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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Chicago Blackhawks made the obvious official on Wednesday night, selecting Regina Pats center Connor Bedard with the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft.

Bedard, 17, has been called a generational talent thanks to his shooting ability and puck possession skills. The North Vancouver native was the most heavily hyped prospect since Connor McDavid was drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015.

“First of all, I want to make the team. That’s the No. 1 goal. I want to have an impact on the ice and in the room. To be a teammate and give my all every day. Those are some things I can control,” Bedard said before the draft.

Chicago earned the right to select Bedard after winning the 2023 NHL draft lottery, despite having only the third-best odds to win the No. 1 pick this year at 11.5%. The Blackhawks last selected first overall in 2007, when they took winger Patrick Kane.

Bedard was granted exceptional status as a 15-year-old to play in the Western Hockey League, the first time the WHL granted such an exception. This year, he was the inaugural winner of the IIHF Male Player of the Year Award, leading Canada to the gold medal at the World Junior Championship with a tournament-best 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in January. He swept the player of the year, top prospect and top scorer awards at the Canadian Hockey League awards after recording 143 points (71 goals, 72 assists) in 52 games for the Pats.

Bedard’s arrival signals a new era for the Blackhawks, who completed a run of three Stanley Cups in six years in 2015. He joins a team that finished with a .360 points percentage in the standings, the worst season for Chicago since 2003-04. Kane was traded to the New York Rangers. The team parted ways with captain Jonathan Toews, an unrestricted free agent, as well.

The Blackhawks started building around Bedard earlier in the week when they acquired winger Taylor Hall from the Boston Bruins. “He won a Hart Trophy. He’s had a great career, his talent level is remarkable. Fun player to watch, for sure,” Bedard said.

Even with a phenom like Bedard, it could be a multiyear process for Chicago to return to prominence. It took Alex Ovechkin three years to bring the Washington Capitals to the playoffs after being selected first overall in 2004. It took Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils four years after going first overall in 2019.

“Listen, it doesn’t need to necessarily have to happen right away, whether that’s team success or individual success,” said Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, the first overall pick in 2008. “I think he’s going into a little bit of a different situation in Chicago, where they’ve kind of embraced the rebuild and it’s obviously one of the best hockey markets in the world. It was maybe a little easier for me to go to Tampa and not have as much pressure.”

Stamkos said his advice to Bedard is to understand the leap he’s about to make.

“It’s the best league in the world and now you’re competing against guys who are bigger and stronger and more experienced. So I don’t think he’s going to have any problem adjusting, but if he does, just enjoy the moment. It goes by fast,” he said.

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AD: Irish prefer independence over vying for bye

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AD: Irish prefer independence over vying for bye

ATLANTA — Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said the independent Irish are comfortable continuing to give up access to a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff — something currently granted to only the four highest-ranked conference champions — as long as the fate of conference championship games remains the same.

“We’re comfortable that if conference championship games continue as they’re currently configured, part of the deal we made is that we wouldn’t get a bye, and that’s understandable,” Bevacqua said Saturday, speaking to a small group of reporters at the national championship game media availability at the Georgia World Congress Center. “And quite frankly, I wouldn’t trade that [first-round] Indiana game at Notre Dame Stadium for anything in the world, but you also have to be smart and strategic, and your odds of making a national championship game are increased if you get to play one less game.

“So I think a lot is going to depend on the fate of the conference championship games,” he said. “Should they go away? And that’s obviously not my decision. Should they be altered in some sort of material way where it’s not the top two teams playing for a championship, but something else? Then I think we absolutely have to re-look at Notre Dame’s ability to get a bye if we end up being one of the top four teams.”

Bevacqua’s comments come as he and the FBS commissioners prepare to meet Sunday to begin their review of the inaugural 12-team field, which will produce a national champion on Monday with the winner of Ohio State vs. Notre Dame.

Bevacqua is part of the CFP’s management committee, which is also comprised of the 10 FBS commissioners tasked with determining the format and rules of the playoff to eventually send to the 11 presidents and chancellors on the CFP board for their approval. The commissioners and Bevacqua will have a 90-minute business meeting to start to discuss possible changes for the 2025 season, which would require unanimity, leaving many CFP sources skeptical that next season will look much different.

Bevacqua said he thinks “there’s a chance” the group could agree on a change to the seeding, but one option that has been floated by sources with knowledge of the discussions is having the committee’s top four teams earn the top four seeds — which opens the door for Notre Dame to earn a first-round bye without playing in a conference championship game.

“I think everybody wants what’s best for the overall system,” he said. “It was interesting, when you think about those four teams that got a bye, they didn’t advance. Now I don’t think that has anything to do with the fact that they got a bye, I think that was mostly competition and happenstance. But I think there’ll be a good, honest conversation that will start tomorrow. Are there any changes that we ought to make from this year to next year and make something that’s worked really well work even better? Will there be changes? I’m just one person. I’m not sure.”

CFP executive director Rich Clark, who also spoke to a small group of reporters at the media day event, said some changes for 2025 would require “more lead time than a few months to implement,” so no major structural changes like the size of the bracket are expected for 2025.

Clark said the commissioners will talk about every aspect from “cradle to the grave,” including seeding and re-seeding possibilities.”

Clark said whatever changes are made for 2026 and beyond — the start of a new, six-year contract with ESPN — need to be determined by the end of the calendar year. That could include increasing the bracket size, possibly to 14 or 16 teams.

