C Connor Bedard (2023, 1st, CHI) Part 6

[ThisIsMyAlibi]

Is there any chance he’s a disappointment A la Nail Yakupov?

 

[GrizzGreen]

99 - Gretzky
98 - Bedard Puljujärvi
97 - McDavid

the true chosen one

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Is there any chance he’s a disappointment A la Nail Yakupov?

It depends. Do you think he'll be a Hart trophy winner by year three?

 

[prongertheman9]

Is there any chance he’s a disappointment A la Nail Yakupov?

No.

 

[nergish]

Is there any chance he’s a disappointment A la Nail Yakupov?

There's a higher likelihood that he scores a hattrick in his first NHL game...

 

[DuckDuckGetz]

Is there any chance he’s a disappointment A la Nail Yakupov?

There is always a chance. Every player who has ever been a bust has had fans deny the possibility of them being a bust.

It’s just seems very unlikely with Bedard.

 

[Kevin Musto]

There is always a chance. Every player who has ever been a bust has had fans deny the possibility of them being a bust.

It’s just seems very unlikely with Bedard.

No one with Bedard level hype (McDavid, Crosby) has ever been a bust. It'd be a first.

 

[Ironslave]

Is there any chance he’s a disappointment A la Nail Yakupov?

Not a Yakupov level disappointment, no.

But, he has been hyped up so much (deservedly so) that it's possible that if he doesn't reach Crosby/McDavid superstar status, and "only" reaches Matthews level status (1 Hart, 1 Lindsay, 2 Rocket Richard's ), some might view this as a disappointment.... which is pretty ridiculous, imo.

 

[STLegend]

Is there any chance he’s a disappointment A la Nail Yakupov?

Definitely, anytime a kid gets this amount of hype there's a solid chance he doesn't develope to people's expectations.

Then add in the fact that he's undersized and you get the chance that injuries derail his career.

I don't think he busts on Yakupovs level where he can't even stick in the league though. I think he ends up as a Taylor Hall level of a player.

 

[HawksDub89]

Definitely, anytime a kid gets this amount of hype there's a solid chance he doesn't develope to people's expectations.

Then add in the fact that he's undersized and you get the chance that injuries derail his career.

I don't think he busts on Yakupovs level where he can't even stick in the league though. I think he ends up as a Taylor Hall level of a player.

Never seen a better example of “hopium” in my life.

You’d be better off just saying “im a blues fan who hopes he isn’t any good because Blackhawks”

His shot alone makes his floor a 40 goal scoring winger. Absolute floor imho.

Ceiling is obviously top 5 player in the NHL 100 point C. (Not next year, but eventually)

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

Is there any chance he’s a disappointment A la Nail Yakupov?

Relative to expectations a 30 goal peak would be Yakupov level disappointment.

Yakupov was supposed to be an elite winger who could score 40+ goals in his prime but would likely always ride shotgun with an elite C (supposed to be RNH) and mostly only be an elite finisher.

Bedard is supposed to basically be a Crosby level talent who can be one of if not the best player of an entire generation. Both #1 picks but not in the same league hype or skill wise

 

[Putt Pirate]

Definitely, anytime a kid gets this amount of hype there's a solid chance he doesn't develope to people's expectations.

Then add in the fact that he's undersized and you get the chance that injuries derail his career.

I don't think he busts on Yakupovs level where he can't even stick in the league though. I think he ends up as a Taylor Hall level of a player.

Explain how you came to THAT conclussion?

 

[ThisIsMyAlibi]

Explain how you came to THAT conclussion?

omjhl is harder to project right?

 

[Fyodorov]

Never seen a better example of “hopium” in my life.

You’d be better off just saying “im a blues fan who hopes he isn’t any good because Blackhawks”

His shot alone makes his floor a 40 goal scoring winger. Absolute floor imho.

Ceiling is obviously top 5 player in the NHL 100 point C. (Not next year, but eventually)

It seems like the general consensus here is that 100 point C is his worst case floor

 

[belfour30]

No one with Bedard level hype (McDavid, Crosby) has ever been a bust. It'd be a first.

Ever heard of Alexandre Daigle, Musto?

That was 1993 and before my time, but the hype on him was insane.

