Yahoo Sports Bedard Can Rival Auston Matthews at 100 Game Mark
Connor Bedard plays his 100th career game in the NHL on Dec. 17 against the Washington Capitals. He is well on his way to an impressive career, but we have to remember he is only 19 years old and on a bad team.
Through 99 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Bedard has 87 points. That sits just three back of Toronto Maple Leafs' captain Auston Matthews through his first 100 games in the NHL. The difference here is that Bedard came in and played his entire rookie season at age 18. Due to when Matthews' birthday is, he played his entire rookie season at age 19 despite jumping right into the NHL after being drafted as well.
A year at that age makes a big difference, but so does the supporting cast around young superstars like that. Bedard carried Philipp Kurashev to a breakout season while having linemates like Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson. Matthews had other rookie stars like Mitch Marner and William Nylander from the get-go.
Bedard's shot is spoken of just like how Matthews' shot was when entering the league. Even though there have been times when we have to just say wow at Bedard's release and shot, his goal-scoring isn't at the same level Matthews' was when he first came in.
Some people may try to already chalk Bedard up as a bust number one overall pick and talk about how he may not be as good as anticipated, but he is still a teenager and is once again leading the Blackhawks.
Related: 3 Plays That Show Connor Bedard's Confidence is Back
There was never any doubt that Matthews was a superstar when he came into the league and experienced struggles at any point in his career, so the same should be thought of the 19-year-old Bedard.
Toronto's mindset was offense from the start with Matthews. Former head coach of the Blackhawks, Luke Richardson, had a defensive mindset and just could get the offense going in a system that Bedard would really thrive in. Hopefully Anders Sorensen helps improve that over the remainder of the season, but Bedard is right where many of the previous number one overall picks have been at this stage in their careers.
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