Trust me, not only as a Blackhawks fan, but a hockey fan in general, I get it.
You’re all tired of hearing about Connor Bedard, or at least you were.
I totally understand the hockey community is exhausted and probably irritated that the Blackhawks are one of maybe 3 franchises (the other two are the Leafs and Oilers) that get talked about ad nauseam.
Whether it’s a discussion (or rage) about the logo. The Kyle Beach incident and the Blackhawks and then the NHL’s handling of it. Maybe another Winter Classic game will be played in the old Cabrini-Green area (because nobody wants to play at Guaranteed Rate Field).
I get it.
So when the Hawks landed the magic #1 overall draft pick in the Bedard Sweepstakes, I knew it was going to be ugly amongst the hockey community. And it has.
Yet the NHL and media have done nothing but shove Connor down our collective throats, figuratively since the beginning of June, and more so in the last 60 days.
Hell, the running gag on “The Hockey Toolkit” podcast between myself and Coach Trimble is trying to go an entire show without bringing up Bedard.
With all that said, the kid is fucking good!
Being in Chicago, he’s brought the local hockey community back into the game. I won’t be surprised when the next edition of the USA Hockey registration numbers come out to see that IL is back to growing year over year, especially in the early youth ages.
There hasn’t been this type of buzz in the city and local hockey landscape since the arrival of Kane and Toews in ‘07.
I had the opportunity to see him play live, and every time he has the puck, everyone slides up in their seats waiting for him to show off his bullet of a shot or some type of highlight move. When he does make those plays, whether they work or not, the place is erupting.
In a city that is struggling for an identity or face of the franchise player (outside of the Bears’ Justin Fields, I don’t think anyone could name a big-time player on the White Sox, Cubs or Bulls), Connor has already shown off the elite skills and the further growth and potential to be a name in this city that everyone knows and loves.
He is making the casual observer fans of the game again. He’s bringing some type of hope and entertainment to the Windy City which is in dire need of something on the sports scene.
So yeah, hockey fans, I hear you about the constant force-feeding about the Blackhawks and Bedard.
But I implore you to jump in on Connor-Palooza… just don’t be like Frank-The-Tank….
-TDC
