Connor Bedard is playing very well for a teenager on a lousy team. Very few have ever produced at his pace at his age yet it doesn’t seem to be enough for some commenters, even if the commenter is a pro Hockey Hall of Famer.
During the first intermission of Saturday afternoon’s match between the Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers, Mark Messier ripped on Anders Sorensen for putting Bedard out there on a power play after Sam Reinhart beat him on a goal.
Bedard lost a stick battle with Reinhart which led to him giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead. The thing about Reinhart is that he now has 30 goals on the season. Only Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets have more.
Messier talked about it destroying the morale of the team if you don’t earn your ice time as if Bedard doesn’t lead the team in scoring by 11 points. Not putting the leading scorer out on the power play is more likely to destroy the morale of a team.
Lots of people lose battles to Reinhart because he’s an elite goal scorer. Bedard wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last. It’s also not the last mistake he’ll ever make considering he’s a teenager (even veterans make mistakes).
Does Bedard have work to do defensively to round out his game? Absolutely. Most teenage forwards who are good enough to play in the NHL can say that. Do the Blackhawks need to bench their best offensive weapon (by far) on a power play because he lost a stick battle to a guy who had 60 goals last year? That would be a fireable offense.
Mark Messier was a great player who led by example on the ice, created a ton of offense, and won tons of Stanley Cup championships. With that said, he doesn’t have an understanding of how things go in today’s locker rooms.
The dynamics that existed in the 80s and 90s have changed. To say that Bedard hasn’t earned his ice time is an incorrect statement. He’s more than earned it.
You never bench Bedard. You celebrate his greatness while working on his weaknesses. He is going to be an elite player in the NHL for a long time.
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