When will Connor Bedard become a top 5 player in the NHL?

[Crow]

Mackinnon is a level below Crosby/OV/Mcdavid as a prospect and likely for his career legacy as well

If bedard takes that long to get to that level than yeah he will be an elite franchise player and all-time great but he wont be a top 7/8 player all time likely

I don’t agree at all. His peak and prime aren’t going to be determined by how long it takes for him to reach a top 5 level. And if it doesn’t happen this year it has no impact. He is a physically immature, young for his draft year second year player.

Not similar styles but Jagr is arguably a top ten talent all time. He took years to get going.

 

[Video Nasty]

He was the best player in the world at nineteen.

He wouldn’t be in today’s league.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He did a little better than I think I expected last season, but where I struggle with this question is that I don’t think Bedard’s projection is that of a clear top 5 player in his career.

How many of the best players in the world at any point through the history of the sport have been 5’10 or shorter?

I think Bedard will end up being an elite scorer in the league pretty quickly, but does that add up to a top 5 player in the league? Is Hughes top 5 or Kucherov or Panarin? Maybe in their absolute best seasons.

I do think Bedard will have at least 2-3 seasons as a top 5 player in the NHL, but probably not right away and it may not be for that many seasons.

 

[bobholly39]

He did a little better than I think I expected last season, but where I struggle with this question is that I don’t think Bedard’s projection is that of a clear top 5 player in his career.

How many of the best players in the world at any point through the history of the sport have been 5’10 or shorter?

I think Bedard will end up being an elite scorer in the league pretty quickly, but does that add up to a top 5 player in the league? Is Hughes top 5 or Kucherov or Panarin? Maybe in their absolute best seasons.

I do think Bedard will have at least 2-3 seasons as a top 5 player in the NHL, but probably not right away and it may not be for that many seasons.

1. Not yet. Maybe soon.
2. Lol, yes. Kucherov has been a top 5 player for about ~6-7 straight years now
3. No, but not far off.

It always irks me how badly underrated Kucherov is on HF sometimes.

 

[DitchMarner]

Also Bedard projects to be a much better playmaker than Matthews, worse defensively/physically, and probably a step down goal scoring wise. I don’t really find them very comparable at all.

They're not comparable stylistically. I just think prime Matthews is about the calibre of player he'll become and they're both great shooters.

At best, he becomes closer to MacKinnon. At worst, Jack Hughes. I don't expect him to be Crosby or McDavid level... but we'll see.

 

[LevelingSolo]

Would love to be wrong but I have never really bought the hype tbh

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

1. Not yet. Maybe soon.
2. Lol, yes. Kucherov has been a top 5 player for about ~6-7 straight years now
3. No, but not far off.

It always irks me how badly underrated Kucherov is on HF sometimes.

If Kucherov is top 5 consistently, he’s like barely top 5. Not better than McDavid. Is he better than Matthews, Draisaitl, MacKinnon? What about a two way beast like Barkov? So we’re talking about borderline a top 5 forward. Are there any defensemen thrown in? Makar is a possibility. Maybe Fox. What about some goaltenders?

I think it’s a lot more clear to say he’s been top 10 for that many seasons. His best seasons he’s been top 5, but he’s a one way forward without a lot of speed and no physicality. A top 5 scorer in the league, but there’s more to the game than scoring and he probably also plays the least valuable position.

 

[BlueBaron]

I voted 3 plus because the field is unusually strong right now. He needs some people to age out and presently the top players are all still generally young.

 

[BoHorvat 53]

I do think next season is a decently reasonable expectation - the history of the league is that for the most part, players as highly touted as Bedard was as a prospect, break through in their second year and become MVP caliber from then on out for a long time.

You look at recent generational prospects in their sophomore seasons, Crosby won the Hart, McDavid won the Hart, Lindros didn't finish top 15 in voting but that was because he got hurt (97 points in 65 games, otherwise he had a shot at leading the league in scoring), Ovechkin finished 22nd in Hart Trophy voting but finished 6th in his rookie season.

Voted next season, but he should be top-5 by latest the season after next (If he is who we think he could be)

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

His comp is not Matthews. Point maybe.

Yeah, no. A guy with generational (or near generational) potential doesn't become comparable to Brayden f***ing Point after his 18 year old rookie season.

 

[pi314]

Crosby/malkin/ovechkin/mcdavid all wons art ross trophies and mvps by their third seasons. Bedard should be making a huge jump here

For every Crosby, there's a MacKinnon, Thornton, or Stamkos who took a while.

 

[AvroArrow]

Will be difficult, NHL is pretty stacked right now

McDavid
Mackinnon
Draisaitl
Makar
Matthews
Kucherov (A bit older)

then you still have another large group of superstars that are ahead of him at this point

J. Hughes
Q. Hughes
Rantanen
Crosby
Pastrnak
Panarin
Nylander
Barkov
Miller, and a few more guys

Maybe in 4-5 years when some of those guys decline and he enters his prime

 

[hamzarocks]

He did a little better than I think I expected last season, but where I struggle with this question is that I don’t think Bedard’s projection is that of a clear top 5 player in his career.

How many of the best players in the world at any point through the history of the sport have been 5’10 or shorter?

I think Bedard will end up being an elite scorer in the league pretty quickly, but does that add up to a top 5 player in the league? Is Hughes top 5 or Kucherov or Panarin? Maybe in their absolute best seasons.

I do think Bedard will have at least 2-3 seasons as a top 5 player in the NHL, but probably not right away and it may not be for that many seasons.

Kucherov is number 3 and top 30 player all time 1 more ross/hart/lindsay type year away from top 15 ever

Kucherov is legit a huge threat to OVs legacy as best winger since 2005 onwards.

Hughes I can agree isnt top 5 all time yet

Kucherov is a different level of player

 

[AlwaysSunnyInDetroit]

loving how many chicago fans thinking they just drafted the next mcdavid, when in reality they probably drafted the next rnh

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Maybe in the next 2-3 years??

 

[ManofSteel55]

I don't know if he will. I voted never, but he will still be an excellent player in his prime. He likely would need for one of the current top 5 to start regressing if nothing else.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Defensively Bedard is poor right now whereas Matthews is a positive (even if a bit overrated).

Give me a break

 

[DitchMarner]

Give me a break

Some people think he's overrated defensively. I'm not saying I agree; I'm saying he's a positive regardless of whether or not you think he's overrated.

 

[Three On Zero]

A more realistic expectation is when will he be top 20 player in the NHL

 

[authentic]

In the second half of this season I could see him beginning to make serious strides towards a top 10 offensive player, I believe he will put up numbers that considering his situation in Chicago will surprise a lot of people.

 

[Video Nasty]

For every Crosby, there's a MacKinnon, Thornton, or Stamkos who took a while.

As a sophomore, Stamkos began a 4 1/2 season run where he was 1, 2, 1, 2, 1 in goals and 5, 5, 2, 2, 1 in points. He doesn’t fit with MacKinnon and Thornton’s trajectory and was a heck of a lot closer to the Big Three than we remember.

 

[CanadienShark]

Voted 3+ years. If he never gets there, it's not surprising. Crosby and McDavid are all time great players, both clearly top 10 in the history of hockey. It's not a fair comparison at all.

 

[x Tame Impala]

loving how many chicago fans thinking they just drafted the next mcdavid, when in reality they probably drafted the next rnh

I’m sorry you guys never won a draft lottery. Sucks to suck.

 

[Kerberos]

Give me a break

Matthews' defensive game is absolutely overrated. He's slightly above average.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Top 5 forward in 2-3 years, top 5 player is probably a bit farther off given the current crop of defensemen.