Connor Bedard's Debut Hat Trick Impresses, Raises Expectations
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - But on Saturday night,
00:04 Conor Medard made his debut,
00:06 hat trick Carver, hat trick.
00:09 - Yeah.
00:10 - It was the way that he did it,
00:12 the goals that he scored,
00:14 'cause he's not one of these dudes
00:16 that like is gonna pull a Bobby Orr
00:19 and skate around everybody like,
00:21 or maybe he is 'cause that's what he did.
00:23 I almost get the feeling he was like,
00:25 yeah, what I was doing in junior,
00:26 that's just, yeah, you know,
00:27 I was with kids and I was holding back.
00:29 Now I'm gonna raise it up a notch.
00:31 Bro, we're talking top shelf,
00:34 top corner, top shelves, like Beckham, like Bendit.
00:38 Bro, like, I don't know how his angles even work.
00:41 Like, you can't stop it.
00:43 If you're a goalie, I was a goalie,
00:45 you can't get your shoulder up that fast, Carver.
00:48 There's no reflex.
00:48 Like, you're, oh, like the dude goes under
00:52 like the crossbar from these weird angles
00:56 and he only shoots like that.
00:57 And then they're gonna figure it out
00:58 and then he's gonna be like, all right,
00:59 I'll just shoot over there now.
01:01 Lightning quick release, Carver.
01:03 He's like Dan Marino, man, like lightning quick release.
01:07 Unbelievable.
01:08 So his player prop is 67 and a half.
01:11 And I threw a poll question out there on Sports Grid
01:13 and on my Twitter @SportsRidge.
01:17 Over, under 67 and a half.
01:19 I only put this out a couple of minutes ago,
01:21 we've already got 76 votes.
01:23 People are saying, I said, free-minded,
01:24 the over at 67 and a half, 75%.
01:27 He goes under 67 and a half, 25%.
01:30 I guess health is the only thing, Carver,
01:32 because he should be able to get to 70 points.
01:34 - I think he'll get to, like you said,
01:37 if he stays healthy, he's gonna be a 70-point player
01:41 because for the Blackhawks, he's gonna do everything.
01:42 He's gonna be on the top power play unit.
01:44 He's gonna get tons of ice time.
01:46 He's gonna get a chance to,
01:47 it's all about staying on the ice.
01:49 If he's on the ice, this is, he's one of these guys,
01:51 you're not gonna put him on the level of,
01:54 obviously when McDavid came in the league,
01:55 or maybe even not as high as Austin Matthews.
01:58 But I think it's a lot better than some of these other
02:01 top overall picks that we saw come out of meeting,
02:03 Lafreniere and others.
02:04 He's higher than those guys.
02:06 He's gonna produce right out of the gate and get things done.
02:09 - Well, I think, yeah, you're right.
02:11 I think it's one of those deals where the thought was,
02:13 listen, we're not gonna run him into the ground
02:15 in his first year, he's 18 years old.
02:19 Let's ease him into this.
02:21 But I think it's gonna be one of these deals
02:22 where he's just gonna be the best player
02:23 on the ice right away.
02:25 You know what I mean?
02:26 Like, it's gonna be like, well, what are we easing him into?
02:28 He's better than everybody, right?
02:30 So what are we easing him into?
02:32 I have the numbers here, Carver,
02:34 and it is daunting though, bro.
02:36 Get this, only four 18 year olds in the last 22 years
02:40 have recorded more than 60 points.
02:42 It's not easy.
02:45 Like this is, you know, Connor McDavid,
02:47 Connor McDavid, rookie season, 48, he got hurt.
02:51 So he got, but how about this?
02:53 Dale Howarchuk, Dale Howarchuk, 18 years old, 103 points.
02:58 Not bad, huh?
02:59 Sidney Crosby, 102, Stevie Wise, Steve Ijerman, 87,
03:04 Jimmy Carson, going old school, Jimmy Carson, 79.
03:08 Ron Francis, Hartford Whaler, 68,
03:11 Bobby Carpenter from the Cap, 67,
03:14 Phil Housley, 1983, 66.
03:18 So you know what I'm thinking?
03:19 If Phil freaking Housley can get 66 points
03:22 in his rookie year, then Connor Bedard can get 68.
03:25 I'm with you.
03:28 And I just think it's also just where he's gonna be
03:31 and the type of system that I just think he's gonna be able
03:33 to get the opportunities to go ahead and light the lamp.
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