Has Connor Bedard quietly became underrated ?

[Luigi Lemieux]

I'm also wondering if we are in high water mark period in terms of the talent in the league. I'm not sure if it's just me but it appears that younger players, even top picks are taking longer to really establish themselves the last number of years.

I think it shows how difficult it is to dominate this league as a teenager. It took guys like MacKinnon and Kucherov years to become the players they are.

You need a physical attribute to differentiate yourself to do it. Crosby was already incredibly strong at 18 and McDavid was the fastest skater in the league the minute he stepped onto the ice. Bedard is neither strong nor fast, and still looks like a small child. He needs time.

 

[Darren McCord]

I'm also wondering if we are in high water mark period in terms of the talent in the league. I'm not sure if it's just me but it appears that younger players, even top picks are taking longer to really establish themselves the last number of years.

Not really. If anything its just teams are rushing young players. Players outside of like the number 1 pick usually take a couple years to establish themselves.

I think it shows how difficult it is to dominate this league as a teenager. It took guys like MacKinnon and Kucherov years to become the players they are.

You need a physical attribute to differentiate yourself to do it. Crosby was already incredibly strong at 18 and McDavid was the fastest skater in the league the minute he stepped onto the ice. Bedard is neither strong nor fast, and still looks like a small child. He needs time.

It has always been tough for teenagers in the league. This is what separates generational players from the rest of the league. They have the ability to alter the game for success because of a unique skill or trait.

 

[Brookbank]

??? Bedard was absolutely considered generational and the next McDavid/Crosby on draft day. This isn't a matter of opinion, there are receipts all over the internet.

That's right. He was. But unlike Mcdavid or Crosby , nobody really doubted them. If you questioned their abilities you'd get laughed at. But at the moment , it's trendy to question Bedard.

Ppl don't think he's gonna translate to Mcdavid/Crosby level. That is why i think he's underrated at the moment. ( i don't doubt him and believe he will be as good as they are) Just look at the replies in the thread.

 

[Brookbank]

He's not that guy.

People were acting like he'll be the next Sidney Crosby.

He is that guy. He will be the next Crosby. Might not happen this year. But he will be that guy.

 

[Pablo El Perro]

He is that guy. He will be the next Crosby. Might not happen this year. But he will be that guy.

I tend to think it's not an either/or. He probably won't be Crosby or McDavid, but that doesn't mean he's a disappointment.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

That's right. He was. But unlike Mcdavid or Crosby , nobody really doubted them. If you questioned their abilities you'd get laughed at. But at the moment , it's trendy to question Bedard.

Ppl don't think he's gonna translate to Mcdavid/Crosby level. That is why i think he's underrated at the moment. ( i don't doubt him and believe he will be as good as they are) Just look at the replies in the thread.

That ship has already sailed since they dominated from day 1. That doesn't mean he can't become one of the best players ever. Lots of hof'ers take a few years to get going. Jagr, Thornton, Kucherov, MacKinnon, Matthews, and many more all took multiple seasons before they became 100+ point players. Acting like comparing Bedard to them is an insult is what's bizarre.

 

[Brookbank]

That ship has already sailed since they dominated from day 1. That doesn't mean he can't become one of the best players ever. Lots of hof'ers take a few years to get going. Jagr, Thornton, Kucherov, MacKinnon, Matthews, and many more all took multiple seasons before they became 100+ point players. Acting like comparing Bedard to them is an insult is what's bizarre.

Lindros was 67th in scoring and got beat by Sellane. But is still considered generational. Crosby was 6th in scoring and got beat by Ovechkin. So that doesn't work.

Dominating early on was never a prerequisite for generational. Generational is about matching and exceeding the best players in the world in junior. It's about being exceptional status. it's about being the #1 over all by a mile in a strong draft. If Crosby or Mcdavid weren't any of those things , they wouldn't be considered generational today

 

[Darren McCord]

That's right. He was. But unlike Mcdavid or Crosby , nobody really doubted them. If you questioned their abilities you'd get laughed at. But at the moment , it's trendy to question Bedard.

