2023 WHL Player of the Year Connor Bedard named Chicago Blackhawks captain
2023 WHL Player of the Year Connor Bedard has been announced as the 37th captain in Chicago Blackhawks history.
“Being named captain of the Blackhawks is an unbelievable honor and something I’m truly humbled by,” Bedard said in a team press release. “The captains who have come before me have left an incredible legacy. To now have the opportunity to carry that tradition forward is something I don’t take lightly. I’m grateful to the organization and my teammates for putting their trust in me to lead this team. We’re building something really special here, and I’m committed to making the entire Blackhawks organization and our fans proud.”
The 21-year-old is preparing for his fourth season with the Original Six club after being selected first overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Bedard’s young career in the pro ranks has seen him produce just shy of a point-per-game with 75 goals and 128 assists for 203 points in 219 regular-season matches, while earning the NHL’s Calder Trophy as the 2023-24 Rookie of the Year.
The North Vancouver, B.C. product is the first player in Blackhawks history and the 13th player in NHL history to record 200 points at age 20 or younger.
He’s coming off a career-best 30-goal, 45-assist campaign while being named an alternate captain.
“Connor perfectly embodies what it means to be a Blackhawk,” Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson added. “From the moment he entered the League, Connor has led by example and has set a remarkable standard for himself while demonstrating his ability to make the players around him better. He has earned the respect of his teammates and the entire organization through the way he prepares, competes and conducts himself every single day, and there is no doubt that he is ready to take on this tremendous responsibility. We’re proud to have him lead this storied franchise and excited for him to shape the next chapter of Blackhawks hockey.”
The 5-foot-9, 190-pound forward is no stranger to making history.
Bedard was the first player in WHL history to be granted exceptional status to compete in the league full-time as a 15-year-old.
He logged 28 points (12G-16A) in his first 15 spins with the Regina Pats in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season and won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL Rookie of the Year.
From there, he exploded with back-to-back hundred-plus point campaigns.
Bedard filled the net at will with 271 points (134G-137A) in 134 regular-season games, collecting the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s Top Scorer in 2022-23 with a 143-point campaign and the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL Player of the Year, while wearing the ‘C’ for his final major junior season.
His astounding performance at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship vaulted him to household-name status across the country with a Canadian-record 23 points (9G-14A) at the tournament in Halifax, N.S.
Bedard was named tournament MVP and, post-World Juniors, returned to sold-out crowds across the WHL, highlighted by a crowd of 17,223 at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome and back-to-back sellouts of 14,768 at the SaskTel Centre in rival Saskatoon.
He’s the most recent WHL grad to be entrusted with their NHL squad’s captaincy.
Currently, WHL alumni account for seven of 24 NHL captains — accounting for nearly a third of the ‘C’s in the league.
Another eight teams do not currently have a captain.
Bedard joins Calgary’s Mikael Backlund (Kelowna Rockets), Dallas’ Jamie Benn (Kelowna Rockets), Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon (Spokane Chiefs), Jordan Eberle (Regina Pats), Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup champ Mark Stone (Brandon Wheat Kings) and Winnipeg’s Adam Lowry (Swift Current Broncos) in the captain’s circle.
