Blackhawks: Realistic expectations for Connor Bedard’s rookie season

The Chicago Blackhawks officially have hockey phenom Connor Bedard as a part of the franchise.

The Hawks selected the prodigy with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He still has not turned 18 years old but he is believed to be by many to be a generational talent.

The hype around Bedard has many believing he is a franchise savior. The ceiling he possesses has Blackhawks fans already forgetting about Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The belief is Bedard could be even better.

That is some pretty high standards considering Kane might be the greatest Blackhawk ever. He won three Stanley Cups, the Hart Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, and the Conn Smythe. He is arguably the greatest American hockey player ever.

Yet, the expectations for Bedard are way higher than Patrick Kane.

The Chicago Blackhawks have a super-elite prospect in Connor Bedard.

Then again, no one was paying attention to the Hawks when Kane was drafted as he was the Blackhawks’ first-ever No. 1 overall pick.

Bedard is now the franchise’s centerpiece and the man the Chicago Blackhawks will build the roster around.

Bedard immediately became the face of the franchise when general manager Kyle Davidson announced that he was the first pick in the draft. The hope is he can take the torch passed to him by Kane and Toews and have even more success.

While it would be great for Bedard to come in and light the NHL on fire, Connor may need a few seasons before we see him reach his potential.

That does not mean you should not expect him to be a good player. It just might take him some time to be a great player.

Bedard is about the same size as Kane but Kane had just 72 points in his rookie season. Patrick won the Calder Trophy but he only scored 21 goals.

It took Kane some time to adjust to the NHL game. It also took the Chicago Blackhawks another offseason to surround him with the talent to take advantage of his unique skills.

While Davidson has made some moves to upgrade the roster, there are still some question marks on how many goals Bedard’s future linemates will score. That will affect how many assists Bedard gets.

Taylor Hall registered only 16 goals last season. Lukas Reichel has the potential to be a 30-40 goal scorer but he has yet to skate a full season. Corey Perry could be on the same line, although his days of being an elite scorer are long gone.

The talent around him still needs to improve immensely for the Hawks to contend for a playoff spot, so do not expect him to single-handedly lead the team to the postseason.

Other generational talents have had various production in their first season. Connor McDavid registered 48 points (he was over a point per game but was injured a lot) and Auston Matthews collected 69. Sidney Crosby set the NHL fire in his rookie season with 102 points.

Artemi Panarin was the last Chicago Blackhawks Calder Trophy winner and he had 77 points that season. He got the benefit of skating on the same line as Patrick Kane.

A 40-70-point season and being in the run for the Calder Trophy with an All-Star appearance would be a good rookie season for Bedard. Anything less than 40 points would be concerning and anything over 70 would be amazing.