NEW YORK — In the least surprising news of the new year so far, rookie sensation Connor Bedard will represent the Blackhawks at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game in Toronto, the league announced Thursday.
After the Hawks sent Seth Jones to the league’s annual midseason festivities last winter, Bedard will likely attract a lot more attention this time around.
The weekend format has been reimagined for this year on Feb. 1-3 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The skills competition has been condensed to 12 players competing for a $1 million prize, whereas the four teams playing three-on-three games will now be determined by a fantasy draft rather than by division.
Thirty-two All-Stars were announced Thursday — one from every team — but 12 more will be chosen via fan vote, although there’s zero chance any of Bedard’s Hawks teammates factor into that.
Bedard was the NHL’s rookie of the month in both November and December and entered the Hawks’ matchup Thursday against the Rangers with 33 points in 37 games this season.
If he does end up participating in the game, he’ll become the youngest All-Star in league history and the first rookie All-Star since Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes in 2020.. Kraken forward Matty Beniers was selected last year but ultimately missed it due to injury.
Megna’s homecoming
Jaycob Megna joined the Hawks on Thursday morning — after being claimed off waivers from the Kraken on Wednesday — and immediately slotted into the lineup against the Rangers.
The 31-year-old defenseman is thrilled about landing on the Hawks for two reasons: they will allow him to finally get some regular playing time after being a healthy scratch all season in Seattle, and he grew up in Northbrook as a big Hawks fan.
“I never envisioned [as a kid] playing in the NHL or playing pro,” Megna said. “I got to play for the Chicago Wolves four years ago, which was pretty special. To get to play for the Blackhawks now, it’s kind of beyond whatever I would have imagined. I’m just really excited.”
He went to the United Center frequently as a kid, starting “when it was an empty building” all the way through the 2010 Stanley Cup parade when he was a student at Glenbrook North. The Hawks’ next home game Sunday against the Flames could be an extra special moment for him.
He quipped that he won’t be able to “do some of the things that Duncan Keith did,” but he will provide some depth to the Hawks’ defense. Isaak Phillips and Louis Crevier were both healthy scratches Thursday.
“I’m more of a stay-at-home defensive defenseman,” Megna said. “If I can limit the amount of time we spend in our zone, that’s better.”
Observant Kurashev
The Hawks entered Thursday having gone 10 straight games recording fewer than 30 shots on goal. They were outshot 41-24 in the second game against the Stars, then 36-21 against the Predators. It took them more than 10 minutes to record their first against the Rangers, too.
That’s a trend forward Philipp Kurashev has noticed.
“So many times, at the start of the game, we don’t have any shots at all, almost,” Kurashev said. “So we’ve got to try to focus on that.
“When it’s like that — when we’re not getting many — we try to do the nice play and we overthink it a little bit. We’ve just got to go back to bringing it on net. You never know, it could bounce off of someone else or it can bounce in or you beat the goalie.”