Leafs captain provides his early assessment of Connor Bedard
Ahead of his much anticipated NHL debut, Connor Bedard didn't disappoint as the young phenom recorded an assist, fired 5 shots on goal, and played 21:29 TOI - team best amongst forwards. The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on Opening Night by a score of 4-2 as most of the hockey world set their sights on the Bedard versus Sidney Crosby matchup.
To be fair, it's hard to avoid that comparison when Bedard's idol growing up was none other than Crosby, on top of the fact that he's been compared to Sid the Kid well before even being draft eligible. With the juicy matchup, plenty of players tuned in including Toronto Maple Leafs captain, John Tavares.
Tavares admitted earlier today that he caught a couple periods of the game on Tuesday night and had a rather bold, yet understandable assessment of Bedard's game:
In his last 2 seasons with the Regina Pats, Bedard compiled 122 goals and 243 points in just 119 games, which includes a 71-goal and 143-point 2022-23 season. He scored 9 goals and 23 points in just 7 games at the World Juniors and was the consensus number one pick for eons.
On the flip side, Crosby scored 120 goals and 303 points in 121 games with Rimouski Oceanic before making the leap to the NHL. Crosby's World Junior numbers weren't as impressive but he did score 6 goals and 9 points at the 2005 tournament.
Bedard was flying all over the ice on Tuesday with plenty of rushes into the offensive zone, made some rather nifty passes, and high hockey IQ plays that will make us constantly parallel his game with Crosby's for years to come. Bedard's 2nd game last night against Boston didn't yield a desirable result, with the Hawks dropping a 3-1 decision to the Bruins, but Bedard did score a beautiful wraparound goal to mark his first career NHL goal, so that was pretty amazing to see.
Tavares and the Maple Leafs will host Bedard and the Blackhawks for the first time on the 16th of October and will head over to Chicago for a tilt on the 24th of November.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 12 | 76 ANSWERS Leafs captain provides his early assessment of Connor Bedard Do you think Connor Bedard will have a career similar to Sidney Crosby's? | ||
| Yes, he's that good | 23 | 30.3 % |
| No, not even close | 33 | 43.4 % |
| He might even have a better career than Sid! | 20 | 26.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
