Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard wins Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie: ‘It’s a cool honor for sure’

LAS VEGAS — Connor Bedard won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie Thursday night, he just wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“We get the little one?” he asked when informed he would get the smaller-scale version sitting in front of him during his news conference. “Yeah, I’ll put it somewhere in my room or something. I don’t know yet.”

The last Hawks Calder has probably collected dust by now.

It had been eight years since Artemi Panarin won the award in 2016. Bedard ended that modest drought and became the 10th recipient in franchise history.

“It’s a cool honor for sure,” Bedard said. “There’s a lot of people who go into it. Obviously it’s an individual award but it’s cool to celebrate it almost with your teammates and family, just with the help they’ve put toward it. So, it’s a cool moment for sure.”

At 18 years, 246 days old, he’s the youngest player in franchise history to win the Calder, eclipsing Patrick Kane, who was 19 years,139 days in 2008.

Bedard also became the 12th No. 1 pick to win the award.

Voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, Bedard received the award at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas at the NHL awards show on the eve of the draft.

Leading up to the announcement, Bedard appeared to be in a tight race with Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber — and to a lesser extent, New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes — but the Hawks center drew 191 votes that placed him in the top two (152 first-place votes, 39 second-place votes), and he received a total of 1,808 voting points.

That gave him the nod over Faber (1,464) and Hughes (686).

“I haven’t talked to him or anything,” Bedard said of Faber. “He’s a great player. There are so many great guys in the rookie class that could’ve gotten this. He was, all year, just a rock for them and what he did — not only offensively but his all-around game — was remarkable.

“He’s going to be a fun guy to watch for a lot of years.”

Despite missing 14 games with a broken jaw, Bedard led all rookies in goals (22) and points (61) and tied Faber for the lead in assists (39).

“I feel fortunate that I did get it and it’s definitely a cool moment just seeing who got it,” Bedard said. “I haven’t thought about the time I missed too much.”

Bedard also led rookies in opening goals (seven), road goals (12) and takeaways (47).

Faber led rookies in blocks (150) and minutes (24:58). His ice time also led the Wild and ranked sixth in the NHL.

Bedard’s 22 goals tied Jason Dickinson for tops among Hawks, but, powered by his team-high 39 assists, no one else came close to Bedard’s 61 points despite him playing in only 68 games.

Bedard, Faber and Hughes also were named to the all-rookie team, each tied at the top with 192 points.

For Bedard, all the postseason tributes signify one particular perk: Now he can put “rookie” behind him.

“It’s obviously a special year, achieving a lifelong dream of playing in the NHL, but then you just want to be with the rest of the pack,” he said. “And I don’t want, every time I score a goal or whatever, it’s a big deal because I’m the youngest kid or whatever.

“Just having that behind you and getting to move forward and kind of look at that and learn. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from last year (and) hopefully take that into next season.”

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon was the big winner Thursday, taking home the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s most outstanding player as decided by the NHL Players Association.

“Every player I grew up idolizing has their name on these things,” MacKinnon said. “To be a part of that company is surreal. It hasn’t really sunk in and it’s a special thing.”

MacKinnon had a career-high 140 points (54 goals, 89 assists). He opened the season with a 35-game point streak at home, second all time only to Wayne Gretzky.

Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets won the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie, and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks was named winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the top defenseman.

Hellebuyck, who also won the Vezina in 2020, allowed 2.39 goals were per game, had a .921 save percentage and recorded five shutouts. Hughes led all defenseman with 92 points and 75 assists. He also scored 17 goals.

Other awards included:

• Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward for the second time in four years.
• Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. He also won it in 2021.
• Rick Tocchet received the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year. He led the Vancouver Canucks to the Pacific Division title.
• Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill was named the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award winner.

Associated Press contributed.