The Chicago Blackhawks are just days away from playing the first regular season game of the Connor Bedard era — and the team's general manager knows he has something special in the 2023 No. 1 overall pick.

“He's been exactly as advertised,” Kyle Davidson said on Monday, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan. “He's everything we thought he would be on the ice in terms of skill, the hockey sense, the highlight reel moves. The only thing he hasn't done is beat a goalie yet, which I'm sure is eating him up. But it will come.”

Bedard was excellent in the preseason, recording five points in four games, leading the team. Although his lone goal was into an empty net, Davidson knows it won't take long for the squad's new superstar to beat NHL goaltenders.

“He's going to be a big driver of our offense. He's going to be a big part of our team just walking in,” Davidson explained, per Kaplan. “As far as stat and goal totals, I really don't have a feel for that. But he's going to be a driver of impact for our team right away.”

The 18-year-old has already began turning heads with his slick stick and crafty moves, and he will be one of the focal points when the Hawks travel to PPG Paints arena to take on Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. Bedard is expected to center the top line with veterans Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato on either wing.

Despite the young Canadian storming into the league after scoring 71 goals and 143 points in 57 games in junior hockey, Davidson will give the rookie a long leash.

“It's also up to us to temper expectations a little bit. This isn't junior hockey anymore; there's going to be a transition phase,” Davidson admitted. “I think he gets that. He's not walking in here expecting to put up the same amount of points or goals as junior hockey. But he also holds himself up to a high standard and you also don't want to take that intensity away from a player because that's what makes him great.”

It's a new era in Chicago, and Connor Bedard holds the hopes of one of the most storied franchises in the NHL on his shoulders.