At the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks selected top prospect Connor Bedard. Ultimately, this generational talent will speed up the team’s rebuild, which recently lost franchise cornerstones, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The duo, along with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, brought the Stanley Cup back to Chicago after 49 years.Â
Although the Blackhawks did not win three consecutive championships, they did succeed in 2010, 2013, and 2015 to become a “modern-day” dynasty. Now, just eight years removed from their last banner ceremony, Chicago is a bottom dweller again, qualifying for the playoffs just once in the previous six seasons.Â
- Connor Bedard stats (2022-’23):143 points, 72 goals, 72 assists in 57 games
Even though the franchise recently made headlines for covering up a handful of scandals, everyone hopes Bedard’s presence will usher in a new era for the team. However, before he officially put on the Blackhawks sweater, the fanbase couldn’t wait to see if he followed in the footsteps of so many other Windy City sports legends.
History of Chicago’s first-round picks winning titles
No disrespect to other elite athletes and Hall of Fame players who called Chicago home, but Michael Jordan may be the best player in the city’s history. As the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, Jordan eventually led the Chicago Bulls to a three-peat as league champions in 1991, 1992, and 1993.
After all that success, Jordan decided to try baseball before returning for another three-peat in 1996, 1997, and 1998. If he didn’t step away for two seasons, the Bulls could have won eight straight titles. However, that is something that we will never know for sure.
Statistically, he was not the only first-round draft pick on those six championship teams, sharing the honors with seven other players. After taking Jordan in 1984, the franchise started to build its core through the draft with players Scottie Pippen (1987), Horace Grant (1987), Will Purdue (1988), Stacey King (1989), and B.J. Armstrong (1989).
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While their superstar was out playing baseball, the Bulls started to build for his comeback by selecting Dickey Simpkins (1994) and Jason Caffey (1995) for their next run of championships.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs once owned the longest World Series drought, going 107 years between championships. Although they didn’t win the title until 2016, they built a contender through the draft, a movement that started in 2011. After selecting Javier Báez that year, they went on to grab Albert Almora (2012), Kris Bryant (2013), and Kyle Schwarber (2014) to fill out their roster and end the curse.Â
Interestingly, their cross-town rivals, the Chicago White Sox, had only one first-round pick on their 2005 World Series roster, Aaron Rowand. Although the baseball draft follows a different format from other sports, Rowand was a supplemental pick in the 1998 first round, going 35th overall.
Historically, the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears had nine first-round draft picks in their lineup, stretching to ten if we include a player (Steve Fuller) initially drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. Although they have only won a single championship during the Super Bowl era, their 1985 roster started to come together a decade earlier, in 1975, with Walter Payton.
After selecting one of the game’s greatest rushers, the Bears kept adding through the first round with names like Dan Hampton (1979), Otis Wilson (1980), Keith Van Horne (1981), Jim McMahon (1982), Jimbo Covert & Willie Gault (1983), Wilber Marshall (1984), and William Perry (1985).
As anyone can see, Chicago has a rich history of developing their first-round picks and turning them into champions. However, how does Bedard fit into this painting? Well, he’s got a few skates to fill.Â
Blackhawks’ recent success came from Round 1
Bedard becomes just the second-ever first-overall pick for the Blackhawks, joining Kane, the top pick in the 2007 Entry Draft. Interestingly, the eventual league MVP (2016) took only three years to win the Stanley Cup.
Ultimately, those championships resulted from Chicago building through the draft, which started when Seabrook came to town in 2003 as the 14th overall pick. Eventually, the Blackhawks would find their future captain in 2006 with the third overall pick, Toews, before finding a supporting player in 2012 with Teuvo Teräväinen (18th overall).
Recently, Chicago has traded away several of their most recent first-round picks, including Henri Jokiharju (2017), Adam Boqvist (2018), Nicolas Beaudin (2018), and Kirby Dach (2019). Realistically, with just Lukas Reichel (2020) left as his potential prospect partner, Bedard will have to wait for the Blackhawks to find him another young gun hungry to win a Stanley Cup.
Historically, Toews found success after Kane joined the team, just like Jordan did when Pippen came to town. Ultimately, the same applies to Payton with Perry and Báez with Bryant. Although there will be a lot of pressure on Bedard to turn the franchise around on his own, he’ll need help just like other Chicago sports icons who brought champions to the shores of Lake Michigan.