The Next Ones (after Bedard)

[seadawg]

As a talent no one would apply that label though. As great as Lidstrom became, and I have him as one of the top five defencemen of all time, his prospect profile is nothing special. Bourque is the same way, though he became a star as a teenager while Lidstrom took a few more years. Dupont is a much higher profile prospect than Lidstrom at the same age, which does not mean that he will be as good as Lidstrom became of course.

I don't disagree in that sense. I guess I was confused because it sounded like you said that Orr, and possibly Park, were the only two dmen in the history of the NHL to be "generational". Lidstrom may not have been a highly-touted prospect but he dominated his generation like no other dman in the history of the NHL besides Orr.

 

[JackSlater]

I don't disagree in that sense. I guess I was confused because it sounded like you said that Orr, and possibly Park, were the only two dmen in the history of the NHL to be "generational". Lidstrom may not have been a highly-touted prospect but he dominated his generation like no other dman in the history of the NHL besides Orr.

Potvin, not Park. And since we are discussing prospects yeah I'm pretty comfortable with that designation. Orr is the best defensive prospect ever, and I'd say that Potvin is very likely the second best defensive prospect ever. Doesn't mean that Potvin was the second best defenceman ever.

 

[wetcoast]

Bedard was definitely good enough in junior for the media and the nhl to promote him as “the next one”. Clearly it’s a rare player who actually lives up to such expectations. There are names of current young players who are being floated as future stars. It’s what the media does. Bit Bedard has the double hype of the media and the nhl. Not so sure there is a young guy currently who will get that hype from the league like Bedard got.

It's hard to say but the next one needs everything to be that guy.

Like if Bedard was in the upper 80% of NHL skaters or had just a little more speed and quickness and strength he could very well be showing more like a 100 points season this year but he doesn't have that and extremely few players do.

 

[alko]

Dupont, Dupont, Dupont...

Why is he so special? Any videos?

 

[Pazucha]

Dupont, Dupont, Dupont...

Why is he so special? Any videos?

15 years old defenseman in the WHL with better production than most 18-20 years old forwards.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Dupont, Dupont, Dupont...

Why is he so special? Any videos?

How relentless his attacking style is for a defenseman. Constantly puts you under pressure. Very crisp and dynamic with his decision making for such a young player, and has elite level skill and skating.

He’s basically current Makar as the youngest player at his level, and quite obviously will get better comparatively, so imagine Makar on steroids.

 

[wetcoast]

How relentless his attacking style is for a defenseman. Constantly puts you under pressure. Very crisp and dynamic with his decision making for such a young player, and has elite level skill and skating.

He’s basically current Makar as the youngest player at his level, and quite obviously will get better comparatively, so imagine Makar on steroids.

I had a post earlier in this thread where I stated that this is kind of like what Bobby Orr did in the OHA in the early 60s but we need to temper that with the reality that the NHL has changed so dramatically that even a guy like Orr in the late 2020s wouldn't look like Orr in the late 60s early 70s.

But as a prospect he really looks that good at 15.