Call it the Connor Bedard effect.
In the 90 minutes following 2023 NHL Draft lottery, the Chicago Blackhawks sold $2.5 million worth of season-ticket plans for the 2023-24 season, according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The sales spike included 500 new full-season plans, Pope adds.
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On Monday night, the Blackhawks won the lottery and were awarded the first-overall pick in this year’s entry draft, and the team will presumably take the Canadian phenom Bedard with that selection on June 28.
It’s the second time the Blackhawks have won the lottery in the past two decades, and the previous victory in 2007 netted them Patrick Kane, who helped them win the Stanley Cup three times between 2010 and 2015. Bedard can now step into the void filled by the departures of Kane and longtime captain Jonathan Toews and become the new face of the Original Six organization currently in the midst of a full-scale rebuild.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly unveiled a placard featuring the Blackhawks logo, signifying they had gotten the No. 1 pick and setting off a wild celebration among fans at a watch party. Chicago had the third-highest odds of winning the lottery at 11.5 per cent, behind Anaheim’s 25.5 per cent and Columbus’ 13.5 per cent.
Bedard, a native of North Vancouver, B.C., led all junior players across Canada with 72 goals and 143 points this past season while playing for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. He doesn’t turn 18 until July.
In the 2022-23 season, Chicago had an average attendance of 17,167, ranking 20th in the league. However, their 83.7 per cent average capacity was 30th in the league, beating out only the San Jose Sharks (79.2 per cent) and Buffalo Sabres (81.6 per cent)
It seems the Bedard hype is already building in the Windy City, and the ticket sales show it.
-With files from the Associated Press
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