Connor Bedard is an 18-year-old who"s been billed as a franchise savior, the NHL"s next generational talent, and someone who is expected to win trophies ranging from rookie of the year to a Stanley Cup within the next decade. McDavid said a player like Bedard has to “just tune out" the expectations placed on him.
“I"m sure he"s going to have to deal with that a little bit, but it seems like he really has a good head on his shoulders,"
McDavid told ESPN. McDavid, a three-time Hart Trophy winner, was left impressed by Bedard"s maturity.
The early favorite to win the Calder Trophy, he also leads this year"s rookie class in goals, assists and points. If those projections hold, only Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine would have scored more goals in their rookie seasons over the past decade.
These questions have been asked about other “generational talents" at the top of the draft, some of whom have experienced the same mania that"s followed Bedard into the NHL.
“Everyone has their own expectations coming in and obviously, like myself, mine was different with a guy like him,"
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes said of Bedard. Bedard falls squarely into that latter category, with recent No. 1 picks like McDavid, Matthews, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
Much like Bedard in Chicago, Ovechkin immediately changed the vibes in Washington for the 2005-06 season. This is where Clark sees the greatest comparison between Bedard and Ovechkin the intense interest when a star rookie comes to town. More and more reporters not just like the normal five hockey [writers] that are there every time, Clark said.
Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl said one of the reasons players such as Bedard and McDavid are able to handle such heavy expectations is the fact they have dealt with it long before they made it to the NHL.
Bedard"s first NHL game came against the Pittsburgh Penguins on opening night, where he assisted on a Ryan Donato goal for his first point. As phenom debuts went, it was solid and promising even if it didn"t reach the level of Matthews" historic first game, in which the Maple Leafs rookie set an NHL record with four goals.
“When you get four in the first game, I think the bar sort of changes a little bit,"
van Riemsdyk said.
Hischier understands how hard it is to reach a bar set by other rookie phenoms, having gone No. 1 back in 2017 which causes him to joke how he went first in the years after McDavid and Matthews.
“I had people asking me if I was going to score four goals in my first game,"
Hischier said.
“I don"t think anybody has higher expectations for themselves than the player,"
he said.
MacKinnon said the NHL becoming a more offensive league will allow Bedard to get ice time that others might not have had in recent seasons. Bedard has used that time to become the league"s top rookie scorer, with 23 points in 27 games.
Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, who ranked Bedard ninth among rookies, called his play without the puck
“enough of a wart in his game to leave a window open in the Calder race."
“Glen would tell him that you"re going to get more opportunities to score if you come back and get the puck and go with speed instead of standing still, getting the puck and trying to go by a guy,"
Clark said.
Clark said the message was that it"d be better for Ovechkin and the team as a whole if he played more consistent defense and was a “more well-rounded player" for the Capitals.
“It looks like he cared about himself with the goals and all that stuff, he actually cared so much more about winning than anything he did as an individual. He put a lot of effort into making himself better. To make the team better."
From coaches to teammates, the support was there for Ovechkin to round out his game. Infrastructure is important for a young star. Jack Johnson believes the Blackhawks have it around Bedard.
Johnson, who was the No. 3 pick in 2005, said there was an openness around the Blackhawks" rebuild. Johnson said he never pulled into the parking lot with the fear it would be
“miserable going into the rink."
“It"s huge in his mental state,"
Johnson said of Bedard.
Their biggest swing was Taylor Hall, whom they acquired in a trade from the Boston Bruins right before drafting Bedard. Taylor Hall, right, served as an on-ice support system for Bedard prior to his season-ending injury.
They"re always there and they don"t really go away just because you"re young and playing against older guys." The key for a young player, said van Riemsdyk, is maintaining a level of excellence throughout a long NHL season, which is something he saw from Matthews.
“To pretty much be able to find it right away, to put up numbers and put up a 40-spot in your first year, that"s pretty incredible,"
he said.
“I think it"s all kind of putting in work on it,"
Bedard said.
“Change the angle of the shot,"
van Riemsdyk said of Matthews.
“Like, it seemed like he was able to find an extra six inches, pulling it almost in front of his feet to shoot."
BEDARD WITH THE INCREDIBLE RELEASE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ert3jYkjtL
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 13, 2023
Bedard and Dunn were part of the same offseason training group that worked with former NHL forward Gary Roberts in Toronto. Dunn said the group was composed of NHL players such as Draisaitl, Warren Foegele, Darnell Nurse, Steven Stamkos, Brandon Tanev, McDavid and other players from leagues such as the AHL.
Dunn went so far as to say that Bedard is “obsessed" with hockey. This was true of McDavid, who said his childhood room had a “pretty embarrassing" amount of hockey memorabilia.
“Certainly, makes me feel a little bit older,"
McDavid said.
“We got to spend some time this summer up at Gary Roberts" gym, training with Connor Bedard."
Fans reacted as follows:
That release is absolutely disgusting
— lee (@la_da_kid) December 13, 2023
Great
— ShernNii🦁 (@ShernNi22) December 13, 2023
Amazing
— ShernNii🦁 (@ShernNi22) December 13, 2023
What a shot by Bedard and he takes the lead in the battle of the Connor's. #Blackhawks
— End 2 End Hockey (@end2end_hockey) December 13, 2023
Rookie of the year release
— NiCK (@NFNickk) December 13, 2023
I have no words. I mean, how do you even stop it, he barely moved his stick and it was a MISSLE bar down 😭
— Those Pesky Isles (@HunziJake) December 13, 2023
he picked his corner with precision
— Scott C (@Doobyscoo1234) December 13, 2023
