COMMENTARY – THE DAY HAS ARRIVED

(Listen daily for the RP Commentary on Cat Country 98, Rock 98.5 FM & LTD Radio)

The moment we’ve all been waiting for, has arrived.

Well, sort of.

Connor Bedard will make his long-awaited NHL debut tonight when his Chicago Blackhawks host the St. Louis Blues at the United Center.

No, it won’t go into the record books, because preseason games don’t count and there have been thousands of guys play in NHL exhibition games only to never crack a big league lineup in the regular season.

But Connor isn’t one of those guys.

So really, the journey begins tonight and his family will be there along with some special friends from Regina.

And hockey fans from around the world will be peering in to see what #98 has up his sleeve.

That’s a lot of pressure – for a preseason game.

I’m hoping to be able to find it on a TV somewhere. Shoot, if the NHL Network saw fit to show the Leafs and Sabres in the Kraft Hockeyville game last night, surely they’ll have this one.

But I have no expectations of a hattrick or a 5- or 7-point night like we got accustomed to seeing while Connor was a member of the Regina Pats. I enjoy watching him play.

Speaking of, the Pats lost 4-2 to Moose Jaw in the Brandt Centre last night for their first loss of the young WHL season.

I’m sure Connor was following that game, just as I was.

It’ll be a fun debate in the months and years ahead over whether the Pats should’ve traded Bedard last season, although it matters little now.

The past is gone, you can’t change it, and the future isn’t here yet.

All we really have is today and if you’re a Connor Bedard fan, that day has arrived.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm & 5 pm ET on Game+TV, WQEE Radio, Podcast & YouTube Live)