Has Connor Bedard quietly became underrated ?

[Luigi Lemieux]

Hes too young to carry the worst NHL team down the middle.

He has been small and dominant at every other level

At every other level he was playing against children. What works in junior doesn't always translate to the NHL.

 

[NeverForget06]

They came into way better situations than Bedard is in now. Bedard is the first piece in a rebuild that was torn to the studs. Those guys had way more support.

Do you think Bedard would be doing better if he had Mario Lemieux and Malkin to play with?

I mean how many games did Mario play with Sid in reality lol? 20?
Geno came year two - Hawks could have drafted a Malkin equivalent this year and chose not to

Sid put up 102 points in his rookie season - next closest was Sergei Gonchar with 58

 

[belfour30]

I've been critical but this speaks to being unlucky rather than bad.

 

[PattyLafontaine]

He needed to live with the Chicago version of Joe Thornton and get on the sticks and play fortnite. Can't succeed any other way.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

They came into way better situations than Bedard is in now. Bedard is the first piece in a rebuild that was torn to the studs. Those guys had way more support.

Do you think Bedard would be doing better if he had Mario Lemieux and Malkin to play with?

Look what Ovi had to start his career... And like the other poster said how many games did Sid play with Mario

I'm just saying he's not Mcdavid Crosby or Ovi that's not a very hot take or anything.

Completely agree. He doesnt have the skating at his size to be that.

You can win with Kane/Backstrom/Giroux/St Louis/Panarin level all stars. Hopefully he can become that. Hes sooo extremely talented. Also hes a small 19 year old playing with 3rd and 4th liners.

Hughes Mackinnon are both top 5 forwards in the world that started off a little slower.

Hes got 74 points in 86 games on the worst team in the league. Thats the same PPG start as Patrick Kane better than Hughes or Mackinnon.

He needs a top flight winger or move to the wing and get a real center.

Hes playing the wing with Joey Anderson (waived) and Jason Dickinson (cap dump) tonight SMH.

Totally agree he's not in a position to succeed but he doesn't have the ability of those 3 to blow a NHL game open on his own with seperation strength or speed like those guys did at 18-19 , I mean we are talking about the 3 best players in the 21st century its not like its a knock on bedard

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I mean how many games did Mario play with Sid in reality lol? 20?

He lived with Mario for two years. Got to be mentored by one of the best - maybe the best - ever.

Bedard had Perry who promptly created a scandal with stupid rumours involving Bedard.

Geno came year two - Hawks could have drafted a Malkin equivalent this year and chose not to

But they didn’t. That’s not Bedard’s fault.

And it’s year two for him now. I’m pretty sure he’d be happy with Malkin on his team.

Sid put up 102 points in his rookie season - next closest was Sergei Gonchar with 58

Bedard was injured in his first year. Had the Perry crap to deal with. No support whatsoever.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

He lived with Mario for two years. Got to be mentored by one of the best - maybe the best - ever.

Bedard had Perry who promptly created a scandal with stupid rumours involving Bedard.

But they didn’t. That’s not Bedard’s fault.

And it’s year two for him now. I’m pretty sure he’d be happy with Malkin on his team.

Bedard was injured in his first year. Had the Perry crap to deal with. No support whatsoever.

Crosby actually lived with Lemieux's family for the first five years of his career. I do agree Crosby was better insulated by the franchise overall, on and off the ice. Chicago needs to do better.

 

[TLEH]

It’s never really linear. A lot of people point to MacKinnon because he had an uneven progression.

They’ve scored 1.88 goals per game since Halloween. They’re the lowest scoring team in the league again after being historically low scoring last year.

He was essentially their first draft pick of the tank. They didn’t tank in 2021-2022. They sold off then, so he’s literally been it. But it’s also been worse than last year, so we’ll see what happens coach and roster wise. You stop Bedard and the Hawks do not score.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

McDavid had so much more support than Bedard does. He was Edmonton's 4th or 5th number one in a row.

McDavid was the 3rd most productive player in the league as a rookie. Yeah, having decent teammates helps, but giving Bedard Eberle and Pouliot wasn't going to turn him into a top 20 scorer, let alone top 3.

Crosby had Lemieux and Malkin...

Totally different situations.

Mario played 20 games, and Malkin wasn't there during Crosby's rookie season.

Crosby's back half of his rookie season is where he really took off, and he did it with Hilbert and Armstrong on his wings. He was 2nd in league scoring from Dec 23rd onwards, scoring at a 117 point pace with scrubs on his wing.