Bedard creating buzz around NHL 2 games into Blackhawks career

Connor Bedard has played two games in the NHL and he is already must-see TV.

Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, got his first NHL point with an assist to help the Chicago Blackhawks defeat at Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in his debut Tuesday and scored his first NHL goal in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. The 18-year-old center will get his first "Hockey Night in Canada" experience when the Blackhawks visit the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, CITY, SNE, NBCSCH, NHLN).

"I have watched," New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff said Thursday. "I don't know if there's anybody that probably in the hockey world that didn't watch."

Ruff might be right. Bedard's NHL debut on ESPN on Tuesday averaged 1.43 million total viewers, making it the network's most-watched regular season game on record. The game Wednesday was the most watched "NHL on TNT" regular-season game with 917,000 viewers, an increase of 14 percent.

What viewers saw is Bedard is as advertised: a creative playmaking center with a lethal shot who creates scoring chances for himself and his linemates. He had five shots on goal and a game-high 11 shot attempts against Pittsburgh. He had a game-high six shots on goal and seven attempts against Boston.

"Everything that people are saying about him is true," said Philadelphia Flyers forward Joel Farabee, who watched parts of Bedard's first two games. "He's a really good player, controls the game. I feel like his release, he's got that Auston Matthews type of release, so he's a dangerous player. Probably a good thing he's not in our division so we don't have to see him too much, but yeah, really good player.

"Especially doing it at 18, what he's doing out there, he's going to be a great player in this league for a long time."

According to data from the NHL EDGE puck and player tracking system, Bedard's hardest shot was clocked at 82.77 miles per hour (14:49 of first period against the Penguins). He demonstrated his speed with bursts that topped 20 miles per hour eight times in the two games, including his top speed of 21.19 miles per hour (18:49 of first period against the Bruins).

Bedard skated 3.61 miles in 21:29 of ice time against Pittsburgh and 3.68 miles in 21:44 of ice time against Boston. His 7.29 total miles covered in the first two games were most on Chicago, 1.71 miles ahead of forward Ryan Donato, who was second at 5.58 miles.

In addition to covering a lot of ground, Ruff noticed Bedard (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) didn't hesitate to go to challenging areas on the ice around the net and in the corners against bigger, stronger and older players.

"A lot of good stuff," Ruff said. "For a young man his age, his size, in on the opportunities that he was in on and being able to handle some of the physical stuff, the hype of that first game ... I thought he's handled himself really well for a young man that was going about playing his first NHL game and being the first overall [pick]."

Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli, the No. 3 pick in the 2023 draft who will make his NHL debut against the Flyers on Thursday, was among those watching Bedard score his first NHL goal. It came on a left-post wraparound against Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 5:37 of the first period.

"I was pumped for him," said Fantilli, who played with Bedard for Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. "It was a nice goal. He deserves it. He's playing good. He's playing confident. It was good to see him get his first one."

Bedard's assist Tuesday came on a drop pass to defenseman Alex Vlasic, whose shot led to Ryan Donato's rebound goal at 15:37 of the second period to begin Chicago's comeback from a 2-0 deficit. He also came close to scoring on a chance in front in the first.

"I think, already at his young age, he's so good, so shifty," Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said. "He's got great moves. I had to play him hard. He's really deceptive. You can't even look at the puck one second because he's so fast."

Bedard is the seventh active player to get at least one point in each of his first two NHL games as an 18-year-old, joining Sidney Crosby with the Penguins in 2005-06, Evander Kane with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009-10, Sean Monahan with the Calgary Flames in 2013-14, Nathan MacKinnon with the Colorado Avalanche in 2013-14, Jakob Chychrun with the Arizona Coyotes in 2016-17 and Ville Heinola with the Winnipeg Jets in 2019-20. He is also the fourth No. 1 pick with at least one point in each of his first two games at age 18 (Alexandre Daigle, seven games in 1993-94; Crosby, six games in 2005-06; MacKinnon, three games in 2013-14). He needed one fewer game to score his first NHL goal than fellow No. 1 picks Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (2015) and Crosby (2005).

"He looks great. He's fun to watch," Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said. "He's very intelligent out there and he looks really mature for playing just two games and just being an 18-year-old. He looks really good. I can't wait to see what he does in the future."

Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft who also played in the League as an 18-year-old, knows there will be more challenges ahead for Bedard during his first foray through the 82-game regular season. And the attention from opponents will intensify as they learn more about what he can do.

But Bedard will learn from those experiences, too.

"Well, it's not going to be easy," said Devils center Nico Hischier, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft who was also 18 when he debuted in the League. "I think you saw it, too. Guys are playing him hard, and it'll be a grind every single night, but the kid is smart enough. He'll find plays around it, stay away from the boards. He's looked good so far."

NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika, staff writers Mike G. Morreale and Mike Zeisberger, and independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report