Ppl don't think he's gonna translate to Mcdavid/Crosby level. That is why i think he's underrated at the moment. ( i don't doubt him and believe he will be as good as they are) Just look at the replies in the thread.

Nah he doesn't have that X-Factor they do. I think Kane is most where he falls. Which is a great place to fall.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Yes I checked the roster.

And yes I know Hall is 32 and not the same player but Recchi was 37 playing for the pens.Leclair was like 36.

People always list the great players Sid played with but never mentioned they were all 35+

Gonchar was pacing for 65 points as a D. A great player.
Recchi was playing at av75 point pace.
Palffy was PPG.
Colby Armstrong was playing at a 68 point pace.
Mario f***ing Lemieux was on that team.
Than he had a legit superstar in making the next year in Malkin.

Taylor Hall has 8 points in two seasons with the Hawks. Kurashev played at a 59 point pace. No one else was over .5 ppg.

Comparing the talent Bedard has compared to McDavid and Crosby is like comparing a sirloin steak to dog food.

 

[SimpleJack]

3 assists tonight. He's officially back to being generational as far as I'm concerned. The GOAT.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Lindros was 67th in scoring and got beat by Sellane. But is still considered generational. Crosby was 6th in scoring and got beat by Ovechkin. So that doesn't work.

Dominating early on was never a prerequisite for generational. Generational is about matching and exceeding the best players in the world in junior. It's about being exceptional status. it's about being the #1 over all by a mile in a strong draft. If Crosby or Mcdavid weren't any of those things , they wouldn't be considered generational today

What about a guy like Tavares? He had TONS of hype coming into his draft. Ended up being lackluster relative to that hype, being a 70-80ish point player his best years.

I don't get your hang up with the pre-NHL accomplishments. I'm a die hard Hawks fan, knowing Bedard tore up Juniors and the WJC is awesome but I really only care about how well he does in the NHL.

Crosby and McDavid are generational because they dominated the best hockey league in the world consistently throughout the majority of their careers. Having 200 or whatever points in the freaking CHL doesn't matter to anyone really at the end of the day because the real test is the pro league. It's like an engineering grad who gets flaweless grades in school but ends up being a poor engineer at work.

 

[MadLuke]

Mario f***ing Lemieux was on that team.

I am not sure if this is serious... Or someone just looking at the list of name quickly.

Did Lemieux even play 15 games ?

Second half of the year looked like this:

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

No Lemieux, 22 games of Reechi missing half of them, Palfy played 5 games, Gonchar was a really good #1D to have, but the Penguins were a below median offensive team even with a 100 points Crosby on the team. Lot of the name sound more impressive than they were, would it be because of age, missing time or both.

Colby Armstrong was playing at a 68 point pace.

Was he a 68 pts rookie talent or a bit boosted playing on Crosby line (he never scored more than 40 in his whole career)

Rookie, second year McDavid winger also had good numbers, but we cannot say he a specially strong support look Pat Maroon had 27 goals, Gretzky had the chance to play with 46 goals Blair MacDonald (never scored 20 in the nhl without him)....

 

[Blue and Green]

What about a guy like Tavares? He had TONS of hype coming into his draft. Ended up being lackluster relative to that hype, being a 70-80ish point player his best years.

The hype died down a bit in Tavares' draft season. He cashed a huge number of PP points in his D-2 and given that he was an "exceptional" designate to begin with, it sent some people wild with their expectations. Reality set in during the following season and there were some scouts who thought that Hedman was the better prospect by the end of it.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Lindros was 67th in scoring and got beat by Sellane. But is still considered generational. Crosby was 6th in scoring and got beat by Ovechkin. So that doesn't work.

Dominating early on was never a prerequisite for generational. Generational is about matching and exceeding the best players in the world in junior. It's about being exceptional status. it's about being the #1 over all by a mile in a strong draft. If Crosby or Mcdavid weren't any of those things , they wouldn't be considered generational today

It's both. You need to dominate junior and hit the ground running and dominate the league. Every generational player has done that. Gretzky, Lemieux, Crosby, Ovechkin, McDavid. Lindros was a generational prospect but didn't end up a generational player. And Crosby had the best 18 year old season in history so not sure what your point is there.

