Why Patrick Kane believes Connor Bedard will be 'special'
Why Patrick Kane believes Connor Bedard will be 'special' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Blackhawks struck gold on Monday when they won the 2023 NHL Draft lottery and earned the right to select Connor Bedard as the No. 1 overall pick.
Back in January, NBC Sports Chicago interviewed Patrick Kane to get his thoughts on Bedard, who skated with Kane at the BioSteel Camp in Toronto before training camp. And Bedard caught Kane's eye immediately.
"He's coming down to this BioSteel camp with some of the best players in the league and I would say he was one of the guys that really stuck out," Kane said. "You never really know, those young kids, how they're going to do, especially coming in with a bunch of NHL players that have had success, a bunch of guys that have experience, have been in the league a long time and he seemed to me that he was very confident.
"I think there was one play in camp, he had a 2-on-1 with [Connor] McDavid and he looked off McDavid and took a shot. *Laughs* We were all kind of laughing on the bench. But yeah, I think the thing with him is he moves so well laterally. Everyone talks about his shot and his ability to shoot from different angles and off a different foot each time but man, the way he moves laterally is what gives him that space to be able to do that, so pretty impressive."
Kane believes Bedard will be the real deal in the NHL, and could make an impact right away.
"I think everyone's kind of wondering how is he going to do at the next level, how's he going to be," Kane said. "From what I saw, I think it's all right there, he's going to be special.
"It's not like he's going to be a first overall pick that's going to have to wait a year or two, right? He's going to come right in and be a difference-maker right away, so yeah, I could see that for sure."
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