Wednesday night would have definitely been a candidate. With my son on his Christmas break, the Hawks game vs the Jets at the UC could have been our first in-person viewing of Connor Bedard. But… we signed him up for a basketball boot camp that covers each weeknight this week; I looked at the ticket prices just because. They were insane! The prices were some of the highest I’ve seen all year. Well, all those fans who paid that price, along with those who had already secured their tickets via season tickets, got to see a doozy. Yes, Bedard didn’t disappoint.
In fact, he hasn’t disappointed at all in his first year as a pro. Sure, a quick look at the standings still shows the Blackhawks at the bottom. With 23 points through 34 games, only the San Jose Sharks are below us. We didn’t think it would happen overnight, did we? Well… I thought we’d be better (big surprise), and if we didn’t have all the injuries and other stuff happen, maybe we would be. We’ll have time to get better with Connor… I hope. The only fear I have right now is if the Blackhawks don’t build around him, and don’t get better quickly. My biggest fear is Bedard walking… that would be catastrophic. Hopefully he has some patience… hopefully he doesn’t have to have that much.
The 2-1 OT winner vs the Jets on Wednesday night featured two beautiful Bedard goals. Speaking of beautiful goals… did you see his wrap around with the puck elevated on his stick (the Michigan I guess) the other day? Wow. Even more of a wow was that somebody else did it the same night in a different game! OK, so maybe these goals weren’t as fancy as that one, but… they were still pretty sweet; most of his goals are pretty. The first goal wasn’t really pretty… it was, as the Hawks broadcast described, greasy. Yes, he can get those type of goals too! Shot, crash the net, rebound put-back gave the Hawks the 1-0 lead. But the second goal… the wrister blown over the goalie’s left shoulder… now that one was pretty. Yes, it was a beautiful wrister, but more importantly, it was the OT game winner. What a night for 98!
What a year for 98 already… He leads the team with points, assists, and goals. In 34 games, he has 32 points, 17 assists, and 15 goals; not too shabby for an 18 year old rookie. We heard he was a phenom, and reacted as such when the Hawks won the lottery and eventually drafted him. Have we seen enough to believe?
Well, they say seeing is believing, and we need to get our butts to a game. Already have locked in my first viewing with my brother and dad in February, but need to get my son to a game too, and yes, don’t worry, I made good on the jersey promise, as one of the gifts he opened on Christmas morning was in fact, a Connor Bedard jersey. Coming to the UC soon… Go Hawks!
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