After the announcement, Bedard took advantage of his short time at Wrigley and the comfortable weather, with temperatures of 43 degrees and a wind blowing in left field. The stadium is undergoing renovations, but Bedard was able to be on the field for a short period of time.
The 18-year-old, who said he “played T-ball for a year and just gave up,” threw one more pitch from the mound, then waved to the empty seats and pretended to appreciate his efforts. He then took a few at-bats and took a shot past second base and into center field.
Unsurprisingly, Bedard got his hit back.
“It was really fun to be outside. Of course, when it’s packed and everything is packed, it’s surreal,” Bedard said. “But when there’s no one there, it’s peaceful and you’re just looking at it. It’s pretty special. I think all old buildings and stuff like that is pretty cool, so this is definitely One of them.”
The 2025 game will be a rematch of the 2017 NHL Winter Classic at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Blues won that game 4–1 in front of 46,556 fans.
Wrigley Field was the site of the NHL’s second Winter Classic, played between the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings on January 1, 2009. Detroit won 6-4 in front of a crowd of 40,818.
This is the second time the NHL has returned to the venue for the Winter Classic. Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, hosted games on January 1, 2010 and January 2, 2023.
The 2025 Winter Classic will be an NHL-record seventh outdoor game for the Blackhawks, and the first since the 2019 Winter Classic, which was played on January 1, 2019 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The Blackhawks lost to the Boston Bruins 4-2.
Chicago is 1-5-0 in outdoor games. Also, the 2014 Stadium Series at Soldier Field in Chicago, the 2015 Winter Classic at Nationals Park in Washington, and the TCF Bank Stadium (now known as Huntington Bank Stadium) in Minneapolis. He also played in the 2016 Stadium Series.
Bedard doesn’t remember the Blackhawks’ first game at Wrigley — he was 3 years old — and has never seen footage of it. He vividly remembers the 2014 game at Soldier Field.
“I remember it really well, weirdly well,” Bedard said with a laugh. “I remember watching it and seeing (former Blackhawks center Jonathan) Toews’ breakaway goal and the snow falling. Yeah, I don’t know why, but I remember that very well.”
The Pittsburgh Penguins also played six outdoor games.
The Blues are 2-0-0 in outdoor games, defeating the Blackhawks in the 2017 Winter Classic and the Minnesota Wild 6-4 in the 2022 Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis. .
The Blackhawks and Blues have played 330 regular season games, with Chicago leading by 24 points (Blackhawks: 155-129-46, 356 points; Blues: 140-138-52, 332 points). Chicago and St. Louis have met 12 times in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the Blackhawks winning eight of those games, but losing the most recent meeting, a seven-game series in the Western Conference First Round in 2016.
Since 2003, 39 NHL games have been played outdoors, and two more are scheduled to be played this season. The 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series will feature the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, Special feature on the New York Rangers.
The Devils and Flyers will play on February 17th (8 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN+, TVAS-D, SN1). The Rangers and Islanders will face off on February 18 (3 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).
Bedard had quite a few first hits in his short time in the NHL. He’ll be in for another treat when he takes the ice at Wrigley next year.
“Yeah, it’s a piece of history and obviously Chicago sports are very iconic,” Bedard said. “Combining the two is something special.”
NHL.com Senior Writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report
