Tuesday night was a special one for the National Hockey League.
NHL No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard made his rookie debut on Tuesday and a microphone picked up what a referee told him prior to the opening puck drop.
The Chicago Blackhawks star player had his first NHL career game of action on the road versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.
NHL referee Kelly Sutherland stood at the center as Bedard was lined up against Penguins NHL legend Sidney Crosby for the opening face-off.
The moment was made even cooler by the message referee Kelly Sutherland shared before he dropped the puck.
“Hey, Sid. Welcome back for another season,” Sutherland said. “Connor, welcome to the NHL, man.”
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Fans loved it:
That was the perfect kind of moment ESPN was hoping for when the network announced that Bedard would be wearing a microphone for his debut.
Bedard lost the faceoff, but he shouldn’t be ashamed as Crosby won 53% of his faceoffs last season.
Bedard picked up an assist in the second period and had a game-high five shot attempts. He’ll make his home debut in Chicago on Oct. 21.
