Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Blackhawks No. 1 pick Connor Bedard has forgettable shootout blooper

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Oct 6, 2023 9:46 AM ET

The Chicago Blackhawks had the good fortune to win the NHL Draft Lottery in a year with a potential franchise-changing talent – Connor Bedard – at the top of the draft.

Bedard is one of the best prospects to enter the NHL since Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid and could be the type of player who rapidly accelerates a rebuild. Excitement is off the charts in the Chicago.

He has not wasted any time in making highlight-reel plays in the preseason, but he had a rather forgettable moment during a shootout on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild.

Have a look.

Connor Bedard is going to produce a lot of highlights, this is not one of them pic.twitter.com/pyxzcJLsR1
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) October 6, 2023

That did not go as planned.

Minnesota goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is a veteran of 985 NHL games and a future Hall of Famer, so he has seen some pretty great players and almost every shootout move imaginable over the years. It takes a lot to fool him. He also has one of the best poke checks of any goalie in the shootout. Fleury used it to perfection here and then gave the rookie a nice stick tap after he fell to the ice on the failed attempt.

Bedard should be a great player for the Blackhawks and he will have many great moments in the NHL. Even the great ones have some growing pains early on in their careers. Fortunately for Bedard, this one happened in a meaningless preseason game.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

More must-reads: