Connor Bedard gives reporters a laugh with cheeky podium answer originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
With training camp finally underway at Fifth Third Arena, Connor Bedard took the ice on Thursday for his first official practice as a member of Chicago Blackhawks.
From now on, though, for the 18-year-old superstar, taking the ice will almost always mean taking the podium.
Since the day he was drafted, Bedard has displayed the poise of seasoned veteran, lauded for his maturity, work ethic, and humble leadership qualities. While the Blackhawks were largely expecting those traits out of the league’s first-overall pick, his brazen sense of humor came as a pleasant surprise. It’s not that we were expecting him to be directly unfunny, it’s just that NHL superstars, historically speaking, are often times directly unfunny. At least, in front of the media.
So when a 17-year-old Bedard sat down next to Wayne Gretzky and Henrik Lundqvist on the set of “NHL on TNT” at the Stanley Cup Final back in June and delivered a mind-blowing roast to Paul Bissonnette live on national television, yeah, we were a little amazed.
After practice on Thursday, the now-18-year-old had a room full of people laughing, yet again.
When talking about how he’s adjusting to his new life in Chicago, Bedard said he’s been trying to learn how to cook.
“I just kind of facetime [my mom], put her on the counter and she tells me what to do,” Bedard said with a laugh. “So she’s making it easy on me. But maybe I’ll try to be a little more independent at some point.”
However, the reporters at Fifth Third Arena today were asking the hard-hitting questions, and someone wanted to know what he liked to cook. Bedard cheekily admitted he may have embellished the truth.
“I haven’t cooked that much,” he said. “It was just kind of something to say here.”
The crowd absolutely loved it.
The chutzpah on this kid!
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