Theres a lot for him to learn and overcome - including how to sustain 82-game seasons where teams’ best shutdown defensemen will be assigned to him every single night - but there’s no denying he has a lot of skill.
I just think it’s unfair when fan bases make unrealistic assumptions or forecasts about a guy’s success level before he’s played a single NHL game, much less an entire year. If he had a 25G/60P season that would be hugely impressive for a rookie and very promising, but I suspect would be seen as some sort of ’bust’ by certain overenthusiastic Hawks fans (and rival fans).
And while there are always the Ovechkins, Crosbys, Matthews and McDavids who live up to (or exceed) their first overall expectations, people sometimes forget that guys who excel at junior/prospect levels don’t always go on to be the best players in the NHL. Taylor Hall, Bedard’s likely linemate, is a great example of that. Bedard will almost certainly have a terrific career, but I hope people are ready for the inevitable growing pains along the way and less-than-definite ceiling.