Connor Bedard had an assist in his first NHL game as the Chicago Blackhawks upset the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road. On Wednesday, it was time for Bedard’s second game in the big league.
In his first game, he played against his favorite player and one of the most well-liked players in the league, Sidney Crosby. In game two, he faced the perhaps most polarizing player in the league, and according to many, the biggest rat, Brad Marchand.
Connor Bedard is the most hyped-up player in a long time in the NHL, and most of the talk around the league is regarding this summer’s first overall. Bedard has said that the hockey community has been great to him since he got drafted this summer and that several players have reached out to him since.
During an NHL media day this summer, Bedard got the chance to sit down with Sidney Crosby, taking advice from one of the game’s great.
But Brad Marchand didn’t have any advice for Bedard as he prepared for his first game against the rookie. Ahead of puck drop, a reporter got a quick chat with Marchand, and he just couldn’t care less about Bedard.
Reporter: ”Do you have any advice for Connor Bedard tonight?”
Marchand: ”No, I don’t.”
Reporter: ”What are you gonna say to him?”
Marchand: ”Nothing. He’s a great player. You leave a guy like that alone.”
Reporter: ”You came into the league as a relatively smaller guy, he’s a relatively smaller guy—”
Marchand: ”I’m bigger than him.”
We’ve probably never seen a more Marchand conversation than this, but to be fair, in the pre-game interview on TV, Marchand praised the young rookie and said his future is bright. Connor Bedard went on to score his first league goal in the game, and he’s now recorded two points in two games in his career.
However, the Boston Bruins got the last laugh as Bedard scored the only goal for Chicago, and the B’s won 3-1.