CHICAGO — Compared with the fanfare of being drafted with the No. 1 pick, Connor Bedard’s first week as a Chicago Blackhawk seemed low key — probably just how he likes it.
“I’m still a 17-year-old kid,” he said Thursday at Fifth Third Arena. “There are responsibilities that come along with the noise and attention and stuff and I’m aware of that, but in the room I’m just one of the guys and in life and with my family. I’m a normal person.”
Normal 17-year-olds don’t usually get shout-outs from rap superstars.
Drake posted a picture of Bedard with the caption “Dialed in” on his Instagram account as he kicked off his “It’s All a Blur” tour Wednesday night at the United Center — a venue he an Bedard soon will share in common.
But Bedard’s point is well taken.
This week’s development camp was for him and other young prospects to hole up together, sequestered from all the outside influences, and learn about being a pro, NHL life and each other.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Bedard said. “Getting to come here, I was happy it was right away. Get to the city, see everything and meet all the staff, all the players and see the facilities and everything. I loved it and had a lot of fun.”
The Hawks chefs should take a bow. Their cooking made for one of the best parts of Bedard’s camp experience, which also included games, improvisational comedy and boxing and breathing lessons.
“The food was even better than I thought,” he said. “I knew it was going to be really good, but it was unreal.”
Taylor Hall would advise Bedard to savor such moments.
“I wish I took it all in a bit more and enjoyed it,” said Hall, who credited Aleš Hemský, Ryan Whitney and Shawn Horcoff for mentoring him during his rookie season with the 2010-11 Edmonton Oilers
Hall, a former No. 1 pick himself, will help fill that role for Bedard.
“You know, it really is kind of the golden years of your career when you’re at the beginning,” Hall said. “Maybe you’re not married and you don’t have some of the baggage that comes along with playing for a few years.
“And you’re brand new, you’re coming to a city like Chicago. So if anything, I think for us with Connor, it’s about just letting him enjoy playing. And I think it’s going to be a really fun year on and off the ice.”
Bedard said he was lucky to have some familiar faces in rookie camp.
Earlier this year he played with Kevin Korchinski, Nolan Allan, Ethan Del Mastro and Colton Dach on Canada’s gold-medal-winning World Junior Championship team.
“That helps, having that comfort coming in,” he said. “Getting to know a lot of the other guys, it’s a really great group. It didn’t feel like you were coming into a bunch of new people.”
As much as other prospects made him more comfortable, many of them said Bedard already has had a huge influence on them.
“He’s a guy that does whatever it takes to win,” Korchinski said, “whether it’s off the ice, whether it’s just in the gym, on the ice — doing everything extra. Those are the guys that motivate you to want to do more, to push yourself even harder.”
Oliver Moore, who was drafted 18 picks after Bedard, said being around someone like Bedard is “only going to make the people around you better.”
“It’s already rubbing off on me,” Moore said, “his work ethic and the way he carries himself.”
Among the many comments from campers this week, that one stood out to general manager Kyle Davidson.
“That’s what you want,” Davidson said. “That’s culture. You see players come in and they’re already dictating behaviors and positive behaviors, that’s kind of the goal that you seek.
“We (as a staff) have to carry that through right up into Rockford and into Chicago and make sure they’re always taking those steps forward to be those leaders that we want them to be.”
Bedard said: “It’s a great thing to hear from people if they think you’re being a good leader and stuff. But I just try to be a good person.
“I come in and work as hard as I can every day and just be nice to everyone around you. It’s kind of my approach in life in general, so hopefully people look at that and see a leader. That’s something I take a lot of pride in.”
But it’s not all on one player, whether he’s hockey’s “Second Coming” or not.
“I think the same” about Moore, Bedard said. “He’s a really hard worker and he’s really competitive. He wasn’t happy when he lost in spikeball.”
Bedard said it was great getting to know Moore as a player and person.
“He’s a special player,” Bedard said, “but I think for me, his off-ice habits and his work ethic was great to see.”
