NHL preview: can Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard take hockey by storm?

Is Bédard real?

Four years ago someone uploaded a highlight reel on YouTube of Connor Bedard, then 14, already a potential NHL prospect, lit up at a spring tournament in British Columbia for the Vancouver Vipers. Commentators mused about his hockey IQ. Was he really that good? “I know his death could be a problem,” wrote one of them after seeing Bédard score several times. “But according to this video, many options were not configured correctly. I would say he has enough experience to see that some people just shouldn’t touch the puck. It should be noted that among Bédard’s teammates were two players also drafted into the NHL in 2023: Zach Benson (Buffalo Sabres) and André Cristall (Washington Capitals) – meaning guys who absolutely should be touching the puck. He had someone to pass it on to. He just didn’t need it.

But it was spring league. It’s the NHL.

While September’s prospects and preseason games aren’t necessarily a sign of all that’s in store for a team, it seems clear that Bédard is among the best, even if anyone looking for a Connor McDavid clone will be disappointed. While McDavid often uses his intense speed and puck control to gain the zone and confuse the defense and goaltenders, Bédard is slightly more calculating on offense – more like Mitch Marner. He tends to circle like a shark, reading the play until he finds the moment to pounce with a quick pass or, using as much stick flex as possible, a shot that seems to defy physics. Discover, for example, his first goal against the hopefuls of the St Louis Blues last month:

How did this puck get there? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A few weeks later, in the preseason against Detroit, he accomplished this feat while driving to the net – which today’s naysayers say didn’t end in a goal .

Even though he didn’t light the lamp that time, the predictions for Bédard’s goal total this season are very high. A bookmaker puts the over-under at 32.5. Paul Bissonette think he will be 28. Auston Matthews The figures – joking – that Bédard could get six in his first game. Others I think it might be closer to 40. Perhaps more important to Chicago fans than how many goals Bedard scores is whether he can help the team climb out of the league’s basement . To help him get there, the Blackhawks brought in veterans like Nick Foligno and Corey Perry, as well as Taylor Hall to, presumably, help Bédard on that scoresheet.

Bédard’s first official preseason goal for Chicago was finally achieved. With just over a minute remaining in the third period against Detroit on October 3, the Blackhawks were on the power play. Bédard scored the winning goal – into an empty net.

“I don’t even know if he counts them,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. said after the game. “But I count them.” So does everyone else.

Avoiding the culture war

Over the summer, the NHL announced that it had eliminated its recent – ​​and more recently controversial – tradition of allowing players to wear special warm-up jerseys on the ice during themed nights, such as awareness nights. to breast cancer, military appreciation or pride inclusion. This summer, Commissioner Gary Bettman called fury about Pride jerseys last season – when several players refused to wear them due to their personal religious beliefs – “a distraction from the very essence of what these nights are about.” Defending values ​​is indeed sometimes difficult. There are fewer questions when you simply pretend you have no value.

McDavid called The league’s decision is “disappointing,” and he added that in Edmonton, anyway, “we believe hockey is for everyone, and that includes Pride Nights.” Elsewhere, Alex Ovechkin would have told a Russian media outlet in September that he was glad the NHL did not penalize players who refused to wear Pride jerseys: “I’m glad the NHL stopped giving in to political pressure. The world needs more of this. What else can I say? Good game. It should be like this everywhere.

Oil tankers at the top of the West

But for the Vegas Golden Knights, it’s likely that the Edmonton Oilers would have hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2023. They remain the strongest candidate outside of Carolina to do it this year, if we take stock on more of a pre-season analyzes. All the Oilers’ strengths remain – McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. And they reinforced defender Evan Bouchard, ordering him to play with “emergency“. The biggest questions are in goal. Jack Campbell only played in 36 games last season with a mediocre .888 save percentage. Will they get a full, better season from him? It was up to Stuart Skinner to save the season (for which he received a Calder Trophy nomination) – should he be No. 1? Still, assuming the goaltending is the same or better and the Oilers power play remains ridiculously GOOD, they have a good chance of seeing the final. And if not now, when?

The pressure on the Oilers in the West will come primarily from Vegas, Calgary, Dallas and Colorado – all likely to make the playoffs and all capable of disrupting the Edmonton game. Dallas is closing in on the Cup, losing only to Vegas in the West final last year. Colorado, even without captain Gabriel Landeskog for the entire regular season, still has Nathan MacKinnon and Miko Rantanen up front and the dangerous Cale Makar-Devon Toews duo on defense. Calgary has a lot to prove after a poor 2022-23, and under new management and coaching, it could finally show that the talent on the ice matches what’s on paper.

A turbulent Atlantic

The Atlantic is a division in transition. The Boston Bruins lost key pieces including Patrice Bergeron (retired), David Krejci (retired), Taylor Hall (Chicago) and Tyler Bertuzzi (Toronto), leaving them with David Pastrnak, new captain Brad Marchand , Charlie McAvoy and one of the strongest goaltending tandems in hockey. However, the moods have changed.

It’s a similar story in Tampa Bay, where the once-mighty Lightning, who also just got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, still have solid assets like Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman and Brayden Point, but there are a feeling of fading glory. The team also always did not propose his captain, Steve Stamkos – who is entering the final year of his contract – an extension. As for Florida, who knows which team will return this year, the regular season Panthers or the playoff version?

The Buffalo Sabers and Ottawa Senators are the most likely to step up their efforts. The Sabers missed the playoffs last year, finishing one point behind Florida. Much of Buffalo’s success will depend on its defensive depth (beyond Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power) and its rookie starting point guard, Devon Levi. But if a team like the Panthers is shaky, the Sabers could finally sneak into the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Senators placed Joonas Korpisalo between the pipes and added Vladimir Tarasenko up front. Don’t be surprised to see Ottawa make an effort.

Must look/look away

• Carolina Hurricanes A fascinating team in many ways, technically on course to qualify for the finals, especially with a healthy Andrei Svechnikov. But the East is brutal and unpredictable (see 2022-23). The Hurricanes are as close to a lock as they can get, but they still have a long way to go.

• New Jersey Devils The Devils are young, fast and, thanks to the last playoffs, a little more proven in the long term. But inconsistent net management could hurt the Devils in a tough Metro division that includes the Canes, Rangers, Islanders and Penguins.

• Philadelphia Flyers The Flyers offered “free” games to season ticket holders in April as an apology for the team’s terrible season. The good news to start 2023-24 in Philadelphia is that Sean Couturier is back. Otherwise, the only thing Flyers fans could expect this year is more free games.

• San Jose Sharks For a time, California had some of the strongest teams in the league. Not anymore. San Jose will likely join Anaheim in the NHL basement this year, after losing Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh and not winning much otherwise. Expect a high draft pick!

Who wins?

The playoffs are notoriously unpredictable, but a Hurricanes-Oilers Cup final revenge it would be fun – and both teams deserve it.