Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks looks on in the first period against the New Jersey Devils at the United Center on November 12, 2025. (Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
Being a touted “generational prospect” has its pros and cons. On the pro side, you can make tens of millions of dollars (or more, if you include endorsements) by the time you turn 20 years old. That’s nice! But it also brings high expectations and constant scrutiny, with the weight of a franchise on your shoulders — and every game put under a microscope if you don’t instantly dominate the way you did at lower levels.
Like his fellow members of the ridiculously hyped sports-phenom class of a few years ago — Victor Wembanyama, Caitlin Clark and Paul Skenes — Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard understands the pressure to live up to that billing more than most. And he had his moments of growing pains during his first pair of NHL seasons. While he won Rookie of the Year in 2023-24, he also missed 14 games that year with a broken jaw, and instead of taking a step forward last year with what seemed like an improved supporting cast, his per-game production slipped a bit while his team continued to lose games.
During his first two seasons, Bedard’s team was outscored by 80 goals at even strength while he was on the ice, and he individually ranked 90th among forwards in adjusted goals, 57th in adjusted points and 146th in adjusted Goals Above Replacement (which includes offensive and defensive performance). So we were still waiting on that really big breakout year in which Bedard announced himself as one of the future greats.
This year, though, that much-anticipated leap may have arrived.