In news that will make sense to those in 49 states, with the lone exception being the alleged state of hockey, Chicago Blackhawks prodigy Connor Bedard was named as the 2024 recipient of the Calder Trophy on Thursday night in Las Vegas, annually awarded to the league’s best rookie.
Bedard missed a chunk of action with a fractured jaw but still skated in 68 games, scoring 22 goals (tied for the team lead) while notching a team-high 39 assists, good for a team-best 61 points.
The runner-up to Bedard was Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber, who — to his credit — did have an excellent debut season in the NHL as well. But as the sizeable margins in the trophy voting indicated, Bedard’s performance level was undoubtedly superior:
Here’s Bedard’s speech from the award ceremony in Vegas:
As the tweet below mentions, Bedard was Chicago’s first Calder Trophy winner since Artemi Panarin in 2016. He earned the same honors as Patrick Kane — the last No. 1 overall pick by the Blackhawks — did back in 2008.
First trophy of many.