“We’re trying to beat that timeline,” Clark said. “We don’t want to obviously wait until the limits of it. So we want to move smartly on these things, but we don’t want to make bad decisions, either.”

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Ohio St. still fueled by ‘truth-telling’ loss to U-M

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Ohio St. still fueled by 'truth-telling' loss to U-M

ATLANTA — Following Ohio State‘s fourth straight loss to Michigan, the players had a meeting with coach Ryan Day during which they “really hashed some things out,” quarterback Will Howard said Saturday, a turning point in their season that helped propel the team to Monday’s national championship game against Notre Dame.

“It was really a truth-telling time,” Howard said at the College Football Playoff media day. “The facts were laid out there. People were challenged. Everyone including myself had to look in the mirror a little bit and say, ‘What can I do better? How can we fix this thing?’ The thing that we clung to was we still have this opportunity out in front of us to right all these wrongs and go play for a national championship and here we are. We’re right where we wanted to be. A lot of people wrote us off, but we really just believed in ourselves.”

The Buckeyes were favored by 21 points against Michigan, the widest point spread for the rivalry since 1978, according to ESPN Research. Since then, they have reeled off three straight playoff wins — against Tennessee, Big Ten champion Oregon and SEC runner-up Texas.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said the team has shown its resiliency over the past few weeks, but had a choice to make.

“They talked through it,” Kelly said. “I think they understood what was presented, what’s ahead of us. I think that’s a big point. When you look at the game against Michigan, it could be one of two things: It could be your tombstone, or it could be a stepping stone, and Ryan and our players turned it into a stepping stone.”

Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said the 13-10 loss to Michigan made the team closer. After the first loss of the season to Oregon, Knowles said, “There were a lot of fingers being pointed at the defense. And the second one, it was kind of the other way.”

“I made a point to say to our guys, ‘Remember what that felt like the first time? You need to go out of your way to pick up your brothers on offense,'” Knowles said. “In a way they did, and it kind of really merged us.”

The Buckeyes are making their sixth national championship game appearance (national championship games began with the inception of the BCS in the 1998 season), but haven’t won one since the 2014 season. Ohio State is 2-3 in national championship games. The Buckeyes are trying to win their first national title under Day, who faced heavy backlash and questions about his job security following the loss to Michigan.

“Every year you learn and you grow,” he said, “trying to be self-aware enough to surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth, hoping to get better, and that’s really all you can do.

“When you go through great moments, you really grab on to the people who are around you, and it’s the same thing when you go through difficult moments,” Day said. “That’s why you build relationships.”

Ohio State has a 6-2 lead in the all-time series and has won six straight. Notre Dame’s last win over Ohio State came in 1936. Knowles said Day never allowed any of the criticism to impact his work or effect the staff.

“It’s not something we talk about because we just try to put our heads down and work,” Knowles said. “But in the end, brothers in arms, you’re happy he is being seen for the quality of person and coach that he is because he does a great job and he cares about the players and is in tune with what’s going on with the staff. The only thing you can do to help is win, so I’m glad we have done that.”

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OSU’s Smith ‘can’t wait to put on a show’ vs. Irish

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OSU's Smith 'can't wait to put on a show' vs. Irish

ATLANTA — After being limited to one catch in Ohio State‘s Cotton Bowl semifinal victory over Texas, freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith gave a warning Saturday in advance of the Buckeyes’ national championship matchup against Notre Dame.

“If you are going to play man [to-man defense] against Ohio State, be ready,” Smith said. “I can’t wait to put on a show.”

Smith, who repeatedly pointed out during his media day availability that the Irish play man-to-man defense “80%” of the time, acknowledged that he relishes when defenses try to stop him with only one defender.

“What [the Irish do] they do very, very well. So for them to change up what they do, would be kind of silly,” Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline told ESPN. “They’re really, really good players, great players on the outside. And we’re really great players on the outside, too. It’s what you want in a game of this magnitude.”

Following Smith’s best game of the season against Oregon in the Rose Bowl (187 yards and two touchdowns), Texas’ secondary sold out to stop Smith, whose only catch in the Buckeyes’ win was for 3 yards.

“You watch the film — they doubled, tripled me,” Smith said. “It’s frustrating, but being a decoy helped us win the game.”

In his first year at Ohio State, Smith has been a supernova, catching 71 passes for 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns. Heading into this game, he’s averaging 17.3 yards per catch.

“He’s one of the most talented dudes I’ve been around … you always want to try to get him the ball,” quarterback Will Howard said. “But he can also take out two or three guys at a time [as a decoy], and sometimes that’s a good thing.”

Smith’s performance in the Cotton Bowl was by far his least productive of the season, but it helped to open up opportunities for other skill players such as Carnell Tate (seven catches for 87 yards) and Quinshon Judkins (two receiving touchdowns).

Whether the Irish try to go away from their usual playing style in order to limit Smith or stick to their scheme remains to be seen. Although Smith noted that Notre Dame’s secondary might be the best they have faced all season, he is ready for the challenge.

“If I’ve got to be a decoy in this game, I’ll be a decoy,” Smith said. “All I want to do is win.”

Also, Ohio State star DE JT Tuimoloau, who rolled his ankle against Texas, talked about his health and the injury.

“I feel really good. I feel really good. One thing, our strength coach says you can’t do too much of taking care of your body, so I’m overloaded on take care of everything.”

Tuimoloau said he’s been somewhat limited in practice to nurse the ankle back.

“Me and Coach Day bumped heads; I want to get out there, he wants me to rest, so we met somewhere in the middle.”

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