Has Connor Bedard quietly became underrated ?

[Coffee]

OP is the only person who seems to be worried

 

[waitin425]

Connor Bustard

 

[JPT]

If he doesn’t have great size and/or speed, he won’t make it. He won’t be elite.

All of your posts come across as the "I'm going to make a prediction that will rile people up because if I'm wrong no one will remember to call me on it anyway" variety.

Genuine concern

Isn't there something people used to call "concern trolling?"

 

[KCC]

This isn’t me trolling. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. I’m just wondering why he’s been looking so bad after all the hype.

OV couldn’t score a goal last year if his life depended on it and had I believe 8 through 43 games but surged in the second half and ended up with 31. Matthews only has 5 goals this season and is now hurt. Players go through ups and downs especially goal scoring. They are the definition of streaky. Bedard will go on a heater eventually. All great goal scorers do. He’s getting chances it’s just not going in for him currently.

 

[Drumman44]

More worried about a sophomore slump that anything. Still wouldn’t trade him for Brock Faber

 

[Leonardo87]

If you are going to make a new thread on a player or team, can you at least look at the first two pages to see if there is a thread already on that subject, before making a new thread. Thanks!

 

[DitchMarner]

5v5 stats:

First 13 games
23.5% shooting percentage
11.2 shots/60
4.61 iHDCF/60
1.39 ixG/60 vs 2.62 G/60

Last 72 games
7.8% shooting percentage
7.6 shots/60
2.68 iHDCF/60
0.84 ixG/60 vs 0.59 G/60

Long story short, he was getting a lot more shots and high quality chances in those first 13 games, and was getting really good puck luck to go along with it. Then something happened, either fatigue, or the fact that teams and goaltenders adjusted. His shot rate, high danger chance rate, and ixG rate all plummeted - the eye test suggests he's having a really hard time getting to the middle of the ice, and teams have been able to keep him to the perimeter without too much trouble. His shooting luck regressed as well, which compounded those factors.

The data seems to suggest he's shooting a lot more from the perimeter than he was at the start of his career, though both his shooting attempt volume and expected goals have dropped dramatically over the course of his career - definitely not trending in the direction you'd expect for a player of his pedigree. The graph below is his career rolling CF/60 and ixG/60 numbers at 5v5:

View attachment 931128

Regardless, this is starting to look less and less like just a cold streak, and increasingly seems like he needs to make some serious adjustments.

I believe Daigle had 12 points in his first six games in the NHL before falling off permanently...

In no way am I suggesting Bedard is the next Daigle (he's already surpassed his peak), but what happened with Daigle (and maybe Yak, who peaked as a rookie) suggests that NHL players and teams adapt quickly to newcomers. The true greats have to adjust. He may do that eventually.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

This thread reminds me of the old Jack Hughes threads. There will be lots of bad takes to look back on in a few years. Maybe even a few months.

 

[coooldude]

Guys, don't feed the trolls.

An account created today, only 16 posts total, all in this thread, from 1am-4am MT (ahem, 11am-2pm in Moscow) and immediately trying to compare Bedard to Michkov.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

I’ve never really been impressed by his game in the NHL. I think he’ll get there and become a true franchise player, but right now he just doesn’t control the game the way you would want. Even when I was watching Celebrini the other day I felt like he was a truly dangerous player at all times and could tilt the ice. That’s something I’ve never felt in dozens of viewings of Bedard at the NHL level.

 

[MNRube]

The Hawks truly need to upgrade the Top 6 and blueline for a fair assessment. They have a bunch of plugs on the back-end and only Bedard is a 1st line F up front. He’s a transition monster but his teammates aren’t equipped to weaponize that

 

[TheDoldrums]

The Hawks truly need to upgrade the Top 6 and blueline for a fair assessment. They have a bunch of plugs on the back-end and only Bedard is a 1st line F up front. He’s a transition monster but his teammates aren’t equipped to weaponize that

Bertuzzi was fine as a 1st line F before he got to Chicago

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

MacKinnon has traits that Bedard simply does not have. He’s just behind McDavid in speed and is also bigger and stronger.

I expect superstar production from someone labeled a “generational talent”.

then why did MacKinnon only get 38 points in 64 games in his second season?

 

[Lou Sassole]

He might

The Hawks truly need to upgrade the Top 6 and blueline for a fair assessment. They have a bunch of plugs on the back-end and only Bedard is a 1st line F up front. He’s a transition monster but his teammates aren’t equipped to weaponize that

This, but I also think he might be a winger. His shot is so great, he'd be better off darting around and finding space to score from.

 

[Voight]

He has 5 goals in his last 33 games, 8 in his last 43. it's more than just a slump. I think he needs to be moved to wing, he's too small to play center in this league. Let him concentrate on creating offense. Also finding him a good playmaking center should be a priority. I want him to succeed.

Nonsense. Hes 5'10 185 compard to Crosby who's 5'11 200. He needs to bulk up sure but that's it. He'll be fine once he does so.

Underrated? I mean, Michkov has him doubled in goals and the same amount of points in 2 less games. I don't think underrated is even an option.

Michkov has more talent on his team.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

It's not too premature to say he never should have been compared to Crosby or McDavid, but it's definitely too premature to rule out his ability to reach Kucherov/Kane levels.

Any suggestion that he can't become an elite franchise forward feels like trolling.

 

[Voight]

I think Chicago fans should be worried about the possibility of having two so-called “generational talents” being busts (Bedard and Caleb Williams)

They aren't comparable. Williams had a lot of hype two years ago but that died down when he followed up on a Heisman winning season with a so-so year. In Bedards draft year he got even better.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Why are people so insistent on comparing him to McDavid and Crosby and then being disappointed? Those are 2 of maybe the top 6 players of all time. That is setting the bar incredibly high. Bedard should be fine. He will be an all star player. No he will not be a top 6 of all time. So what?

 

[Bombshell11]

It's not too premature to say he never should have been compared to Crosby or McDavid, but it's definitely too premature to rule out his ability to reach Kucherov/Kane levels.

Any suggestion that he can't become an elite franchise forward feels like trolling.

Do you not see how some teams let him play and give him more space than others?

Its like watching some no contact fund raiser charity game.

If teams started playing him like they do any other player he wouldn't last