On Thursday evening, during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ thrilling 6-5 road win at Boston, the NHL Hockey Operations department announced the initial group of 32 players that will be headed to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. This means that 16 players from each conference, Eastern and Western, were picked to have a berth, with one guy from each squad being chosen initially. The remaining 12 roster slots for each conference will be decided by fans. Voting opened this afternoon at NHL.com/vote and will be open until next Thursday (1/11).
There was no surprise as to who the NHL elected to represent the Chicago Blackhawks. 2023 #1 overall draft pick Connor Bedard has most certainly met the hype in his rookie year. He has 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 total points across 37 games played. On an offense that has struggled to put pucks in the net, he has truly put the team on his back in more ways than one. Every night, he seems to have another trick up his sleeve to bedazzle fans.
Bedard is just the second Hawks rookie to be named to an NHL All-Star game and the first in 54 years. Tony Esposito was the first during the 1969-1970 season. He also will be the youngest player ever to play for an NHL All-Star team at 18 years, 201 days old when the game was played on February 3rd at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Bedard’s selection was inevitable, but it is a huge accomplishment nonetheless.
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