five things to know about projected No. 1 NHL Draft pick Connor Bedard

Called the best NHL Draft prospect since former No. 1 overall pick Connor McDavid in 2015, 17-year-old forward Connor Bedard is expected to be taken with the top pick in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks on June 28 in Nashville.

Bedard has been the expected No. 1 pick for the better part of two years. He burst onto the scene when he was barely a teenager and started turning heads as he began breaking scoring records at every place he played.

While he’s famous for his highlight-reel ability and decorated scoring prowess, here are five additional things you should know about Bedard:

1. He’s been a top prospect since the age of 13

The Bedard hype train begun following a November 2018 interview with The Hockey News, in which the publication labeled him “the future of hockey.” At just 13, Bedard was being compared to former No. 1 overall picks McDavid and Sidney Crosby. At that point, he had scored 33 goals in just 14 games, and he recorded hat tricks in five straight games. Since then, he’s been on a scoring tear, notching 177 goals and 355 points in 170 games between the West Van Academy prep and the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.

2. He broke a 30-plus-year scoring record

Bedard scored nine goals and 23 points in seven games at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships. His performance, coupled with his scoring output from the 2022 World Juniors, pushed him past Hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros as Canada’s all-time scoring leader at the World Junior Championships. Bedard now holds Canadian World Juniors scoring records for the most goals and points all-time and the most points in a single tournament.

3. He refused a trade to a WHL contender

Bedard played on an average Regina team that posted a 34-30-4 record and finished in sixth place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference in 2022. Prior to the season, however, there was talk of Regina trading Bedard to the Kamloops Blazers, the second-best team in the Western Conference, so he could play in the postseason during his draft year. Instead, Bedard vetoed the trade, choosing to stay loyal to Regina, a team he played with since the 2020 season.

4. He was the first player in WHL history to be granted “exceptional” status

It was clear Bedard was in a different league than that of other players his age, so Hockey Canada granted him “exceptional” status, allowing him to play in a major junior league a year earlier than what is typically allowed. Bedard ranked second in goals (51) and fourth in points (100) during his first full season in the WHL. He led the league in both categories this year.

5. He’s dedicated his hockey career to his grandfather

Bedard was close with his grandfather Garth. The two would go fishing and skiing together, and his grandfather was never afraid to audibly support him during his games. But Garth was killed in an automobile crash in April 2021, three weeks after Bedard’s WHL debut. That game was the last one of Bedard’s games that Garth would attend. Since his death, Bedard stated his grandfather is who he would be playing for now and the rest of his career.