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Connor Bedard is already elite, and he knows it

Top draft pick Connor Bedard has stepped up in big games recently against the Lightning and Panthers, while his veteran Chicago teammate Tyler Johnson says the 18-year-old rookie is, 'playing with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder.'

Video Transcript

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Connor Bedard, big weekend in Florida, four-point game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Gets himself a sweet goal against Florida on Sunday. I'm sure you saw that sexy goal from Connor Beddard? What have you made of that big weekend? It's not too early to start calling him elite. We're at that point already, right?

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: Yeah, we are now. We've seen enough of him now with NHL. Remember, before the season began, I was saying, you can't put him there. He hasn't played with NHL players yet. But, now? Oh, yeah. You can put him in that category now.

He's showing he can hang. He's showing he can peak and produce. And I really feel that, again, he's going to be the frontrunner for that Calder. I feel it's going to be-- it's going to be between him and Logan Cooley for that Calder.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Sleep on Pavel Mintyukov for that honor, as well. Another-- yeah?

ARUN SRINIVASAN: He didn't get past. One thing on Bedard, I feel like I have-- like, watching players in person this year has been awesome. And there's a few guys who sort of stand out for like different things. Like, Drew Doughty had this game against the Leafs where he was just flawless with his own exits.

What stood out to me with Bedard, I mean, everyone knows about his shot. And I thought, really, that'd be the thing that would clearly, stand out about him. And it does. But his resting speed is something that stands out when you see him in person. Like, he's obviously not like Connor McDavid where he's like, clearly-- like an untrained eye can see this guy is a phenom because he just-- his skating ability just stands out like that.

But, like, he the way he thinks the game and his resting speed is so noticeable out there because he's not really, seemingly, moving that fast. And then he can just blow by people. So even his switch of pace, his ability to think the game, like that matters quite a bit. So that's what really stood out to me when I saw him in person.

And, then again, I'd be remiss if I pointed out that Chicago, aside from San Jose, may have been like, they're the second worst job-creation team in the league. And, yet, Bedard shot creation numbers are elite, like he is carrying that team. So, yeah. I definitely think he counts as elite.

NICK ASHBOURNE: Another thing with Bedard, too, is that there's a little bit of a ceiling that hasn't been unlocked because he hasn't done anything on the power play. Like, the Blackhawks power play hasn't functioned. Like, it just hasn't been a useful group. He just doesn't have good teammates. That's the fact of the matter.

And so, whether it's him getting more teammates or just that unit getting a little bit better, like we've seen what happens when a player can take that even strength production and then start, you know, banging in 15 powerplay goals a year, or something like that. Like, his numbers are going to look a lot different the moment that element is unlocked.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Connor Bedard's elite, man. And I also love the celebration he did in Florida, staring down that crowd, like that attitude. I liked how he kind of bossed up and made that move.

That's a moment that people are just going to hang on to and say, OK, this is where, like, we are so comfortable calling him a superstar at this point. Like, that's kind of like a really early star moment.

I know it didn't-- the game didn't necessarily work out for Chicago in the end. But that moment, the look, the confidence, even borderline arrogance, if you want to go there, like that is a really cool move to see from a kid who is eventually going to become the face of the league.

And as the team tries to bring out more personalities, they need stuff like that to take themselves to that next level. Like, there's a lot in that one performance, particularly against Florida, that I think if you're a fan of Connor Bedard, like, you've got to run with it. Like, I love it. I think it's great. And, hopefully, he continues to keep that going.

But, yeah, that race for that Calder, it might not become as much of a race as some people might have thought when Connor was kind of taking his time.