Before making his United Center debut, Connor Bedard will play in five away games to begin his NHL career. Is the league making a mistake here?
In fewer than 50 days, Connor Bedard will make his NHL and Blackhawks debuts. Unfortunately, there will be a slight delay before he appears in person at the United Center.
When the Blackhawks travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins at 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 10, Bedard will play for the team for the first time. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Before Bedard can take the ice at the United Center for the first time on Saturday, Oct. 21, the Blackhawks and Bedard will have to play four more road games. Is it wrong for the NHL to make Bedard endure a protracted road trip to start his NHL career?
The NHL is providing themselves with the chance to pull a lot of eyes on some of those games, especially when you look at who the Blackhawks will face on the road trip, as self-centered as it may be to instantly respond “yes” as a Blackhawks supporter.
As game two of a tripleheader on opening night, it will undoubtedly draw a sizable audience when Bedard faces off against his idol Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
It should provide for an exciting opening game and a ton of storylines going into the action that two Canadians who both had a lot of hype entering the league. It’s not surprising that the NHL is allowing everyone to see the game.
The Hawks will play the Bruins in another nationally broadcast game in Boston the very next night. The game this time will start at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be on TNT.
Early national televised games in Bedard’s career in Boston and Chicago should result in very strong viewership numbers for the league.
Additionally, the Bruins experienced their highest level of household impressions locally since the 2014–15 season. Despite the fact that the Bruins have performed well regardless of whether they are setting records or not, a record-breaking season undoubtedly aided those ratings.
Bedard will get the chance to make his Canadian professional debut when the Hawks play the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, October 14, and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, October 16, after two days off following the Bruins game.
Despite the fact that these games won’t be broadcast nationally and that Bedard is from North Vancouver, you have to assume that a large number of people will watch them in their respective local markets and that the Bell Centre and Scotiabank Arena will be packed when Bedard visits.
It will be beneficial for the NHL if Bedard faces Auston Matthews in Canada for the first time in their professional careers since it will present a plot similar to the one for the Bedard-Crosby clash.
The Blackhawks’ road journey will come to an end on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 9:30 p.m. CT in Denver when they play the Avalanche. In the first five games of his NHL career, Connor Bedard had dates with three teams that advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season and one that narrowly missed it.
There will undoubtedly be some “welcome to the NHL” moments for Bedard early on, but fans will be pleased to watch him play these opponents and have a few nationally broadcast games before making his home debut.
The Blackhawks are scheduled to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, October 21 at 7 p.m. CT for Connor Bedard’s United Center debut, so the opposition won’t get any easier.