Bedard set to play on Winter Classic stage for Blackhawks 

CHICAGO -- Connor Bedard stepped up from the Chicago Cubs dugout in his Chicago Blackhawks uniform for practice Monday, wearing eye black and a toque.

Then the 19-year-old center walked onto his biggest stage yet: iconic Wrigley Field, transformed from a baseball stadium into an outdoor hockey arena for a New Year’s Eve party.

The Blackhawks took a team picture at center ice, swapped game jerseys for practice jerseys and skated laps slowly. Bedard said he was just looking around, taking it all in -- the bright lights, the towering stands, the famous hand-operated scoreboard.

He could only imagine what it’ll be like when the Blackhawks play the St. Louis Blues in the Discover Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on Tuesday (5 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

“It’s one of the coolest experiences of my life so far, and obviously the game hasn’t even started yet,” he said, “so I’m looking forward to it.”

Bedard has had a lot of cool experiences already. He’s used to pressure and attention.

He represented Canada on home ice twice in the IIHF World Junior Championship, winning gold in Edmonton in 2022 and in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2023. He was named the most valuable player of the tournament the second time.

“It’s a pretty big stage, being in front of your country,” he said.

Chicago selected Bedard with the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, and he led the Blackhawks with 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games last season and was voted the winner of the Calder Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year.

Still, this is another step.

Bedard was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game in Toronto last season but sustained a fractured jaw one day after being chosen and was unable to play. Chicago did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This will be the first time he has played in a major NHL event, and this will be the largest crowd ever to see him live.

And he’s the marquee attraction.

The NHL has aired ads for the Winter Classic showing Bedard handing out New Year’s Eve party invitations to other NHL stars. Bedard has been followed by cameras and featured prominently in the four-part docuseries “Road to the Discover NHL Winter Classic presented by Enterprise” on TNT in the United States and SN1 in Canada.

“I think it’s all just part of the journey and part of growing and learning how to deal with attention,” Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall said. “Obviously, he’s got a lot of it. You can’t really mature and grow and get used to the spotlight until you’re in it and you’re doing stuff.

“Ultimately, he wants to play in playoff games and big spotlight situations like that. But this is a steppingstone, and you don’t want to put too much pressure on yourself. There’s already enough pressure on him to begin with, but you want to enjoy it and try to make the best of it by playing well.”

Bedard has been playing well offensively lately. He has six points (three goals, three assists) on a four-game point streak and 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in his past 16 games. He leads Chicago with 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) in 37 games.

This will be the finale of an impressive 12 months for him. He has 60 points (17 goals, 43 assists) in 2024, joining Bobby Hull and Eddie Olczyk as the only Blackhawks teenagers with 60 or more regular-season points in a calendar year. Hull had 61 points (19 goals, 42 assists) in 1958. Olczyk had 60 points (24 goals, 36 assists) in 1985.

Bedard has a chance to become the third teenager to score in an NHL outdoor game. Auston Matthews had two goals and Mitchell Marner had one for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 5-4 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings in the Centennial Classic at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto on Jan. 1, 2017.

“For me, it’s about how much I’m creating and how many plays I’m making, and I feel like I’ve been doing that pretty well,” Bedard said. “Obviously, you want the points to come. They don’t always come. But hopefully they do, and I just need to keep making plays and trying to play my game.”

This has the potential to be a memorable moment, for everyone watching and for Bedard himself.

“Maybe there’s more eyeballs, but when you’re playing the game, you’re not thinking about that,” Bedard said. “For me, it’s just about the cool part of playing outside, playing at Wrigley here and getting that different experience. That’s what excites me.

“It’s not really about more people tuning in, but it’s obviously great for us. To have more people in the crowd, it’s going to an exciting atmosphere, so that’s always fun.”