If you were 17 years old and had a whole city, a whole state even, relying on your success, how would you feel? How many people would crumble under the pressure, and how many would rise to the occasion to become a local legend?
While rare, this unique situation does happen in the world of sports. Young kids, most still in high school, get deemed as generational talents and get tasked with saving a sports franchise years while still being so young their parents have to sign their contracts for them.
This year the NHL prepared for such a generational talent. A kid by the name of Connor Bedard, an 18-year-old from North Vancouver, Canada. While still 17 he was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks with the first overall pick in the NHL draft.
Before Bedard even stepped foot on NHL ice he was getting compared to all-time great players like Patrick Kane. At just 15 years old he was playing in the junior hockey league called the WHL, putting up a whopping 28 points in just 15 games whilst playing against 20-year-olds. Before even turning 16 scouts were praising Bedard as the next Wayne Gretzky, calling him a future all-star two years before he was even eligible for the NHL draft.
“Every time I watch a game his name is all over the place,” said Nonnewaug sophomore Connor Segers, a longtime hockey player and fan. “It always seems like he has the puck or is making a play.”
In his final year in the WHL, Bedard put up an unbelievable 143 points in 57 appearances, numbers comparable to all-time greats such as Sidney Crosby. It’s easy to see where Bedard’s hype comes from, many consider him the greatest junior hockey player of this generation.
When a league gets blessed with a talent like Connor Bedard it’s not surprising to see his face plastered all over social media and commercials. He has already partnered with the car company Hyundai just days after being drafted. This works as a way to promote Bedard as a young superstar, but also an attempt to grow the league as a whole.
“I do think this will increase the popularity of the NHL,” said Nonnewaug senior hockey player Mason Pieger, “because this is a young superstar talent that is getting attention from people who know nothing about hockey.”
Compared to the rest of the major sports leagues in America (NBA, NFL, and MLB) the NHL simply doesn’t compare in terms of popularity and average viewers. Bedard can be used as the face of the league to try and raise the popularity of the sport, in a similar way that Michael Jordan did for the NBA.
An argument could be made that Bedard is the most exciting prospect to ever enter the NHL. In an age propelled by media and the internet Bedard’s name has managed to reach hockey fans in the farthest corners of the world. Regardless of how successful his career will be, he may go down as the greatest prospect to ever play the sport, which is an accomplishment any high schooler would be proud of.
