Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard wins 2024 Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by National Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
LAS VEGAS – Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard has been named the winner of the 2023-24 Calder Trophy, which is awarded annually to the NHL’s most outstanding rookie. The news was announced at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Bedard is the 10th player in Blackhawks history to take home the Calder Trophy, joining Ed Belfour, Cully Dahlstrom, Tony Esposito, Bill Hay, Patrick Kane, Mike Karakas, Steve Larmer, Ed Litzenberger and Artemi Panarin.
Bedard, who was selected by Chicago with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, was the most highly anticipated prospect since Connor McDavid in 2015. And he not only lived up to expectations in Year 1, he exceeded them.
Bedard, 18, led all rookies in goals (22), assists (39) and points (61) despite missing 14 games with a broken jaw. And he did it as the 14th youngest player in NHL history.
“It was incredible,” Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson said of Bedard’s rookie season. “The weight that has been placed on his shoulders, given his profile coming into the league, is really difficult to deal with. I don’t think anyone can adequately quantify the degree of difficulty that he had to deal with off the ice, to then go and perform on the ice, we worked with him to make it as perfect as possible and for the most part I think we managed that.
“But that being said, he is an 18-year-old player who has had to receive more media attention than any player in recent memory, and probably more than any player who has come into the league, just given the age of social media and the age we are now. And so I found it extremely impressive.”
Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber placed second, and New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes finished third, respectively.
