Blackhawks select Connor Bedard with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft

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The Connor Bedard era has begun in Chicago. 

After months of speculation, the Blackhawks selected Canadian center Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League with the top pick of the NHL Draft.

Bedard had long been the top prospect of this year's draft class. 

He was honored as the International Ice Hockey Federation’s male player of the year after representatives from 22 countries decided he was the top young prospect in the world.

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Connor Bedard speaks to the media on the red carpet prior to the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena June 28, 2023, in Nashville. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

The Blackhawks hadn't picked first overall since 2007, when they selected future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane, who played 16 years in Chicago and won three Stanley Cups. 

"We'll let him figure that out," GM Kyle Davidson told ESPN after making the pick official. "He's a very special player, very special person. We'll let him determine how special the first season is."

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Bedard, just 17 years old, has been turning heads after recording 143 points in 57 regular-season games in the CHL with the Pats during the 2022-23 season. Bedard led the league in points, finishing first in goals and tied for first in assists on his way to being named the WHL player of the year and the CHL’s player of the year, top prospect and top scorer, the first player to do so. 

Bedard has also been a key member of Team Canada, helping his country win gold in the 2023 IIHF World