Prospect Info: Connor Bedard - 2023 1st - C, Regina

[CallMeShaft]

You’re a kinder man than I, after that.

Now that the emotions have cooled a bit, I’m amped up. I’ve been a Pens fan all my adult life because of Crosby - but now that that team is in decline and he is slowing down, I was finding it hard to get excited as a Pens fan this year.

Perfect timing to switch allegiances and get invested in a team rebuilding from scratch with the next Next One who I’ve been watching play live for years. GO HAWKS!

If you actually plan on sticking around, welcome!

Hawks have a million picks the next few drafts (5 1sts outside of Bedard over the next 3 years), so it should be a crazy, exciting time for us.

About your statements earlier regarding our center depth, it's shit. But Max Domi did fair decently there this past season and it sounds like he'd be more than willing to return; he and Luke Richardson are close from their time in Montreal. Athanasiou might get re-signed now that he didn't ruin the tank, and he played C the last few weeks of the season and put up some points.

The team will be bad next season, but fun bad, as opposed to the incredibly dull bad they were this season.

 

[ChiHawks10]

His release is absolutely disgusting.

 

[Mrfenn92]

You’re a kinder man than I, after that.

Now that the emotions have cooled a bit, I’m amped up. I’ve been a Pens fan all my adult life because of Crosby - but now that that team is in decline and he is slowing down, I was finding it hard to get excited as a Pens fan this year.

Perfect timing to switch allegiances and get invested in a team rebuilding from scratch with the next Next One who I’ve been watching play live for years. GO HAWKS!

It’s an internet message board with people I’ll probably never meet or even recognize without their avatar in front of their faces. I don’t take it so seriously.

Welcome aboard

 

[Dominance]

His release is absolutely disgusting.

He’ll step onto the ice for his first game with a top-5 shot in the game. I don’t want to say it’s the best just yet, but it’s unique.

 

[TLEH]

Hard part is still to come. This puts pressure on Davidson to a whole other level. You have one piece to start it. Make sure you get everything else rolling.

 

[ndgt10]

How does he compare to Toews when he was drafted?

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

How does he compare to Toews when he was drafted?

Lol. Better.

 

[Dominance]

How does he compare to Toews when he was drafted?

They’re very different players. Toews was an elite prospect, but Bedard is genuinely generational. The draft season he just put together was objectively better than McDavid’s. The question is now what he becomes.

 

[TLEH]

How does he compare to Toews when he was drafted?

He’s best prospect since McDavid. Before McDavid, not even sure. Probably clear of Tavares even.

 

[Pez68]

How does he compare to Toews when he was drafted?

Toews was a great prospect. Bedard is on the Crosby, Matthews, McDavid level of special.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I am hyped

 

[Hawkster58]

Just doesn't get any better than this, love all the salty haters!

 

[Taze em]

Hard part is still to come. This puts pressure on Davidson to a whole other level. You have one piece to start it. Make sure you get everything else rolling.

He already drafter a defenseman that has blown up and has a superstar potential. Reichel is a first liner. This isn’t the first piece. The pool was already pretty nasty. Korchinski’s year is so huge. Finding a cornerstone defenseman is so hard and where so many team get caught up in the process.

 

[TLEH]

He already drafter a defenseman that has blown up and has a superstar potential. Reichel is a first liner. This isn’t the first piece. The pool was already pretty nasty. Korchinski’s year is so huge. Finding a cornerstone defenseman is so hard and where so many team get caught up in the process.

Yeah and Edmonton has had the two best players on the planet and hasn’t gotten that close. Building a team is hard. But damn I am excited for the future.

 

[Dominance]

He already drafter a defenseman that has blown up and has a superstar potential. Reichel is a first liner. This isn’t the first piece. The pool was already pretty nasty. Korchinski’s year is so huge. Finding a cornerstone defenseman is so hard and where so many team get caught up in the process.

Do you take a F or D with #20? At that range in this draft there probably will not be a clear BPA.

 

[TLEH]

Forgot about Matthews. I guess it would probably be close between Matthews and Bedard. With Bedard being more gifted but lacking that size most elite centers have.

 

[Pez68]

Yeah and Edmonton has had the two best players on the planet and hasn’t gotten that close. Building a team is hard. But damn I am excited for the future.

Edmonton is arguably right there. They could probably win the cup with the right one piece added.

 

[TLEH]

[/QUOTE]

 

[Dominance]

Also get this guy out of here

Emotional reaction rooted in wanting Bedard to go to a team with established talent, not any kind of hate for Chicago. I hope you forgive it, but I don’t need your blessing to continue following this kid. I was not one of those bemoaning the lottery due to Chicago not being “deserving.”

 

[ChiHawks10]

Do you take a F or D with #20? At that range in this draft there probably will not be a clear BPA.

Out of curiosity, why are you dragging the Hawks and the organization on the main boards, but then you're here acting all sweet and innocent?

Just insanity. There’s not a single player on that team anywhere close to qualifying as a top-line forward or top-pair defense. They don’t even have a top-20 prospect pool. The NHL just f***ed Bedard to an unbelievable degree.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Hard part is still to come. This puts pressure on Davidson to a whole other level. You have one piece to start it. Make sure you get everything else rolling.

biggest thing is that danny wirtz is not at all trying to pressure him to compete or win any time soon, like you said hard part is still to come but with ownership staying out the way thats a huge plus to not derailing the full teardown

 

[Taze em]

Yeah and Edmonton has had the two best players on the planet and hasn’t gotten that close. Building a team is hard. But damn I am excited for the future.

Edmonton is a perfect example of a team that has gotten caught up up for years because they didn’t get that elite D prospect. Darnell Nurse had a chance and just didn’t get there.

A lot can change in the development of these kids, but as it stands right now the numbers and eye test say you have a superstar center and a superstar D with 2 first line wings to go along with it. Need one more Center to materialize somewhere and Seth Jones to hold on to his form.

The two biggest necessities for cups are in the hopper.

 

[Dominance]

Out of curiosity, why are you dragging the Hawks and the organization on the main boards, but then you're here acting all sweet and innocent?

See above. You’ll note that that was all within minutes of the selection. I hope you forgive it as I intend to follow Bedard and hope to join this community here.

 

[CallMeShaft]

All anyone needs to know about him is he burns villages. All of the villages.

 

[Dominance]

All anyone needs to know about him is he burns villages. All of the villages.

Bedard is genuinely unbelievably clutch. His entire life, he has never failed to come up big in the big game. Not once. Not a meh performance on his track record. He always brings it.