Connor Bedard has a hockey puck that can’t be replaced. White tape wraps around its edges. On the tape is written: “1st NHL Pt.”
At 15:37 in the second period of his debut in the world’s top professional hockey league, Bedard picked up his first point, with an assist on a goal from his Chicago Blackhawks teammate Ryan Donato. That goal would be the first of four in a row for his squad, which beat the Penguins 4-2 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening.
As has been the case with much of his budding career, his premier NHL performance was filled with talking points, even before he stepped onto the ice. Just after leaving the dressing room, Bedard did a quick 180 to retrieve his forgotten hockey stick.
He’d need that for his first faceoff, which was against none other than his boyhood idol Sidney Crosby, who was the No. 1 draft pick into the NHL in 2005, when Bedard was two weeks old.
“Connor, welcome to the NHL, man,” said referee Kelly Sutherland of Richmond, B.C., before dropping the puck between the two generational talents to start the game. Bedard lost that faceoff, winning only one of seven against Crosby, and two of 13 overall.
But Bedard racked up other stats in his debut game, leading his team with five shots on goal, including a one-timer chance in the first period that was stopped by Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry.
After Crosby picked up a goal in the second period, the Sportsnet commentator was quick to note his tally of 551 career NHL goals ahead of Bedard.
Over the course of the game, Bedard clocked 21:29 in ice time, the most for a forward on his team.
