If there is one thing Chicago Blackhawks fans are familiar with, it’s the “Bedard Effect,” which has been palpable since day one. Starting with the team selling $5.2 million of season tickets after they won the draft lottery, knowing they would be selecting Connor Bedard first overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, to being fourth-best in the NHL in game attendance last season. They saw their highest attendance marks since 2019-20, even though the team was second-worst in the league. Moreover, Bedard had the highest-selling jersey in 2023-24.
All those Bedard intricacies are known from the fan’s perspective. Even him winning the Calder Trophy in June brought another wave of excitement, but how does that translate on the ice? Players have noted the “Bedard Effect” before, even if not by that exact phrase, so it was interesting to see it brought up in two different contexts this summer.
Bedard Enticing Players to Chicago
When players sign with new teams, they consistently mention a specific theme: they want to see championship potential, and for the Blackhawks, Bedard plays a big part in that, as his impact on the ice could be seen by all. He led his team in scoring (61 points in 68 games), and the team played with a different tempo with him in the lineup, which became more noticeable after he missed a month with a fractured jaw. Fans can see it, coaches can see it, but most importantly the players can see it, and it’s now affecting how teams view the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks were the most active team when free agency opened on July 1, making eight signings total (seven new players and one re-signing), and one of them was goaltender Laurent Brossoit. When talking about his decision to sign with the team, this excerpt stood out, “I think (Chicago) has a bright future. If you look at what they’ve done the last three years, something like eight first-rounders in the last three years. Bedard is a big name there. Obviously, there’s a bit of a Bedard effect where you hear rumblings about a lot of different players who are willing to go to Chicago over the free agency frenzy, kind of in the background just knowing a few who were going to consider going to Chicago, so that helps.” (from ‘New Blackhawks goalie Laurent Brossoit eager to prove himself in larger role’ – The Athletic – 07/18/2024).
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