Connor Bedard has been warned by Wayne Gretzky about Chicago!

On Monday night, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Connor Bedard sweepstakes - also known as the 2023 Draft Lottery. Chicago had the third-best odds to win the first overall pick this year at 11.5% and came out on top.

And so, fans got mad - not only with the usual “this crap is rigged” - but also with the fact that it looks like Chicago is rewarded for its bad behaviour when we think of what happened its handling of former player Kyle Beach’s sexual assault accusations against a former team coach. The Hawks faced criticism for not having to forfeit their first draft pick when other teams — such as the Arizona Coyotes and the New Jersey Devils — faced that penalty in the past. These comments and posts by fans prompted CBC to published an article untitled “Should Chicago’s NHL team have first draft pick after its handling of sex assault scandal?” in which its author Nick Logan reminds fans how last year when the scandal was brought to light, Wayne Gretzky suggested parents should be concerned about their young sons’ safety if drafted by Chicago.

Attorney Susan Loggans, who represented Beach in his lawsuit also commented on the Blackhawks winning the draft lottery:

“Everybody is so upset with what happened with the Kyle Beach case and they feel like there needs to be something that actually hurts the team rather than just paying what seems like an insignificant sum of money,” she said.

There will be no surprise when Bedard is selected first by Chicago on June, 28. He was the first player to earn exceptional status in the WHL after scoring 43 goals and 84 points in 36 games for West Van Academy Prep’s U18 team, leading the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) in scoring and earning MVP honours as a 14 year old. He was also exceptional at at the World Junior Championship and was named MVP after posting 23 points to lead all players, becoming the youngest player to receive such an honor.

The only surprise will be if Bedard or his parents refuse for him to join the Hawks… Now that’d be something.

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