Has Connor Bedard quietly became underrated ?

[x Tame Impala]

Alex Semin tried to argue that Kane was better than Crosby. Either way , there is a gap. Generational or not.

Semin: What’s so special about Crosby?

There's a great poll series on the "Polls" section of HF ranking the top players of the 21st Century so far. These are the results at present...

Who is the 20th best player so far in the 21st Century?

20th in a series of 25 polls inspired by a recent ESPN poll. So far this is the top 19 are 1.Crosby 3. Ovechkin 3. McDavid 4. Lidstrom 5. Malkin 6. Brodeur 7. Kucherov 8. Kane 9. Mackinnon 10. Pronger 11. Datsyuk 12. Chara 13. Karlsson 14. Thornton 15. Draisaitl 16. Keith 17. Lundqvist...

forums.hfboards.com

1.Crosby
2. Ovechkin
3. McDavid
4. Lidstrom
5. Malkin
6. Brodeur
7. Kucherov
8. Kane
9. Mackinnon
10. Pronger
11. Datsyuk
12. Chara
13. Karlsson
14. Thornton
15. Draisaitl
16. Keith
17. Lundqvist
18.Stamkos
19. Kopitar

Personally I think Kane is better than Kucherov BUT if we're arguing Bedard finishes somewhere between Kane and Crosby/McDavid that's still f***ing incredible company to keep so what's the point of all the hand-wringing from some of these posters?

If Bedard slots into a tier of player with: Lidstrom, Brodeur, Malkin, Kucherov, Kane, and MacKinnon...and is in the same company as anyone from Pronger to Kopitar then you'd have to be insane to say Bedard is overrated or had an underwhelming career based on expectations.

This generational tag is mere hyperbole and you have to make the conscious choice to eat it up or not. It is a fair point to say "juniors numbers don't translate to a generational NHLer". No argument from me there. I just don't see how the juice is worth the squeeze to spend an entire season in a Calder thread or now in this thread for the upcoming season, OBSESSIVELY critiquing the play of CB98 just to say he's not going to be a Top4 player of the 21st century, only a Top8. It's insanity.

Now I'm ranting . I've said my piece and I'm out. Bedard is on pace for 162 points this year by the way so LFG!!!

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Your hero, Jack Hughes, scored 3 ES goals in his rookie season. He's turned out alright.

Yep, and nobody was comparing him to McDavid or Crosby.

It’s almost as if Crosby didn’t have his progress as a rookie derailed by exiting with an injury in the first half and sitting for six weeks, played for a team that scored 65 more goals, and had 260 more PPOs. We’ll never know what an uninterrupted rookie campaign would have looked like for Bedard, but based on what he showed while playing, 90 points seemed likely.

90 points did not seem likely. And even if it was, that still would have put him way behind Sid in terms of relative scoring.

 

[Brookbank]

Yep, and nobody was comparing him to McDavid or Crosby.

Bedard was just as good as Mcdavid in junior and arguably better. And that is why he's being compared to Mcd and Crosby

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I don't know about other people, personally I believe you are a hater because you continue to go significantly out of your way to continue to broadcast some version of "there is no chance Bedard will be generational because his rookie year production was comparatively low." And here you are lecturing me on how you think I sound. Has it ever occurred to you that no one listens to haters?

I "go out of my way" to call out terrible takes whenever I see them. Saying Bedard is on Crosby and McDavid's level is an objectively terrible take, in the same way people were comparing Wright favorably to Matthews because of junior points.

Bedard just finished his rookie year and is 19 years old. As everyone knows, plenty of generational athletes don't dominate every step of the way -- Michael Jordan (at 21) went 3rd overall in the draft, his first couple years were nothing special. Tom Brady went #199 overall. Djokovic took forever to start beating Roger and Rafa, now with Rafa retiring Novak is going to finish with more hardware / weeks at number one than either of those guys, and also a better head to head record against both.

Your argument is dumb. I also think you're a hater, but that's not my primary point here, you're the one who brought that up.

I'm a hater because I think he'll be closer to Kane than McDavid.

Have you ever stopped to wonder if maybe all the homers in this thread are the unreasonable ones?

Bedard was just as good as Mcdavid in junior and arguably better. And that is why he's being compared to Mcd and Crosby

bUt wHaT aBoUt his JuNiOr hOcKeY sTaTs?!?

Means absolutely nothing.

 

[Crow]

Yep, and nobody was comparing him to McDavid or Crosby.

Explain how it makes logical sense to project bedard’s ceiling from his rookie year but it does not make sense to project jack Hughes ceiling from his rookie year.

 

[Brookbank]

bUt wHaT aBoUt his JuNiOr hOcKeY sTaTs?!?

Means absolutely nothing.

McDavid was considered a HOFer before he played an NHL game. Because of his junior career obviously.

 

[PainForShane]

I "go out of my way" to call out terrible takes whenever I see them. Saying Bedard is on Crosby and McDavid's level is an objectively terrible take, in the same way people were comparing Wright favorably to Matthews because of junior points.

I'm a hater because I think he'll be closer to Kane than McDavid.

Have you ever stopped to wonder if maybe all the homers in this thread are the unreasonable ones?


bUt wHaT aBoUt his JuNiOr hOcKeY sTaTs?!?

Means absolutely nothing.

No, you're a hater because you said, and I quote, "it's very clear that he (Bedard) will not be a generational NHL player" and here you are continuing to defend this objectively terrible take.

You're not fooling anyone.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Take a break fellas. Grab a beer, watch some hockey, meet someone special.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Explain how it makes logical sense to project bedard’s ceiling from his rookie year but it does not make sense to project jack Hughes ceiling from his rookie year.

We've seen countless 18 year old centers struggle to produce and then become elite offensive players. Thornton, Staal, Lecavalier, Draisaitl, Barkov etc. Anyone watching him could see the talent was there he just needed to mature physically (and better puck luck, check his oish% that year).

None of the big 4 generational forwards have had that issue.

Though frankly the points aren't even the biggest indicator for me - he just lacks the necessary elite athletic ability to create time and space for himself in today's NHL. He's a good skater, but certainly not elite. He's well developed for his age, but he's not all that strong on the puck for a guy with his dimensions. Crosby and McDavid both had massive athletic advantages over Bedard that played a huge role in their ability to dominate the league.

No, you're a hater because you said, and I quote, "it's very clear that he (Bedard) will not be a generational NHL player" and here you are continuing to defend this objectively terrible take.

You're not fooling anyone.

Am I a hater if I say it's very clear that Celebrini will not he a generational player? Or is it just hating to say that about Bedard?

McDavid was considered a HOFer before he played an NHL game. Because of his junior career obviously.

False