It turns out that Daigle skated by his entire career on talent alone and only played hockey because he was good at it. Maybe if he actually cared he'd have been as good as everyone thought. Some believe that to this day.
I don't think Bedard is like that.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Is there any chance he’s a disappointment A la Nail Yakupov?

No chance he completely washes out like Nail did, but I don't know that he's going to live up to all the hype. The #1 reason McDavid is just as dominant in the NHL as he was in juniors, imo, is because he's the best skater the game has seen in at least 2 decades. Elite skating is so, so vital to separating yourself at the NHL level, especially now. As a counter-example, it's why John Tavares, while very good, was never the exceptional NHL player a lot of people thought he might be based on his junior production. Bedard doesn't have that top tier skating ability, which opens up the possibility in my mind that he's "merely" a very good player and not an all-timer a la Crosby/McDavid.

 

[ThisIsMyAlibi]

No chance he completely washes out like Nail did, but I don't know that he's going to live up to all the hype. The #1 reason McDavid is just as dominant in the NHL as he was in juniors, imo, is because he's the best skater the game has seen in at least 2 decades. Elite skating is so, so vital to separating yourself at the NHL level, especially now. As a counter-example, it's why John Tavares, while very good, was never the exceptional NHL player a lot of people thought he might be based on his junior production. Bedard doesn't have that top tier skating ability, which opens up the possibility in my mind that he's "merely" a very good player and not an all-timer a la Crosby/McDavid.

Right. Smaller size, lack of elite skating. These mean something, right?

 

[WarLax]

I have such a hard time with these size jabs. Like, has there *ever* been a better time to be on the smaller side in the NHL?

I think not.

Not to mention he's extremely young and could very likely grow another inch or so which....would make him the same size as one Sidney Crosby! I wonder if being under 6 foot tall has had a negative effect on that guy's career.

I saw an Instagram video on Bedard working out and as someone very into fitness myself, I was impressed with his leg development, for his age especially.

Anyway, I'm not worried about his size at all, not for a guy like him who clearly lives hockey 24/7.

 

[cmich72234]

It's funny how Bedard's outlook is already changing for a lot of people once it became know that he's going to Chicago. You're slowly seeing more and more people rooting against him and theorizing that he'll be a disappointment.

 

[WarriorofTime]

It's funny how Bedard's outlook is already changing for a lot of people once it became know that he's going to Chicago. You're slowly seeing more and more people rooting against him and theorizing that he'll be a disappointment.

Yep, it's right on cue. Same thing happened when it got revealed McDavid was going to Edmonton. It's not too surprising. Now that he's basically identified with a specific team, the detractors come out.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

Ever heard of Alexandre Daigle, Musto?

That was 1993 and before my time, but the hype on him was insane.

It turns out that Daigle skated by his entire career on talent alone and only played hockey because he was good at it. Maybe if he actually cared he'd have been as good as everyone thought. Some believe that to this day.
I don't think Bedard is like that.

Daigle was a real shame.

Funny thing was, he had so much talent that even after a two-season break he dropped 51 points. But it's never sustainable against hard-working NHLers since talent can only take you so far.

Bedard is a hard-working player that loves hockey, so I'm fairly confident he will reach his potential.

 

[ViD]

Lafreniere had a bigger hype than the majority of the first overall picks lately and so far he’s been a bigger bust than Yak so go figure

 

[Kevin Musto]

Lafreniere had a bigger hype than the majority of the first overall picks lately and so far he’s been a bigger bust than Yak so go figure

More hype than Slaf, Power, and Hischier.

But pretty much on par with Hughes and Dahlin, and that's only because he's Canadian and not because he was better than those two.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Never seen a better example of “hopium” in my life.

You’d be better off just saying “im a blues fan who hopes he isn’t any good because Blackhawks”

His shot alone makes his floor a 40 goal scoring winger. Absolute floor imho.

Ceiling is obviously top 5 player in the NHL 100 point C. (Not next year, but eventually)

His ceiling is best player in the world. Lol at only top 5

 

[Atoyot]

99 - Gretzky
98 - Bedard Puljujärvi
97 - McDavid

Story's already been written, but nobody's reading.

No one with Bedard level hype (McDavid, Crosby) has ever been a bust. It'd be a first.

Daigle had a lot of hype. Maybe not this much but he was up there.