C Connor Bedard - Regina Pats, WHL (2023 Draft) Part 2

[Starry Knight]

This may come across as just excuse making for Bedard, but his team is really bad. Svozil is the only NHL pick on the roster when I checked and all the upper-year players have had really poor WHL careers.

it’s really easy for teams to defend against Bedard when no one else is going to apply pressure.

 

[covfefe]

This may come across as just excuse making for Bedard, but his team is really bad. Svozil is the only NHL pick on the roster when I checked and all the upper-year players have had really poor WHL careers.

it’s really easy for teams to defend against Bedard when no one else is going to apply pressure.

Ryker Evans is very solid too - 2nd rounder. But overall I agree, Bedard has no run support.

 

[ijuka]

I think even the most casual WHL follower understood the league was watered down last season, and the schedule inflated Bedard’s stats. This doesn’t change the fact that he dominated competition 3,4, even 5 years older than him. The hype really exploded after he tore apart the U-18s as a double underager. These type of performances are usually reserved for special players. HF posters are so quick to jump to conclusions if a player has a cold or hot streak of games; its quite fascinating.

That's not quite true. There were plenty of comparisons to McDavid's scoring at the same age. And it's difficult to gauge just how watered down WHL was. Was Bedard's 1.87 PPG roughly equivalent to 1.3 PPG during a normal season, or 1 PPG, or 0.6 PPG?

Also, he's now played 8 games this season, and that's a larger sample size than his u-18 performance, that you say exploded his hype. It's sort of interesting how some samples matter more than others.

 

[Dust]

This may come across as just excuse making for Bedard, but his team is really bad. Svozil is the only NHL pick on the roster when I checked and all the upper-year players have had really poor WHL careers.

it’s really easy for teams to defend against Bedard when no one else is going to apply pressure.

They're not THAT bad. Ryker Evans and Svozil are two very good defenders. Their schedule has been fairly heavy loaded against really good teams to start the season though. I think over the next 2 weeks you'll see Bedard's production go up as he plays a lot more of the average teams in the WHL.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He’s going to go first. There’s no point in speculating about it much. Canadian ES players that live up the hype go 1OA. It’s not like Bedard is doing bad. If he was a normal 1st OA WHL pick in his D-2, he’d be getting praise for his start. You can’t just erase last season either.

I think there’s a very real question if he’ll be the best player from his draft. I don’t think he’s a McDavid talent. I think he’s in the next tier where he’s probably going to end up the best player from his draft, but it’s not like he’s that much better than everyone else and you can also question certain parts of his game.

 

[kyle44]

That's not quite true. There were plenty of comparisons to McDavid's scoring at the same age. And it's difficult to gauge just how watered down WHL was. Was Bedard's 1.87 PPG roughly equivalent to 1.3 PPG during a normal season, or 1 PPG, or 0.6 PPG?

Also, he's now played 8 games this season, and that's a larger sample size than his u-18 performance, that you say exploded his hype. It's sort of interesting how some samples matter more than others.

He tied McDavid for the most points in the history of the U-18 for a player his age, all while leading his country to a gold medal and dominating medal round games against the best 2021 draft eligible players. He’s also been dominating every league he’s ever played in while always being the youngest player. If you can’t see why that body of work might say more about Bedard’s potential than the 8 games to start this season, where he still has 4 goals and 6 points on a bad team, you’re likely being obtuse.

 

[Bubbles]

Ryker Evans is very solid too - 2nd rounder. But overall I agree, Bedard has no run support.

I can only imagine the Pats want to load up NEXT year, to make use of Bedard's last year in the WHL.

Pretty sure the Ice or Oil Kings are going to win the WHL.

 

[wetcoast]

I can only imagine the Pats want to load up NEXT year, to make use of Bedard's last year in the WHL.

Pretty sure the Ice or Oil Kings are going to win the WHL.

Kamloops might be in the mix as well but I really wonder if it's even worth it for the Pats to load up next year.

 

[Bubbles]

Kamloops might be in the mix as well but I really wonder if it's even worth it for the Pats to load up next year.

Then they should trade Bedard away or get him some help. No way he stays on the team after he's drafted.

 

[Antiillafire]

Then they should trade Bedard away or get him some help. No way he stays on the team after he's drafted.

