Bedard's hand/eye and shot are incredible, if he was playing with an above average playmaker he would be easily above a PPG in his NHL career.
The skating is the biggest difference maker with a lot of these prospects though that gets overlooked.
The Next Ones (after Bedard)
- Thread starter independent observer
- Start date
The skating is the biggest difference maker with a lot of these prospects though that gets overlooked.
Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
If Bedard's shot were "incredible" by NHL standards, why is he a career 10.7% shooter in the NHL?
I still think he's a regular all-star and comfortably PPG over his career, but he was a generational CHL player.
This. People seem to forget what the word generational means. Crosby, Ovechkin, McDavid are the only generational players in the NHL. There are no prospects that are generational and Bedard wasn't generational. Could Dupont be that next one? Who knows, we won't know for another year or so from now.
best forward drafted since McDavid is Bedard? C‘mon… you put Bedard over Matthews? Celebrini?To be clear, I’m not here arguing who will end up being the best WHL playerwhilst I think it’s McKenna, that’s not relevant.
I’m saying based on the skill sets at the same age, it’s my belief that McKenna is going to be the better NHL player down the road. He’s the most dynamic prospect I’ve ever seen.
I still think Bedard is a superstar, best forward drafted since McDavid…until June 2026.
I just know that Bedard is a super disappointment… the last generational talents were leading the nhl in scoring in the 2nd season. Bedard is at best stagnating this season… from a first season that was way worse than what previous generational talents showed.
My position is that Bedard is better than Matthews and Celebrini, all 3 are in the top 5 Fs drafted in the last 10 years, and none of them are generational. McKenna is better than all.
I personally view dmen on their own scale, so I don’t consider DuPont on the same scale.
But I think there were some very high end D drafted in 2024, I think Schaefer is better than all of them, and I think DuPont is better than that, so we will see, certainly fits the bill of a generational D.
Bubbles
Die Hard for Bedard 2023
Agreed. That word has no meaning to me anymore. People here use it for everything, and websites/scouting people toss it around to get more clicks.
alko
Registered User
Max Melicherik - wonder Kid from Slovakia, born in UK in november 2010.
As a 14 years old he has 27 points in 24 games in Slovakia U18 league.
Then he moved to Finland, where he plays in U16 league - 17 points in 13 games
As a 14 years old he has 27 points in 24 games in Slovakia U18 league.
Then he moved to Finland, where he plays in U16 league - 17 points in 13 games
Andy Dufresne
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Rasmus Dahlin. So in the 10 years since Mcdavid, 2 guys have been talked about as generational. The last 1 happened to be Canadian.
Seems like maybe you have an entire country living rent free in your head.
Sasha Orlov
Lord of the Manor
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There was a time when Shane Wright had the generational tag on these boards. Go back and look at that thread.
Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
This of course isn’t correct.
People here (were you part of that?) attacked me incessantly for years because I refused to call Bedard generational. Lafreniere was also called generational. Shane Wright was called generational for years until it would’ve been malpractice to suggest it. Now we’re being told McKenna is generational. Heck, I’ve read here that Schaefer is a generational defenseman. Some have went as far to claim he’s more so than Dahlin was.
Yes, Dahlin got some minor generational discussion. Ultimately the consensus still didn’t give him it. Certainly less so than Bedard, for instance. Michkov also had some even more minor generational discussion. Of course that was less than Bedard, and now, well, we’re seeing in the NHL that this gap we were assured about doesn’t really exist.
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The problem is, the term "generational" is thrown around way too much. Every 1-2 years, there's another "generational player," according to the pundits. This, of course, is absurd, simply by definition lol. I certainly don't consider Bedard generational... the same way I don't even consider MacKinnon, Kucherov, Draisaitl, Matthews, Pastrnak, etc. generational. Tbh, I might not even consider Crosby "generational" considering Ovechkin exists and is the greatest goal scorer in the history of hockey. However, Crosby is right there and a whole level above Bedard.
Not sure how Bedard could be considered generational when he has 56 points in 71 GP and...
Michkov has 51 in 71 at the same age, without any prior NHL experience, doesn't speak the language, and also plays for a horrific team. Heck, Celebrini is a year younger and has 52 points in just 58 GP, and the Sharks are putrid as well. None of these kids should be labelled "generational."
Not sure how Bedard could be considered generational when he has 56 points in 71 GP and...
Michkov has 51 in 71 at the same age, without any prior NHL experience, doesn't speak the language, and also plays for a horrific team. Heck, Celebrini is a year younger and has 52 points in just 58 GP, and the Sharks are putrid as well. None of these kids should be labelled "generational."
Maybe a fringe few.
Vast majority considered him a future #1 pick and potential franchise 1C. Nobody with any sort of legitimate definition of generational considered Wright. I don't think anyone ever thought he could be the best player in the NHL for a 10+ year period. Potential superstar? Absolutely, but nah not generational.
Andy Dufresne
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I've never attacked anyone for using, or not using, the term generational.
Why would i since it has absolutely no meaning at all.
(I also don't take anything on a hockey forum seriously enough to 'attack' anyone in the first place)
do you think McKenna‘s game translates well to the NHL? Could he end up as a better scorer than McDavid?
Dirtyf1ghter
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Generational, he's the exceptional player of his generation. There can't be two in the same generation.
Ovechkin can't be. It's the same for Lemieux.
The only generational players are Howe, Orr, Gretzky, Crosby, and McDavid. Ovechkin, Jagr, Lemieux or Lafleur are superstars.
Not sure there's one in the 2000s generation. There wasn't one in the 1930s, 1950s, or 1970s generation. There could very well be a group of very talented players without any one really standing out from the others.
In any case, we have players with incredible stats almost every year. So we have to go further than that to label them generational.
Bedard is ultimately more of a Hughes, but a little better.
No, he lacks the elite dynamism. He'll be a great player but doesn't have that sort of upside.
Are we sure about that?
Eternal Leaf
Registered User
He's going to be a great franchise winger and there's nothing wrong with that.
But no he doesn't have the offensive ceiling of a McDavid.
Dirtyf1ghter
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We started with this comparison base at draft +2 and I don't really see how that could change in the future. We're a long way from McDavid/Crosby.
Bedard's a better scoring teenager than Hughes, but lacks the elite skating that allowed Hughes to become a dominant NHL player. I don't know if he projects better at this point, he's really taken a step back this year.
That said, he's been playing on the wing the last few weeks and has looked much better.
Bedard's gonna score a lot of points in this league but I question how high his overall impact can become.
Giant Panda
Formerly Just Linda, Baby Panda, and Great Panda
- Feb 24, 2018
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McKenna translates really well.
One of the traits that separates him from Bedard and a lot of talent is that he's got elusiveness to his game. He has a way of setting up plays and getting lost from dmen. To me, that'll always be a projectable skill.
Are you referring in terms elite skating? I mean Gretzky wasn‘t a great skater but still the best with Lemieux.
You didn't need elite skating to dominate in the 80s. Guys weren't even back checking back then lol.
It's a completely different league today.
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Yes.
Nearly impossible, but I guess there's a chance. I see him as more comparable to Kaprizov, who is still a mega star.
Jared Grayden
Registered User
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Gretzky was never the absolute best skater compared to a Coffey or Ciccarelli types, but in his prime he was vastly superior to the competition to the point it was a major advantage. Similar to Crosby's advantage over the competition in his prime. Bedard is decent but largely average so not even any consistent advantage over the compensation player. This has been discussed at length on here before too. I expect McKenna will be much closer to Bedard's mobility than 99/87.
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