It was the moment every hockey fan had been waiting for.
After much anticipation, Chicago Blackhawks phenom and No. 1 overall draft pick Connor Bedard took the ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday for his first career NHL game.
It appeared Bedard may have been feeling the nerves ahead of his debut as he nearly forgot his stick for warmups, but it turns out it was merely a pre-game ritual of his to leave his stick along the wall, with the blade not touching the ground. But in this instance it wasn’t there, so he had to go get another, according to NBC Sports Chicago's Charlie Roumeliotis.
In a bold move, Bedard and fellow rookie Kevin Korchinski both took their rookie laps and warmups without helmets, which, for the record, is against the NHL's rules for players who entered the league in 2019-20 or later.
Bedard and the Blackhawks seemingly aren't too worried about the incoming fine.
It also seems not everyone was quite as enthusiastic about Bedard's big night with Penguins fans booing at the mention of the forward's name in the pre-game lineup announcement.
The North Vancouver, B.C. native took the opening faceoff against Penguins centre Sidney Crosby, who was drafted two weeks after Bedard was born, to kick off his career.
Referee Kelly Sutherland welcomed Bedard moments before puck drop, greeting the 18-year-old and Crosby at centre ice: "Connor. Welcome to the NHL, man."
Bedard and the Blackhawks were held scoreless through the opening 20 minutes, but the former Regina Pats star's line was effective going against Pittsburgh's top line, winning the time-of-possession battle and gaining the edge in shots and scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Bedard wasn't quite as effective in the faceoff dot, going 0-for-4 on attempts during the first period.
The rookie found the stat sheet with 4:23 remaining in the second period, recording a secondary assist on teammate Ryan Donato's goal for his first NHL point.
Though Bedard recorded an assist, his faceoff woes continued in the second frame, going 0-for-4 again, bringing his faceoff-loss total to eight through 40 minutes.
Bedard's first faceoff win came to start the third period, and was a sign of good things to come for the Blackhawks, who scored three unanswered goals, including an empty netter, in the final frame to take a 4-2 lead and ultimately win the game
Bedard finished with one assist, five shots on goal and an even rating in 21:29 minutes of ice time.
Hockey fans everywhere took to social media to celebrate and share their thoughts on Bedard's debut and first assist.
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