I really don’t understand why they didn’t try to convince an import winger to come over and play with him. They got Svozil too, but couldn’t get another to play with Bedard on his line.

 

[Bubbles]

I really don’t understand why they didn’t try to convince an import winger to come over and play with him. They got Svozil too, but couldn’t get another to play with Bedard on his line.

Agreed. I guess they couldn't convince either Kemell or Suzdalev to come over. They also drafted Matthew Wood, but he's sticking with the BCHL.

 

[ponder]

He’s going to go first. There’s no point in speculating about it much. Canadian ES players that live up the hype go 1OA. It’s not like Bedard is doing bad. If he was a normal 1st OA WHL pick in his D-2, he’d be getting praise for his start. You can’t just erase last season either.

I think there’s a very real question if he’ll be the best player from his draft. I don’t think he’s a McDavid talent. I think he’s in the next tier where he’s probably going to end up the best player from his draft, but it’s not like he’s that much better than everyone else and you can also question certain parts of his game.

Yeah, he’s not McDavid level, but he’s massively talented. Even with his slow start this year, and small size, I think he’s probably the best prospect since the 2015 and 2016 drafts (with McDavid/Eichel and Matthews/Laine).

But yeah, the 2023 draft is stacked at the top, so he’s got legit competition - Michkov, Dvorsky, Benson, Yager, Musty, Fantilli, etc. These guys look crazy good for a D-1 crop, and I’m not a guy who hypes every draft class, the only one I’ve considered above average (on draft day) since 2016 is 2020. But I think 2022 is going to be well above average, and 2023 elite. Most hyped I’ve been about a draft class since 2015. In a weaker year, you could consider Bedard a 1OA lock, but in 2023, I think he’s likely 1OA, but not a lock just yet.

 

[Kshahdoo]

4+3 after 9 games...

 

[NatusVincere]

Saw the game, for the record, that was the "Assist":

 

[Dominance]

Saw the game, for the record, that was the "Assist":

 

[Antiillafire]

Saw the game, for the record, that was the "Assist":

I highly doubt you watched this game. Probably just saw this tweet and scrambled to post it so you could undermine Bedard more.

 

[NatusVincere]

I highly doubt you watched this game. Probably just saw this tweet and scrambled to post it so you could undermine Bedard more.

You are wrong, I’ve watched the game. Bedard initiated the attack but it was still not his assist.

 

[ijuka]

He tied McDavid for the most points in the history of the U-18 for a player his age, all while leading his country to a gold medal and dominating medal round games against the best 2021 draft eligible players. He’s also been dominating every league he’s ever played in while always being the youngest player. If you can’t see why that body of work might say more about Bedard’s potential than the 8 games to start this season, where he still has 4 goals and 6 points on a bad team, you’re likely being obtuse.

I just don't consider "body of work" to be very important in the slightest when when we're talking about players who are at an age where they rapidly improve. Wasn't that the argument used for picking Patrick 2nd, too?

And no, I don't see why a 7 game sample in a tournament format(less relevant format for NHL) is more important than a 8 game sample in a club format(more relevant format for NHL). There are tons of players who have done well in international juniors who weren't a thing at all in NHL. Remember Toni Rajala? I think it's very faulty to not re-evaluate as new information comes along. Do you perhaps think that I should not be re-evaluating and should instead set the draft in stone 2 years before it happens?

Hopefully he at least performs better than Joe Veleno did.

 

[kyle44]

I just don't consider "body of work" to be very important in the slightest when when we're talking about players who are at an age where they rapidly improve. Wasn't that the argument used for picking Patrick 2nd, too?

And no, I don't see why a 7 game sample in a tournament format(less relevant format for NHL) is more important than a 8 game sample in a club format(more relevant format for NHL). There are tons of players who have done well in international juniors who weren't a thing at all in NHL. Remember Toni Rajala? I think it's very faulty to not re-evaluate as new information comes along. Do you perhaps think that I should not be re-evaluating and should instead set the draft in stone 2 years before it happens?

Hopefully he at least performs better than Joe Veleno did.

Where did I say that the U-18 sample is more important? I simply noted that the U-18 is where many casual hockey fans were introduced to Bedard and where media hype intensified. If you can't see why a small sample of games may be anomalous vis-a-vis a prospect's entire performance to date then I can't help you. Certainly if the trend continues over the course of the season, then this may be cause for re-evaluation.

