Connor Bedard

Bedard grew up in North Vancouver, British Columbia, with his parents, Tom and Melanie, and his sister, Madi. His great-great-uncle James Bedard played 22 games for Chicago between 1949 and 1951, giving Connor a family connection to the Blackhawks. Bedard played youth hockey with the North Shore Winter Club and later joined West Vancouver Academy Prep of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.

While playing for the school's U15 and U18 teams, Bedard led his league in goals and points and was named the most valuable player in both seasons. He became widely recognized as a major prospect in 2018, when The Hockey News named him “The Future of Hockey.” He grew up supporting the Vancouver Canucks and identified Sidney Crosby as his childhood idol.

In March 2020, Hockey Canada granted Bedard exceptional player status, allowing him to enter major junior hockey a year early. He became the first player with that status to play in the Western Hockey League, and the Regina Pats selected him first overall in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft. During the COVID-19 pandemic delay, he was loaned to the HV71 junior system in Sweden before returning to Regina for the shortened 2020-21 WHL season.

Bedard won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL's rookie of the year after recording 12 goals and 16 assists in 15 games. In 2021-22, he became the youngest player to score at least 50 goals in a WHL season and finished with 51 goals, 49 assists and 100 points. He was only the third 16-year-old to produce a 100-point WHL season and the first to do so in the 21st century.

Bedard's third season with Regina established him as the WHL's leading scorer. He recorded 71 goals and 72 assists for 143 points in 57 regular-season games, winning the Bob Clarke Trophy, the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy and Canadian Hockey League awards for top scorer and player of the year. His 143 points made him the first WHL player since 1995-96 to reach 140 points in a season. He added 10 goals and 10 assists in seven playoff games as the Pats were eliminated by the Saskatoon Blades.

The Chicago Blackhawks selected Bedard first overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He entered the draft as the consensus top prospect and received the E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence before the selection.

Bedard made his NHL debut for Chicago on October 10, 2023, recording an assist in a 4-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored his first NHL goal the following night against the Boston Bruins. On November 9, he recorded two goals and two assists against the Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the youngest player in Blackhawks history to produce a multigoal game.

Bedard was selected for the 2024 NHL All-Star Game and would have been the youngest All-Star in NHL history, but a broken jaw sustained after a check from New Jersey Devils defenceman Brendan Smith kept him out of the game. After surgery and a six-to-eight-week absence, he returned on February 15, 2024. On March 12, he recorded one goal and four assists in a 7-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, producing a five-point game at 18 years old.

He finished his rookie season with 22 goals, 39 assists and 61 points in 68 games, leading all NHL rookies in each category and winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. He also became the second-youngest player in NHL history to finish as the outright or tied rookie leader in goals, assists and points. Bedard followed with 23 goals and 44 assists in all 82 games during the 2024-25 season.

Bedard recorded 30 goals and 45 assists for 75 points in 69 games during the 2025-26 NHL season. He became the first player since Steven Stamkos to record at least four four-point games before turning 21, and he was appointed an alternate captain after Nick Foligno was traded during the season.

Bedard won gold with Canada's under-18 team at the 2021 IIHF World U18 Championship. At the 2022 tournament, he scored a hat trick against Germany, breaking Shane Wright's Canadian goal-scoring record at the U18 championship and Mathew Barzal's Canadian points record. He also won gold with Canada at the revived 2022 World Junior Championship.

At the 2022 World Junior Championship tournament, Bedard scored four goals against Austria. He became the first Canadian 16-year-old to score a hat trick at the event since Wayne Gretzky and broke Gretzky's record for goals by a 16-year-old at the championships.

Bedard led all players with 23 points, including nine goals and 14 assists, at the 2023 World Junior Championship. Canada won its second consecutive gold medal, while Bedard was named the tournament's best forward and most valuable player. He also broke Canada's career goals and points records at the tournament and set a world record for World Junior points by a player under 19. Bedard became the inaugural recipient of the IIHF Male Player of the Year award.

He made his senior international debut for Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Championship and scored his first senior international goal against Great Britain. Bedard finished the tournament with eight points in ten games.

Bedard plays centre and is known for his offensive playmaking, goal-scoring and deceptive puck handling. His style features a quick curl-and-drag release, changes of pace, attacks from difficult angles and high-speed stickhandling that forces defenders to react.

His junior and international production established him as one of the most highly regarded prospects of his generation. His combination of shooting, handling and ability to create scoring opportunities earned him top rankings from NHL Central Scouting and several major draft evaluations before the 2023 NHL Draft.