Connor Bedard’s first visit to Montreal coincides within days of Denis Savard’s first game with the Chicago Blackhawks at the Forum. 43 years have passed, which doesn’t make the fans who were there that night in October 1980 any younger.
• Have: Brad Marchand welcomes Connor Bedard in his own way
• Also read: Ratings record for Connor Bedard’s debut
For the sake of the unborn, let’s check the facts. Unlike Bedard, Savard wasn’t the first pick in the draft this year. The Canadian had inherited that pick in a deal with the Colorado Rockies completed by the wily Sam Pollock four years earlier.
The Montreal Journal
The Habs chose Doug Wickhenheiser, a big center from Western Canada who was considered the best young player available. In second place, the Winnipeg Jets chose defenseman Dave Babych. Third, the Blackhawks had their sights set on Savard, who had thrilled Montreal audiences with his electrifying style in three years with the Montreal Juniors.
He was considered the successor to Jacques Lemaire as a center player alongside Guy Lafleur.
Same context
Four decades later, Savard revisits those memories when the young Bedard joins the Blackhawks.
“We are different as players,” believes Savard when I join him for a round of golf.
“But the context in which Connor comes into the organization is identical to the one I experienced at the beginning. In my case, too, the team was rebuilding itself.
“Connor is special, there’s no doubt about it. It gives the Blackhawks a chance to reboot their franchise. You see, he’s in his place.”
That’s what we call a generational player.
Show alone
So was Savard. He arrived in Chicago the season after the retirement of the great Stan Mikita, who played 22 years with the Hawks. The team dominated the weak Smythe Division, which included the St. Louis Blue, Minnesota North Stars, Vancouver Canucks and Rockies. They finished in first place with records just over .500 and even won a championship in 1978-79 with 73 points in a four-team division.
The stands of the huge Chicago stadium were pretty empty. But fans were quickly won over when they saw the diminutive center from Verdun stun opposing defenses with his sleek style and spin-o-rama. 20,000 spectators were again the norm in the old amphitheater.
Savard’s first game at the Forum with the Hawks is still fresh in his memory.
“Everyone asked me if I was nervous. That wasn’t really the case, he says.
“I was young and at 19 you’re not afraid of anything. You’re excited and can’t wait to play.”
In his National League debut two nights earlier, Savard was involved in his team’s first three goals in a 4-3 home win over the Buffalo Sabres.
No problem, dad!
In the first period of the game against the Canadian, he scored his first goal by first passing Larry Robinson in the middle of the ice, a spectacular play that was applauded by the spectators gathered in the Forum. Savard finished the night with two points and a second win in as many games.
“I grabbed the puck in the neutral zone, cut to the left in front of Robinson and then headed into the Canadian’s territory,” he says.
“I took a slap shot [Denis Herron était le gardien], but today you won’t score where I threw. The guards stop it with their bare hands!”
For this goal he scored a number of other goals that even today’s goalkeepers could no longer prevent. Savard had no doubts about his abilities.
“In my first year, I took part in 11 of my team’s 12 preparatory games (!!!),” he emphasizes.
“One day I said to my father, who was calling me, ‘Don’t worry, ‘Pa.’ The many games I played in during training camp convinced me that I was ready to play in this league.”
The rest is history.
Savard can’t wait to see Bedard’s game against the Canadian. It’s always special for a rookie from Quebec and other Canadian provinces to play in Montreal or Toronto on Saturday night.
“It will be fun to see Connor and little Cole (Caufield) on the same ice,” he concludes.
We should really have a nice evening.