Also, the Rajala example is useless in Bedard's case. To those that have followed Bedard closely, his U-18 performance helped reinforce what we already knew about him; he wasn't some flash-in-the-pan that caught fire for one tournament. His U-18 was equal to McDavid's as the most dominant 15 year old performance in the tournament's history. This is far more impressive than what Rajala did in his draft year.

Anyways, I'm not going to take up any further space in this thread debating with you. We get it, you don't like Canadian prospects. It's painfully obvious in every thread you post in about a young hyped Canadian player.

 

[Antiillafire]

Where did I say that the U-18 sample is more important? I simply noted that the U-18 is where many casual hockey fans were introduced to Bedard and where media hype intensified. If you can't see why a small sample of games may be anomalous vis-a-vis a prospect's entire performance to date then I can't help you. Certainly if the trend continues over the course of the season, then this may be cause for re-evaluation.

Also, the Rajala example is useless in Bedard's case. To those that have followed Bedard closely, his U-18 performance helped reinforce what we already knew about him; he wasn't some flash-in-the-pan that caught fire for one tournament. His U-18 was equal to McDavid's as the most dominant 15 year old performance in the tournament's history. This is far more impressive than what Rajala did in his draft year.

Anyways, I'm not going to take up any further space in this thread debating with you. We get it, you don't like Canadian prospects. It's painfully obvious in every thread you post in about a young hyped Canadian player.

He doesn’t have any constructive or positive feedback about any prospect that is not Finnish.

 

[Fantomas]

Seems overrated.

 

[wetcoast]

I just don't consider "body of work" to be very important in the slightest when when we're talking about players who are at an age where they rapidly improve. Wasn't that the argument used for picking Patrick 2nd, too?

And no, I don't see why a 7 game sample in a tournament format(less relevant format for NHL) is more important than a 8 game sample in a club format(more relevant format for NHL). There are tons of players who have done well in international juniors who weren't a thing at all in NHL. Remember Toni Rajala? I think it's very faulty to not re-evaluate as new information comes along. Do you perhaps think that I should not be re-evaluating and should instead set the draft in stone 2 years before it happens?

Hopefully he at least performs better than Joe Veleno did.

This post isn't going to age very well when after having a dominant draft season he gets picked #1 and goes on to have an awesome NHL career.

If you were a scout, and that's a big if, you wouldn't keep your job very long in your evaluating Bedard with Toni Rajala and Joe Veleno as he is obviously well ahead of both guys at the same age and frankly it's not even really close.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

He’s going to go first. There’s no point in speculating about it much. Canadian ES players that live up the hype go 1OA. It’s not like Bedard is doing bad. If he was a normal 1st OA WHL pick in his D-2, he’d be getting praise for his start. You can’t just erase last season either.

I think there’s a very real question if he’ll be the best player from his draft. I don’t think he’s a McDavid talent. I think he’s in the next tier where he’s probably going to end up the best player from his draft, but it’s not like he’s that much better than everyone else and you can also question certain parts of his game.

Jason Spezza would disagree with you.

 

[wetcoast]

Jason Spezza would disagree with you.

Well 2 things to consider here though as Spezza wasn't as good a prospect as Bedard is and secondly there is now manchild like Ilya Kovalchuk who is in the draft either unless one thinks that Dalibor Dvorsky is that guy.

 

[NatusVincere]

He doesn’t have any constructive or positive feedback about any prospect that is not Finnish.

Where is your constructive feedback, my friend?

For the record, Bedards U-18 accomplishments are much more important in my eyes than his WHL Performance. I really don’t care what he is doing in his domestic league. I mean, I watch his games cause he is exceptional. But the world stage against the best of the best are what matters. And the Rajala comparison is unfair at all. Rajala was like 2,3 years older. But Bedard, at 15, outplayed and outscored much older competition(the best of the world). He was dangerous every shift, his legs and hands were always in motion. He doesn’t look nearly as strong these days as he did few months ago. Maybe he is feeling the pressure now? Maybe he is just out of shape, what would be fine cause he too is only human. Whatever, this is not the Connor Bedard from last season.