Bedard ready for 1st matchup against Matthews, Maple Leafs in Toronto

TORONTO -- Connor Bedard has spent countless hours of his young life hunkered down in the video room studying every minuscule aspect of Auston Matthews’ shot, from the release to the flex to hand positioning.

He’s obviously a quick learner, judging by what the Toronto Maple Leafs forward has seen from the kid thus far.

“He shoots it as good as anybody I’ve seen,” Matthews said. “He’s definitely special in that regard.

“To see he’s able to make plays, he sees the ice very well, great IQ, it’s really great. He's a very dangerous player out there.”

As such, it only adds to the intrigue when Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs host Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks at Scotiabank Arena on Monday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, NBCSCH) in what is one of the early marquee matchups of the young NHL season. Just call it mentor versus student.

Bedard was engulfed by hype when the Blackhawks selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville on June 28. Thus far, the 18-year-old forward has lived up to expectations and then some, coming into Toronto having had a point in each of his first three games (one goal, two assists).

On the other side, Matthews is on a historical roll, becoming the fifth player in NHL history to start a season with back-to-back hat tricks. Should he get one against the Blackhawks, he’d be in the record books as the only player with three consecutive games with at least three goals at any point in a season.

For his part, Bedard is stoked, not only by Matthews’ complimentary comments about his shot, but also for the chance to play in Toronto, which he considers one of the sport’s biggest stages.

“It’s great,” Bedard said Sunday when informed of the praise sent his way by Matthews. “I mean, I feel like he’s kind of pioneered this certain shot, and he’s obviously got six (goals) in two (games), so he’s doing something right.

“Ever since he’s come into the League he’s someone I’ve loved to watch and looked up to. Just how he plays the game. The shot is obviously something everyone knows about, but just his complete game. How he is in his own end, how he is all around the ice, it’s pretty special. Because he has so many goals and is so good in the offensive zone, I think that maybe gets overlooked.

“He’s obviously one of the best in the League, so I’m excited to go up against him.”

In doing that, Bedard can make some history of his own. According to NHL Stats, he can become the first Blackhawks player since Jonathan Toews in 2007-08 to get a point in each of his first four NHL games. The last time a No. 1 pick with any team accomplished that feat was in 2005-06, when Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin each did so.

According to Matthews, what makes Bedard’s accomplishments even more impressive is the grueling season-opening schedule he and the Blackhawks are dealing with, a run that has featured road games against Crosby and the Penguins, Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins, and a "Hockey Night in Canada" game against the Montreal Canadiens. After their game against Matthews and the Maple Leafs, they will finish the road trip against Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

“They certainly started him off on the all-circus tour here,” said Matthews, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, who then broke into a grin. “It’s a lot, but I think in the end, you just want to play hockey. That’s what’s most important.

“Being around the guys and having fun playing in the NHL, that’s obviously every kid’s dream to do in hockey.”

Bedard couldn’t agree more.

“There’s been a lot of media and a lot of attention on it, but I’m just focused on playing hockey,” he said. “And of course, I’ve just enjoyed the experience of it all. It’s been great.”

So, too, will be the chance to play against Maple Leafs rookie forward Fraser Minten. The two played minor hockey together in the Vancouver area and actually lived together for a few weeks in Toronto this past summer.

“He sent me a text congratulating me when I made the team, which was cool,” Minten said. “It’s nice. We grew up together; he’s a big part of my success. I’ve gotten a lot better playing with him for a couple of years. Getting to watch him, his work ethic is contagious. He helped me grow up a lot as a player and I’m thankful for his friendship right now.

“There was a buzz around him in Vancouver already when he was 11 or 12. He was playing a couple of years up. I played against him a couple of times and didn’t know how good he was. But he was dominating everybody. You never knew how good he was compared to the rest of the world who was out there, but locally he was the best player around for sure.”

Any advice for keeping Bedard in check?

“Give him as little space as possible because give him space and he’s a killer," Minten said. "So, keep the puck out of his hands for sure.”

Thus far, the opposition has not figured out how to do that.

At least not well enough to keep him off the score sheet.