Regina Pats (2020–2023) In March 2020, Bedard was granted
exceptional player status by
Hockey Canada, allowing him to enter the
major junior-level
Canadian Hockey League component leagues a year early. He was the first player granted such status to play in the
Western Hockey League (WHL). In the 2020
WHL Bantam Draft, Bedard was selected first overall by the
Regina Pats. In September 2020, Bedard was loaned to the
HV71 junior hockey system in
Sweden, where he could play while the WHL season was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. He played with HV71 until the WHL returned to play for its
2020–21 season beginning in March 2021. Due to the pandemic, his rookie season was a shortened one with all of the Pats games played at
Regina's
Brandt Centre. As a rookie, Bedard scored 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 15 games before leaving for the
2021 IIHF World U18 Championships. He was awarded the
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL's rookie of the year. During the
2021–22 WHL season, Bedard became the youngest player to score 50 or more goals in a season, scoring his 50th and 51st goals in the last game of the regular season. He finished the year with 51 goals and 49 assists for 100 points, ranking second in the WHL in goals and fourth in points. He was only the third 16-year-old to manage a 100-point season in the WHL, and the first to do so in the 21st century. Despite Bedard's scoring, the Pats narrowly missed qualifying for the playoffs. As he attended the
2022 NHL entry draft as an observer, Bedard was profiled in
The New York Times as "the most exciting future NHL player attending this week’s draft." After not recording a point in his opening game of the
2022–23 season, Bedard embarked on a lengthy points streak that made him the league's top scorer. On November 17, he became the first WHL player in a decade to record twenty-game point streaks in consecutive seasons. Bedard was noted for attracting large crowds for the Pats' road games; his first-ever return to the
Greater Vancouver area for a game against the
Vancouver Giants drew over 5,000 fans, which was nearly double the Giants' season average. Despite missing eleven games in December and early January while attending the
World Junior Championships, Bedard still led the WHL in scoring upon his return to the lineup on January 8, where he had four goals and two assists in a 6–2 home victory over the
Calgary Hitmen. With the Pats not considered a title contender, there was media discussion in advance of the WHL's 2023 trade deadline about whether the Pats should seek to trade him to a contending team in exchange for future assets. Pats general manager
John Paddock asserted that he would not trade Bedard, noting in addition that per WHL rules Bedard would have to consent to be traded, and that "Connor has the final say. He wants to be a Regina Pat and finish his career in Regina, clear?" Ultimately, the trade deadline passed without any transaction. While Bedard's status as an audience draw was already apparent earlier in the season, this effect ramped up noticeably following his return from the 2023 World Junior Championships, which had significantly elevated his national profile. A January road trip through the province of Alberta saw team record attendance (7,287) at the
Red Deer Rebels'
Peavey Mart Centrium, while
Medicine Hat Tigers' sellout of
their arena saw more than double their average attendance. The
Lethbridge Hurricanes offered
standing-room only at the
Enmax Centre. The Pats played a nationally televised game against the Hitmen in the
Saddledome, the home of the NHL's
Calgary Flames. The Saddledome's upper seating was made available for the occasion, resulting in a near-record WHL attendance of 17,223 when the Hitmen's seasonal average was only 3500. The league subsequently awarded Bedard the
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL player of the year. He was the first draft-eligible player to be named league MVP since
Sam Reinhart nine years prior. Bedard was later given the CHL's
Top Draft Prospect and
Player of the Year awards—becoming the first person to win those and the CHL Top Scorer Award in a single season—and named to the revived CHL First All-Star Team. The Regina Pats qualified for the 2023 WHL playoffs, drawing a first-round match-up against the
Saskatoon Blades. Bedard had two goals and an assist in a 6–1 Regina victory in the series opener, the first playoff points of his career. The Pats won the first two games of the series, but lost the next three straight. Bedard had a goal and three assists in Game 6, a 5–3 Regina victory that forced Game 7. The Pats were eliminated by the Blades, losing Game 7 in
Saskatoon by a score of 4–1. Bedard had 10 goals and 10 assists in the series, which was expected to mark the end of his WHL and junior career.
