Rookie sensation and first overall pick Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks is tabbed by many to be the NHL’s next big thing. In his debut, the 18-year-old wunderkind picked up the secondary assist on Ryan Donato’s goal, Chicago’s first of the season, in a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The following night saw Bedard collect his own rebound and stuff it by Linus Ullmark for his first NHL goal, his team’s only score in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. With an assist on Tyler Johnson’s late goal in a 3-2 defeat at the Montreal Canadiens, Bedard built a three-game point streak before he was held off the score sheet in a 4-1 upset victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his fifth game, which ended a five-game road trip, the Blackhawks were blanked 4-0 by the Colorado Avalanche with the Bedard failing to register a shot on goal.
With one goal, two assists, three points and 20 shots on goals, I was curious to see how Bedard’s first five NHL games stacked up against a quintet of the league’s most dangerous scorers.
Connor McDavid
Another super-hyped first overall pick, McDavid opened his NHL career without a point in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on October 9, 2015. He came close to lighting the lamp twice in his debut, but was denied by Brian Elliott. In his second game, McDavid and the Oilers were blanked 2-0 by the Nashville Predators. While Edmonton fell to 0-3, McDavid collected his first NHL goal against the Dallas Stars in a 4-2 loss on October 13. McDavid was held without a point and went an ugly minus-three in his home debut, a 4-2 loss to the Blues. He finally broke out in Calgary, with two goals and an assist in a 5-2 victory over the arch-rival Flames to kick off an seven-game point streak. McDavid finished his rookie season with 16 goals and 48 points in 45 games.
First five games: 3 goals, 1 assist, 4 points, 11 shots on goal
Leon Draisaitl
Arriving in Edmonton a year prior to McDavid, Draisaitl, the third overall pick in 2014, was held without a point and to one shot on goal in his NHL debut, a 5-2 loss to Calgary on October 9. He failed to register a shot or point in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks two days later, and was held off the score sheet again, and limited to two shots, in a 6-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on October 14. Draisaitl drew the primary assist on Mark Fayne’s late first period goal in a 7-4 loss to the Arizona Coyotes to for his first NHL point a day later. He registered two shots on goal as the Oilers were shut out 2-0 by Vancouver on October 17 to fall to 0-5. Draisaitl finally potted his first NHL goal in his eighth game and finished his rookie season with two goals and nine points in 37 games.
First five games: 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 point, 7 shots on goal
Auston Matthews
After spending his draft season playing professional hockey in Switzerland with the ZSC Lions, Matthews was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016. He was astounding in his NHL debut, filling the net with four goals in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on October 12. This was was the first time in modern NHL history that a player scored four goals in his debut. After being held off the score sheet by Boston in his second game, Matthews collected his first NHL assist and put seven shots on goal in his third, a 5-4 overtime loss versus the Jets in Winnipeg. He tallied his fifth goal of the young season in a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. In his fifth game, Matthews set up two goals as the Maple Leafs fell 5-4 in a shootout to Chicago at United Center. The American-born sniper finished the season with 40 goals and 29 assists and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie, receiving 164 of 167 first-place votes.
First five games: 5 goals, 3 assists, 8 points, 22 shots on goal
Nathan MacKinnon
The first overall pick in 2013, MacKinnon made his NHL debut for the Colorado Avalanche on October 6 of that year, picking up two helpers in a 6-1 thrashing of the Anaheim Ducks in Denver. MacKinnon collected an assist in each of his next two games as Colorado posted a 3-1 victory over Nashville followed by a 2-1 road win over the Maple Leafs. Despite registering four shots on goal, MacKinnon was held without a point for the first time in a 2-0 victory over the Bruins in Boston. MacKinnon scored his first NHL goal, against Michal Neuvirth, and added an assist in a 5-1 win over the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center as the Avalanche completed a prefect three-game road trip to start the season with a 5-0 record. He finished his rookie campaign with 24 goals and 63 points and won the Calder Memorial Trophy, becoming the youngest player to ever claim the trophy.
First five games: 1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points, 12 shots on goal
Jack Hughes
Selected first overall out of the USNTDP in 2019, Hughes registered one shot on goal and went minus-one when he made his NHL debut in 5-4 shootout loss to Winnipeg on October 2 at Prudential Center. He followed that up with a two-shot, minus-two performance in his first road game, a 7-2 defeat to the Buffalo Sabres. Hughes finished even, but failed to get a shot on goal or register a point in a 4-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Back in Newark for the second game of a back-to-back, Hughes tested Edmonton’s Mikko Koskinen four times and went scoreless as the Devils fell 4-3 in a shootout. In his fifth game, Hughes put three shots on Tuukka Rask, but the Bruins goalie blanked him and the rest of his teammates by a 3-0 count at TD Garden. It took Hughes seven games to get his first point, an assist against the New York Rangers on October 17. He scored his first goal two days later against Vancouver and wrapped up his rookie season with seven goals and 21 points in 61 games.
First five games: 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 12 shots on goal