 

[Fraser28]

He’s got a long way to go before he starts living up to the levels of hype he received.

 

[MadLuke]

It's both. You need to dominate junior and hit the ground running and dominate the league. Every generational player has done that. Gretzky, Lemieux, Crosby, Ovechkin, McDavid.

Howe first top 10 in points was his 4th seasons, he was making the all star games before that, started to really dominated by his 5th.

Hasek, had quite the before turning 20 career, but took a while in north america to dominate the nhl, development curve can be a little bit different (or just opportunity with the position or era making it hard to have a spot on the first pp and first line on a good team) even if it is the norm for almost all generation player to be in rookie of the year conversation and Art Ross by year 2 usually, exception could exist.

Lafleur took 3 years to start going, Jagr was on a second line/pp for a while.

 

[daver]

There is nothing on this earth sexier than an HF boards semantics debate on the term "generational".

 

[daver]

There are plenty of players who did not hit close to their full stride until after their teens and hit levels that were close to Crosby/McDavid peak levels. Crosby was as physically ready for the NHL as an any prospect ever was save for Lindros; McDavid was also physically ready given his game is all about speed.

I would not be surprised to see Bedard turn it up to a level where he has the best season by a 19 year old/2nd year player since McDavid and is only behind Crosby/McDavid for best in the past 30/40 years.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Lindros was 67th in scoring and got beat by Sellane. But is still considered generational. Crosby was 6th in scoring and got beat by Ovechkin. So that doesn't work.

I don’t want to interfere here but Lindros was 19 and Selanne 22.
Eric missed 23 games too.

In a full season that would have been over 50 goals and 100 points as rookie. Top 15 in those days with the likes of Lemieux, Yzerman, Lafontaine etc. still playing.

 

[yeaher]

Gonchar was pacing for 65 points as a D. A great player.
Recchi was playing at av75 point pace.
Palffy was PPG.
Colby Armstrong was playing at a 68 point pace.
Mario f***ing Lemieux was on that team.
Than he had a legit superstar in making the next year in Malkin.

Taylor Hall has 8 points in two seasons with the Hawks. Kurashev played at a 59 point pace. No one else was over .5 ppg.

Comparing the talent Bedard has compared to McDavid and Crosby is like comparing a sirloin steak to dog food.

But was Lemieux good?

 

[daver]

Comparing the talent Bedard has compared to McDavid and Crosby is like comparing a sirloin steak to dog food.

You do know that there is zero reason to believe that Crosby doesn't produce on any team with any quality of linemates, right? Of all the great offensive talents, he likely had the worse linemates over his career.

GOAT talent does that. Wayne did it, Mario did it, Jagr did it, etc...

I am sure Bedard will have enough talent on his team to max out his potential, whatever that may be; there is no need to bring Crosby and McDavid's accomplishments down.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

PPG top Center nothing wrong with that good player

 

[WarriorofTime]

You do know that there is zero reason to believe that Crosby doesn't produce on any team with any quality of linemates, right? Of all the great offensive talents, he likely had the worse linemates over his career.

How? Kunitz, Malkin, Guentzel. Stints with players like Hossa and Iginla.

 

[Voight]

Yes I checked the roster.

And yes I know Hall is 32 and not the same player but Recchi was 37 playing for the pens.Leclair was like 36.

People always list the great players Sid played with but never mentioned they were all 35+

That team still had three other players score 50+ points, the Blackhawks had one player other than Bedard who did that.

 

[WarriorofTime]

12 points in 13 games on a bad team, while shooting an unsustainably low 6.7 % in the early going.

Future is bright, get on the train while there's still room. Not worried about chasing ghosts. With all due respect to players like Hughes, Hischier, Stutzle, etc., I don't think there's a forward born between 1998-2006 that I'd take over him going forward.