Connor Bedard logged his first NHL point with an assist on the goal by Ryan Donato last night in his first professional regular-season game, but he was held out of the goals column. It was a game that any rookie would’ve been thrilled about – that is, any rookie but Bedard. He undoubtedly wanted his first marker last night.
It didn’t take the 18-year-old long to get his first tonight. Less than six minutes into the game in Boston, Bedard had a shot bounce off veteran goaltender Linus Ullmark, then found the puck behind the cage. The rest is history, as he was able to beat Ullmark to the opposite post for a nice wraparound goal.
Bedard becomes the second-youngest Blackhawk in the franchise’s illustrious history to score a goal, tied with Eddie Olczyk (who was commentating the game) at 18 years, 56 days, and behind only Grant Mulvey, who netted one at 18 years, 32 days. Both of those guys made pretty nice careers for themselves, and there’s little doubt that Bedard will do the same.
Bedard’s first goal was assisted by two former Bruins in Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato, making the moment even more perfect.
Many might have expected Bedard’s first goal to be a slick wrister, or maybe a between-the-legs five-hole marker. But the score coming from an epic wraparound off his own rebound just goes to show that the rookie has a nearly limitless game. There’s little doubt that we’ll be seeing plenty more goals from the youngster in the future, but he’ll always remember his first.
