Blackhawks Sell $5.2M In Season Tickets Since Grabbing No. 1 Pick

CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks fans are already starting to joyfully envision what kind of impact Connor Bedard will have on the ice once he joins the roster as the first pick in the upcoming NHL Draft.

But the Hawks defying the odds by winning Monday night’s Draft Lottery has already made a huge difference at the box office.

The Hawks have sold $5.2 million in season tickets as of Tuesday morning, a team spokesman told Patch. The team official said that within 90 minutes of the Hawks earning the right to draft Bedard — widely considered the be the top talent in the draft — at No. 1 on Monday night, the team had already sold 500 season tickets for next season valued at $2.5 million.

The Hawks finished the season with one of the worst records in the NHL to put themselves in contention for the top pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, which will be held in Nashville. General manager Kyle Davidson told reporters Monday night that for weeks, he had been mentally preparing for the Hawks to grab either the fourth or fifth pick before the drama started to unfold Monday night.

Anaheim, which finished with the league’s worst record, dropped to the No. 2 pick as the Hawks, who only had an 11.5 percent chance of winning the draft lottery, sent their fan base into hysteria when they landed the right to draft Bedard.

Monday’s draft lottery results marked the second time in franchise history that the Hawks landed the No. 1 pick. Chicago used the first pick of the 2007 draft to select Patrick Kane, who helped guide the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup championships in six years. Kane was traded to the New York Rangers this past season as the rebuilding plan Davidson and other team officials put into place continued.

The team announced they will not re-sign captain Jonathan Toews, which put more attention on Bedard, who, at age 17, tallied 143 points (71 goals, 72 assists) while playing for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.

“It doesn’t change the fact that we have to build a team, and (when) you look back at any Stanley Cup team, they have great players ... it’s not just one person,” Davidson told reporters on Monday night after the Hawks grabbed the first pick. “You need many great pieces and many important pieces and players who jell together and can play within the team concept.”

In addition to the No. 1 pick in the draft, the Blackhawks will also pick again in the first round connected to a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Most expect that pick to be the 20th of the draft before the Hawks move to the second round when they will have four picks and 11 in total.

Davidson said the team will move to put talent around Bedard, who will be the team’s top center once he signs with the team. And although Davidson knows that one player can’t completely change the fortunes of a team that has struggled in the years since winning the 2015 Stanley Cup, team officials know how much of a foundation the teen phenomenon can help to set for years to come.

“To see the excitement when I walked back into that (draft) room was pretty special,” Davidson told reporters. “It’s a pretty invigorated staff right now. I think it’ll be a very excited fan base, what the possibilities are here.”