Mic’d Up Ref’s Comments on Rookie Connor Bedard First Face Off!

Connor Bedard is a Canadian 18 year old NHL Rookie, currently playing for the Blackhawks and considered one of the best prospects of his generation, maybe of all time. He was the first draft pic in 2023 and is currently in his first professional year, having played his first game last night.

The player has been seen as a protege or at least a prospective star for the bulk of his years playing the game, so clearly with a lot of hype comes a lot of pressure and we'll have to see how it all unfolds for the player.

In his first ever professional faceoff last night against Sydney Crosby of the Penguins, a mic captured what a ref named Kelly Sutherland told him before the puck drop.

He said " Connor, welcome to the NHL, man".

The fans are loving it:

Opening faceoff between Crosby and Bedard 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Yk7N2Ki1Ho

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 11, 2023

The Blackhawks took the win 4-2. Bedard got 1 assist.