Why Blackhawks can't wait to add generational talent Bedard

In the immediate aftermath of the Blackhawks winning the draft lottery on May 8, one could imagine GM Kyle Davidson and his staff exchanging high-fives and hugs while simultaneously unleashing a bevy of, "Hell yeahs!"

That's not what happened.

Instead, Davidson - who was sitting in a separate room inside the United Center when the Hawks' card was revealed - didn't even see associate GMs Norm Maciver and Jeff Greenberg, adviser Brian Campbell and others for nearly two hours.

That's because while Davidson was talking to ESPN, local media and others, his hockey OPS staff had bolted to a restaurant to celebrate the Hawks' biggest win since the Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup.

Only after Davidson's duties wrapped up could he finally unwind and relish in his team's good fortune.

"They had already settled into a little bit of food and a couple of drinks," Davidson said of his giddy co-workers. "So I don't know how much they noticed that I walked in. But it was nice to walk around and share a little bit of excitement with the rest of the group."

So how long did the euphoria last?

"It lasted well into that evening for sure," Davidson said. "The one thing that (grounded me) a little bit was that we had amateur scout meetings the next day and we needed the group to refocus. I had to model that behavior myself and get beyond the win and get back to work to get the rest of the board right as well."

It's a draft board that - barring a truly strange development - will begin Wednesday with the Hawks selecting Connor Bedard. The Hawks, who also own the No. 19 pick, currently have 11 selections - seven of which are in the top 67.

Round 1 begins at 6 p.m. Rounds 2-7 begin at 10 a.m. Thursday.

While no one knows how Bedard's career will unfold, it's safe to say the Hawks will likely be adding a bona fide superstar who could lead them to deep postseason runs in the not-too-distant future.

"You look back at - whether it's playoff-contending or Stanley Cup-contending teams - they've got this level of player in their team," Davidson said. "And it's hard to get to where you want to go ... if you don't collect those types of players. This gives us the opportunity to acquire one of those pieces."

So why are expectations for Bedard so high? Some reasons are obvious: His lethally accurate and heavy shot. His ability to effortlessly skate through traffic. His pinpoint passing. His two-way hockey sense.

But then there's the leadership quality and a maturity level that doesn't exist for most 17-year-olds. Bedard's eloquent answers about myriad subjects in recent weeks wowed all who heard them - and that certainly included Davidson.

"I've been really impressed ... with how he's handled the questions about the draft, the questions about his season, how he handled this season," Davidson said. "It's been really, really impressive."

Finally, let's dive into three numbers that help show how much Bedard dominated the WHL - a tremendous junior league, by the way:

• 143. That's how many points Bedard racked up in only 57 games - a whopping 36 more than the SECOND-PLACE player.

• 71. That was Bedard's goal total - TWENTY-ONE more than the second-place player.

• 2.022. This is Bedard's average points per game over his career in the WHL. It ranks 10th all time and best in the league since the early 1980s, according to sportingnews.com.

Bedard also totally dominated at the 2023 World Juniors and led Canada to a gold medal.

Add it all up and it's no wonder everyone associated with the Hawks can't wait to see how Bedard performs against the world's best in the coming years.