2023 NHL entry draft Bedard attracted considerable interest as a future high selection in the
National Hockey League draft from an early age, speculation that was accelerated by his being granted exceptional status to play in the WHL. However, following Michkov's signing of a multi-year contract extension with his
KHL club
SKA Saint Petersburg, as well as geopolitical uncertainties resultant from the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was widely presumed that Bedard would be picked first in the draft. Entering his draft year as the consensus choice to be taken first overall, much of the debate around Bedard's future concerned whether he warranted being considered a "generational" talent, comparable to Crosby, Ovechkin and
Connor McDavid. A number of NHL teams, notably the
Chicago Blackhawks and
Arizona Coyotes, were said to be openly
tanking the
2022–23 season in the hopes of obtaining favourable odds in the draft lottery.
The Sports Network produced a parody song about this, called "Bad for Bedard".
ESPN remarked that fans of "potential lottery teams have adopted some variation of 'Fail/Tank/Lose Hard for Bedard' as a 2022–23 battle cry." The first overall selection was ultimately won by the Blackhawks, making them Bedard's presumptive destination. A
Chicago Sun-Times reporter stated that within an hour and a half of the lottery outcome being announced, Chicago had already sold $2.5 million of
season ticket packages. In advance of the draft in
Nashville, Bedard received the
E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence, bestowed by the
NHL Central Scouting Bureau to "the candidate who best exemplifies commitment to excellence through strength of character, competitiveness, and athleticism."
Chicago Blackhawks (2023–present) in November 2024 On June 28, 2023, the
Chicago Blackhawks selected Bedard first overall in the
2023 NHL entry draft. It was the second Blackhawks' first overall selection in team history, after
Patrick Kane in
2007. He was also the second player born in British Columbia selected first overall, after
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in
2011. Bedard signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Blackhawks on July 17, his 18th birthday. He made his NHL debut on October 10, where Bedard recorded his first point, an assist, in a 4–2 win over the
Pittsburgh Penguins. Bedard scored his first NHL goal in the opening period the next night, on October 11, of a 3–1 loss to the
Boston Bruins. His first two NHL games were the most-watched regular season ice hockey games for
ESPN and
TNT respectively. On November 9, Bedard tallied two goals and two assists in a 5–3 win against the
Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the third-youngest player in NHL history to record a four-point game, the youngest rookie to do so since 1944, as well as becoming the youngest in Blackhawks franchise history to record a multi-goal game. On January 4, 2024, Bedard was selected to represent the Blackhawks at the
2024 National Hockey League All-Star Game. He would have been the youngest All-Star in NHL history; however, the following day, he sustained a broken jaw after a check from
New Jersey Devils defenceman
Brendan Smith, and was placed on
injured reserve for six-to-eight weeks after undergoing surgery. Due to the injury, he was excluded from the All-Star Game rosters, but managed to appear in the "One-Timers" skills competition, serving pucks to
Mathew Barzal,
Nathan MacKinnon and
David Pastrňák. Bedard returned to action on February 15, registering one assist in a 4–1 loss against the Penguins. On March 12, Bedard put up a career-high of five points, with a goal and four assists to lead the Blackhawks to a 7–2 win over the
Anaheim Ducks. He finished the season with 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games, leading all NHL rookies, and was the recipient of the
Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, becoming the first Blackhawks player since
Artemi Panarin in
2016 to receive the award. Bedard recorded 23 goals and 44 assists for 67 points in all 82 games during his sophomore
2024–25 season. Early in the
2025–26 season, Bedard recorded his fourth career four-point game in a 4–0 win over the
Calgary Flames, becoming the first player since
Steven Stamkos to record four or more four-point games before age 21. Bedard's offensive production continued during the opening month of the
2025–26 NHL season. He sustained a shoulder injury in December, which sidelined him for 12 games. Bedard was sixth in scoring amongst all skaters in NHL at the time of the injury. He was formally appointed as an alternate captain for the team after captain
Nick Foligno was traded midway through the season. Bedard tallied career highs with 30 goals and 45 assists in 69 games during the
2025–26 NHL season. ==International play==