WBD - Bedard Breaks NHL Viewer Records Could Calder Trophy (Rookie Of The Year) Be In Sight? How Much $100 Bet Pays Out | Benzinga
NHL rookie Connor Bedard is making a big splash for the Chicago Blackhawks and the league, which could benefit sports bettors backing him and also at least one public company.
What Happened: Bedard entered the 2023-2024 NHL season as one of the highest rated prospects in years.
The 18-year-old was the number one overall draft pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, selected by the Chicago Blackhawks, who had an 11.5% chance of winning the top pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. The team managed to pass the Anaheim Ducks (18.5%) and Columbus Blue Jackets (13.5%) in the luck department to land the potential generational talent.
Bedard’s talent has been on display early in the 23-24 NHL season with the Blackhawks’ forward having an assist in his first game and a goal in his second game. Through two games, Bedard now has two points, 11 shots on goal and is averaging over 21 minutes on ice per game.
NHL fans are tuning in. Tuesday’s opening night NHL match between the Blackhawks and Penguins set a league record as the highest watched regular season NHL game on cable excluding the Winter Classic matches.
The game, which aired on ESPN, averaged 1.43 million viewers.
ESPN, owned by Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), had a triple header of NHL games to kick off the season Tuesday night with an earlier ...