The Connor Bedard line Blackhawks fans should actually expect on opening night

Connor Bedard has been in the spotlight in Chicago ever since he was drafted first overall by the Blackhawks back in 2023. Now, he is due for a payday, where he is expected to get one of the richest contracts in the NHL. Bedard has been hyped up tremendously as one of the NHL's future stars. But the thing is, he is on a Blackhawks team that is in the midst of a lengthy rebuild.

Eventually, fans are going to expect the team to put together a strong line alongside Bedard in hopes that it can help them get out of the basement of the Central Division standings. The team didn't spend money this offseason, so perhaps new head coach Jeff Blashill would rely on the youth movement and allow some of their younger, high-upside players to be on the top line alongside Bedard.

Blackhawks fans shouldn't hold their breath.

Don't expect young players to be paired with Connor Bedard for the season opener

There were some interesting lines that Bedard was a part of during training camp and the early portion of the preseason. On Monday, Bedard was paired alongside Oliver Moore and Lukas Reichel. Moore was selected 18 picks after Bedard, while Reichel was the team's first-round pick in 2020.

On Tuesday, for their preseason opener against the Detroit Red Wings, it was revealed that Bedard would be with Reichel and Colton Dach. That caused Blackhawks fans to be excited, as this could very well be a line in the near future.

But, fans should not expect that for the start of the season. You can expect Bedard to be centering a line with Andre Burakovsky and Ryan Donato.

During a press conference before the start of training camp, Blashill revealed that he was going to pair Bedard alongside Donato due in part to the two having experience on the same line dating back to last season, and Burakovsky due in part to his ability to bring pucks up through the neutral zone.

"[Burakovsky is] really good at bringing pucks up through the neutral zone. I think he can play off Connor. There’s a give-and-go component to his game, so it could be a good match there. Donato is a good scorer," said Blashill, h/t Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times.

Donato is coming off of a career-year with the Blackhawks after scoring 31 goals and dishing out 31 assists, both the best in a single-season for the forward. The Blackhawks believe this kind of production can continue, as he signed a four-year, $16 million contract extension with the team.

Meanwhile, Burakovsky's production has been nowhere near the same since his 61 point season in the 2021-22 season with the Colorado Avalanche. Last season with the Seattle Kraken, Burakovsy recorded 10 goals and 27 assists in 79 games played. The hope is that being alongside Bedard and Donato can make for a productive line.

So don't take the Bedard lines with players like Moore, Reichel, and Dach too seriously. Instead, it looks as though Bedard will line up with veterans for their opening night game against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.