Bedard has become the inaugural player in Hawks history to commence his career with such prolific goal-scoring production. Additionally, he joins a select group as only the sixth NHL player to achieve this feat since 1994.
SUNRISE, Fla. — Connor Bedard’s remarkable performance in his debut month in the NHL has elevated him to elite historical status.
Following his two-goal performance in the Blackhawks’ 4-3 loss to the Panthers on Sunday, the 18-year-old rookie sensation is maintaining a point-per-game average, accumulating 13 points (nine goals and four assists) in his initial 13 NHL appearances.
Here are some notable stats that highlight the significance of his impressive start:
– Bedard becomes the inaugural player in Hawks history to notch nine goals in his first 13 career games.
– He is the 46th player in NHL history to achieve this feat, a distinction shared by only six players since 1994. The other five recent examples include Elias Pettersson, Alex Chiasson, Evgeni Malkin, Michel Ouellet, and Kristian Huselius—a diverse mix of both stars and players with less prolific careers.
He is the 10th NHL player since 2009 to score eight goals in an eight-game span at any point during his rookie season. Kirill Kaprizov was the most recent prior example, with ex-Hawk Dominik Kubalik being the second-most recent.
Bedard joins an exclusive group as the sixth Hawk to register 13 points in his first 13 career games, alongside Patrick Kane (who tallied 16 points), Jonathan Toews (13 points), Denis Savard (15 points), and 1940s forwards Bill Mosienko (15 points) and Pete Horeck (16 points).
He becomes the fourth NHL rookie in the last five seasons to achieve this feat, alongside Lucas Raymond, Matt Boldy, and Matthew Beniers (last year’s Calder Trophy winner), and the 18th since 2000. Notably, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid did not cut, tallying only 12 points in his first 13 games as a rookie in 2015-16.
Bedard breaks ground as the first NHL rookie since Auston Matthews in 2016 to record 43 shots on goal in his initial 13 games.