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

[Juxtaposer]

Gotta ask this question:

Do you actually think you’re right here? In your mind, Bedard is going to plateau at 65 points? That’s his peak? What’s the point of your post? He’s so obviously extremely talented that I’m struggling to understand the point of your post.

Did I say he was going to plateau at 65 points? Did I say his peak is this year? Don't put words in my mouth. I'm saying right now he is not a game-breaker any more than Ryan Donato is a game-breaker.

 

[surixon]

He needs a veteran good center in front of him so he can learn how the game is played.

Fantilli was on the same sort of path. He was showing signs but ultimately wasn't quite at the level we thought he'd be. Enter Sean Monahan and Fantilli started to pattern his game and do the little things that made Monahan a good center.

Now Fantilli is blowing up, and I believe it's largely in part because of Monahan's arrival to the team. Linemates help only so much, sometimes you need help to see how it's done in the game.

Exactly. Proper development is key and despite what people say an awful lot of development happens in the NHL. I maintain that throwing talented kids to the wolves without suport is piss poor development. It's how poor habits are formed and confidence is hurt. You need strong role models to imprint good habits on your talented kids.

 

[admiralcadillac]

Did I say he was going to plateau at 65 points? Did I say his peak is this year? Don't put words in my mouth. I'm saying right now he is not a game-breaker any more than Ryan Donato is a game-breaker.

I said he’s a game-breaking talent. You understood what you said but chose to make the comment you did.

In your opinion he isn’t right now, which is irrelevant to my comment even if it were true.

 

[PainForShane]

19 year old Jack Hughes was showing significant progression and was already posting elite puck carrying numbers, despite getting COVID in the middle of the season. Anyone paying attention could see he was going to be an elite player.

Bedard has gone the opposite direction, and the eye test is not nearly as compelling. He could still approach a "healthy" Jack Hughes caliber player if everything works out, but he's going to come anywhere near the Crosby/McDavid expectations people had.

Every player has a ceiling, it's an extremely common topic of discussion. I'm not forcing anyone to do anything they wouldn't do for literally every other prospect.

No, "anyone paying attention" did not agree Jack Hughes was going to be an elite player after his first two seasons in the league. He struggled mightily his rookie year and got better toward the end of his second season, but it was far from certain he'd become anywhere close to the player he is today. Pretending otherwise is just as delusional as your statement that "I think we can all agree Bedard is definitely not generational," but from the other direction.

And yes, this type of discussion is extremely common, and of course you're not forcing anyone to do anything, no one said you were. I have literally no idea what you're talking about in your post.

***

Meanwhile, the main point of my post was that "In five to ten years no one will care how Bedard's 19 year old sophomore season went. Kind of like no one cares how Jack Hughes' 19 year old sophomore season went." And if anyone would unironically be in a position to understand the ups and downs of a young player's development, it'd be a Devils fan because you've just seen this firsthand with Jack Hughes. Instead you're doing the opposite and pretending like a 7 game pointless streak or his relative point total compared to his teammates is some foolproof predictor of what Bedard will eventually become. It isn't.