If the Chicago Blackhawks are going to underwhelm once again, they at least have plenty of players slated to make their marks.
Connor Bedard is one of those players. In Friday's loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Bedard scored the Blackhawks' only goal after taking a quick pass from Patrick Kane. In the process, he made franchise history.
Per Blackhawks.com, "The goal also marked the 77th of Bedard's NHL career, tying Alex DeBrincat for the sixth-most goals by a Blackhawks player age 21 or younger."
DeBrincat is good company for Bedard to find himself in. Bedard now has 77 goals in 223 career games, good for .345 goals per game early in his career. But he has 32 in his last 73 contests, or .438 per game. It shows how much Bedard has improved as a scorer since he first entered the league and put up just 45 goals in his first 150 career games.
With his more frequent scoring, Bedard can do some damage before he turns 22 in July 2027. Heading into the 2026-27 season, he already held the franchise record for most goals scored by a player under the age of 21, per StatMuse .
As for the most goals by a Blackhawks player aged 21 or under, StatMuse noted that Jeremy Roenick holds the record with 111. Bobby Hull (86) was second, Denis Savard (84) was third, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane (83) were tied for fourth, and Bedard and DeBrincat (77) hold sixth place.
Bedard could find himself in second place by the time the calendar year shifts from 2026 to 2027, if not earlier. He must, however, stay healthy, and that has been an obstacle so far in his career with the Blackhawks. Bedard has missed time in three of his first four seasons in the NHL, including 27 total games in his first three.
Still, Bedard's two goals in his first four games this season put him on pace for 39 in 2026-27. With 77 goals, Bedard needs 35 to pass Roenick and solidify himself as the franchise's top scorer among players 21 years old or younger.
The Blackhawks once again find themselves in a scoring slump. That has been a recurring theme throughout the rebuilding years, but this season has been a mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The good? Bedard is scoring and is on pace to snag more franchise milestones. Further, Frank Nazar (age-23 season) has three goals in seven games, Roman Kantserov (22) has three goals in nine games, and both Oliver Moore (22) and Anton Frondell (19) have found the net. With the young core that also includes defensemen Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel scoring, it should provide optimism for fans.
The bad and the ugly? Chicago has yet to get consistent in the scoring department, with just 22 goals in 10 games. The Blackhawks have been shut out twice in those 10 contests, and opponents have held them to two goals or fewer in six of those matchups. That said, Bedard is badly needed if the Hawks are going to get consistent in scoring.
Still, with Connor Bedard having played in four games since returning to the lineup, he should invigorate this Blackhawks team once he's in midseason form. Once that happens, pay attention to those all-time numbers, because Bedard may quickly climb the rankings.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Young Blackhawks Star Reaches Notable Franchise Milestone appeared first on HEAVY .
