"I loved it": Bedard embracing boos from Canadiens fans

Connor Bedard is just three games into his NHL career, but he’s learning quickly that Montreal Canadiens fans aren’t quite like the rest of the league.

The first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the 18-year-old phenom made his first visit to the Bell Centre on Saturday night. And while some fanbases might embrace the talent of a played pegged to be “generational”, the Montreal faithful had other thoughts for the Chicago Blackhawks’ first visit of the Bedard era.

Pretty much every time Bedard touched the puck on the evening, a chorus of boos rained down from the Bell Centre crowd.

While it’d be too easy to say they “worked” in rattling their opponents, Montreal was able to pick up the 3-2 victory over the still-rebuilding Blackhawks.

At least publicly, Bedard seemed to take the booing as a sign of respect.

“No, I loved it, it was great. I didn’t really think of it before the game but thought it was awesome,” Bedard told reporters postgame. “I think that makes the game more fun when the crowd is really into it like that. It was good. I enjoy that stuff.”

Bedard picked up an assist on the evening on one of Tyler Johnson’s two goals, raising his point total to three on the season.

“Montreal fans are probably the most hockey knowledgeable in the world, so they’re just doing it to be the hometown fans to help the hometown team,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson added. “I’m sure they were cheering for him last year on the world junior team. That’s part of the game. I’m sure he had fun with it.”

The Canadiens return to action Tuesday night when they play host to the Minnesota Wild, while Bedard and Chicago head to Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Monday night to take on the Maple Leafs.

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