“Bedardmania.” “The Connor Bedard show.” “Bedard watch.” Whatever you’d like to call it, the excitement is palpable. Canadian wunderkind Connor Bedard, who has garnered hype across the hockey world as the next generational talent, is walking a path all too familiar to Canadian hockey fans.
Bedard recently completed his final junior hockey season with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He is now on the cusp of the NHL after being selected first overall by the Chicago Blackhawks on June 28. Everything is going according to plan—Bedard has been on the path to superstardom from a very young age.
After the Blackhawks’ painful efforts to acquire the first overall selection, Bedard has much to prove in order to justify his new team’s decisions.
Fortunately, all signs point toward Bedard establishing himself as an elite force for years to come. For many fans, the most recent IIHF World Junior Championship (the top tournament for under-20 players) solidified Bedard’s status as a can’t-miss NHL prospect.
The World Junior Championship is a stage where young prospects can legitimize themselves against top competition and showcase their talent ahead of the NHL draft.
In the past, players such as Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid have dominated the World Juniors to become even more highly anticipated players in their respective draft years.
Bedard has done the same.
In 16 career World Junior games, Bedard produced 36 points, placing him fourth in championship history. Bedard trails only Pavel Bure, Robert Reichel and Peter Forsberg, all of who enjoyed great success in theNHL.
Bedard’s dominance has been years in the making.
At the age of 13, Bedard lit up the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, tallying 88 points in 30 games. As he matured, Bedard was granted “exceptional status,” which allowed him to play in the WHL a year younger than the league standard. Current NHL stars like John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad and McDavid were all granted exceptional status as well.
But for every promising young Canadian talent who has gone on to have a successful career, there’s one who has succumbed to mounting expectations.
For example, Alexis Lafrenière dominated the World Juniors. He received similar praise and attention as Bedard, leading to him being selected first overall by the New York Rangers in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
With three NHL seasons under his belt, Lafrenière amassed 70 points in 177 games—a lacklustre statline compared to expectations. While Lafrenière is only 21, he has undoubtedly failed to live up to the young prodigy hype.
Like Lafrenière, Joe Veleno was also granted exceptional status back in 2015. Veleno has been plagued with a similar fate, producing a meagre 29 points in 111 games for the Detroit Red Wings.
This inconsistent track record of young Canadian talents makes it easy to wonder whether unrealistic expectations have been placed on Bedard’s shoulders.
Judging by the actions of bottom-feeding NHL clubs this past season, there appears to be plenty of faith in Bedard’s ability to fulfill his potential as a franchise-altering player.
This past season, many teams were suspected of tanking—purposely losing games to get a higher draft spot—something NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said teams do not do. The Blackhawks, who eventually won the right to select Bedard first overall, were a prime example of this controversial strategy.
Regardless of Bettman’s statement, the practice of tanking is historically common.
In 1971, the Montreal Canadiens traded center Ralph Backstrom to the Los Angeles Kings for two players of lesser caliber. Some believe this trade was done to make it easier for the Canadiens to earn the right to select future Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur.
In the 2015-16 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs were rumoured to bench players to increase their chances of landing the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, which they used to select Auston Matthews, one of the world’s best players today.
Prior to 1995, the last-placed team in the league was granted the first draft pick for the following year. Since then, varying lottery formats have been instituted to discourage tanking.
Nonetheless, Maple Leafs fans would say the disastrous 2015-16 season that landed them Matthews was a risk worth taking. Canadiens fans would say the same about Lafleur.
For the Blackhawks, who were lucky enough to land Bedard, they probably won’t regret their wasted 2022-23 season. Bedard’s sublime skill has the promise to change their franchise overnight.
However, should Bedard falter at the NHL level, it wouldn’t be the first time a dominant major junior player failed to meet expectations as a pro.
For excited hockey fans, it is entirely reasonable to expect greatness from Bedard so long as you accept the inverse outcome as a plausible reality.
Featured graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
At 2:04 p.m. on July 16, 2023, the Charlatan erroneously published a commentary piece on the same athlete by another author. As of 3:26 p.m. on July 16, 2023, this page reflects the piece intended for publication. The Charlatan regrets the error.
