"Nobody is afraid of Bedard"....Bruce Boudreau

[SimpleJack]

Oilers fan here. By his standards, McDavid has looked downright average on far too many nights this season.

And this is why he's the best player on the planet. Because he's still producing at pretty much the same clip as Drai/the league leaders....and yet as you say he's not even having a good season. I'm guessing he's gonna go nuclear during the post season. Again.

 

[HockeyWooot]

Use Jack Hughes as a comparable, he’ll be fine.

 

[Ghost of Murph]

106 pts in 120 games, on pure crap lines, on a pure crap team, coached by a clown part of that time. And opposing teams get to focus on him. Seems like he's doing fine. I'll judge him more critically when he's surrounded by more talent.

 

[SimpleJack]

106 pts in 120 games, on pure crap lines, on a pure crap team, coached by a clown part of that time. And opposing teams get to focus on him. Seems like he's doing fine. I'll judge him more critically when he's surrounded by more talent.

100% this. He is without question doing just fine. Yet no matter how many times this gets repeated, there will still be posters ignoring it/questioning it/playing stupid. Or they just are stupid. Who knows.

 

[Soundwave]

As an Oilers fan just what I have seen from him in the couple of times we've played them

- Definitely a very high level talent, really impressive shot release, doesn't use it quite enough.

- Isn't quite as fast and dynamic of a skater which is sort of the big limiter on him I think.

- I still expect him to be a top end player

- Chicago needs to get their shit together and really improve the team over the summer because you don't want this to go for several more years. He needs a lot more talent to play with.

 

[Ghetty Green]

Celebrini clears

Easily

 

[Video Nasty]

Crosby fans were talking down to young McDavid to discredit him back in the day too. And it was annoying and cringe back then just like it is now with McDavid fans doing the same thing to Bedard.

Crosby and McDavid were instantly among the best players in the game upon arrival. We didn’t have to wait long for them to show it and we didn’t have to make excuses for them. They each won the Hart, Pearson/Lindsay, and Art Ross in their sophomore seasons.

I’m a big Bedard supporter and as wretched as Chicago is, I’m still a bit disappointed with his overall production. I’m perplexed by the number of goals he has up to this point, particularly wince he came out and rifled 9 in his first 13 games. 28 over his past 108 is very surprising to me—I thought he might pot 50 as a rookie, and he might not even total that through his first 2 seasons. He desperately needs pieces around him and it needs to happen soon before all these bad habits and vibes become engrained, though I still believe he will have a great career.

Crosby and McDavid are on different tiers than Bedard and likely always will be. No one is hating on or trying to discredit Bedard by stating this fact that is becoming ever more obvious.

 

[Divine]

 

[hirawl]

It's laughable how they let him drag out his shifts while not skating back. Way he's blowing defensive assignments and is cheating for offense and is making low percentage plays. Etc etc. It's absolutely mind boggling.

And I'm not blaming Bedard. He is what he is at this point in time and he's still got all the talent to become an elite player. I put this solely on the coaching staff. Grow a f***ing pair and start holding him accountable and things just might turn out great in the long run. I hate to see what's happening there. Hate it.

 

[1989]

Bedard still oozes potential but to me, in admittedly limited viewings, his warts come from lack of good on-ice support from better teammates. He's basically on an island out there and in nitpicking his bad plays, I see a kid trying to find a way to compensate for team weaknesses by himself. I don't necessarily see him as a puck hog but he just can't trust anyone else.