The hockey world was watching as this year’s raft lottery unfolded. The prize for winning this year’s lottery is, without a doubt, non-other than Connor Bedard. Bedard is widely acknowledged as the biggest talent since Connor McDavid, and he’s been tearing it up in the WHL this season.
It’s all but assured that the Blackhawks would select him with the first overall pick later this summer, and after the draft lottery win was announced, the hype was real in Chicago.
The Blackhawks had the third lowest arena capacity percentage in the NHL this season. With the team in full rebuild mode, they need something to happen. The last time they selected first overall, back in 2007, they acquired Patrick Kane, and now, just months after Kane left Chicago together with Jonathan Toews, they got a new franchise player in the form of Bedard.
And fans want to see it.
After the first hour after getting the No. 1 pick, the Blackhawks sold $1.9 million in season tickets. 45 minutes later, that number was up to $2.5 million. And that number infuriated a lot of fans from other teams.
In October 2021, the Chicago Blackhawks were penalized for covering up what happened to former player Kyle Beach, who was sexually assaulted by a former video coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. When everything unfolded, fans doomed it as one of the biggest scandals in NHL history, and for that, the Blackhawks were fined $2 million.
The Blackhawks have already made that money back by winning the lottery, which had fans fuming. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski quickly pointed it out on Twitter, and fans were outraged.
”Karma isn’t real. This whole thing proves it,” one said.
Many also pointed out that other teams have lost 1st round picks over the year for breaking the rules in other aspects. Arizona, for example, lost one when they held pre-draft workouts. Here’s the Tweet, and it’s surely not a great look:
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