The way forward for the NHL has by no means seemed brighter as a result of enhance in expertise throughout the league. Whereas generational abilities Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, and Alexander Ovechkin will be attributed to the league’s success on the flip of the century, the long run lies on the backs of Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard, and others. The Connors have been arguably the 2 best prospects to ever be chosen within the NHL Draft, and whereas they’ve an eight-year age hole, evaluating their rookie seasons can higher contextualize who can have the higher future.

Earlier than the NHL

Previous to the NHL, each McDavid and Bedard performed within the Canadian Hockey League. McDavid performed for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League the place he scored 44 targets and 120 factors in 47 video games throughout his draft yr. He additionally scored 21 targets and 49 factors in 20 playoff video games. Bedard performed for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League the place he scored 71 targets and 143 factors in 57 video games. He additionally scored 10 targets and 20 factors in seven playoff video games.

McDavid completed the season with .97 targets per sport, 1.55 assists per sport, and a pair of.52 factors per sport. Bedard completed the season with 1.27 targets per sport, 1.28 assists per sport, and a pair of.55 factors per sport.

Rookie Seasons

McDavid was chosen first general by the bottom-feeder Edmonton Oilers within the 2015 Draft, and Bedard entered an identical scenario with the Chicago Blackhawks as the primary general choose within the 2023 Draft. From there, each McDavid and Bedard missed video games of their rookie seasons because of accidents, with Bedard’s season being lower brief to 68 video games whereas McDavid performed simply 45 video games.

On an 82-game tempo, McDavid completed his rookie season with round 29 targets, 58 assists, and 87 factors, primarily taking part in alongside Jordan Eberle, Benoît Pouliot, and sometimes Nail Yakupov. McDavid evidently didn’t obtain a lot assist as even along with his missed video games, he completed the season with extra factors than every of his three hottest linemates.

Bedard’s rookie season was the identical story as he performed on a equally depleted roster. He completed the season with roughly 27 targets, 47 assists, and 74 factors over an 82-game tempo. His hottest linemates have been Nick Foligno and Phillip Kurashev.

Associated: Connor Bedard Caps off Whirlwind Season With Calder Trophy Win

Regardless of lacking 14 video games, Bedard led the Blackhawks in targets, assists, and factors. He went on to win the Calder Trophy Award, given to the participant chosen as probably the most proficient in his first yr of competitors within the NHL. McDavid didn’t win the Calder Trophy because of his shortened season and Artemi Panarin’s 30-goal, 77 rookie marketing campaign with the Blackhawks.

Blackhawks Should Take Notes

The purpose of evaluating these two generational abilities to 1 one other is to not say who was a greater prospect or rookie, however fairly to indicate how the Oilers developed McDavid and what the Blackhawks ought to study in constructing round Bedard.

As profitable as McDavid is along with his 4 Ted Lindsay Awards, three Hart Memorial Trophies, 5 Artwork Ross Trophies, Maurice Richard Trophy, and Conn Smythe Trophy, the Oilers haven’t gained a Stanley Cup in his nine-season profession. After all, it takes a couple of participant to win a Stanley Cup and they have been shut final season, however the Oilers made many errors, and the Blackhawks ought to take observe.

The Blackhawks must create a timeline round Bedard. He’s at the moment on his entry-level contract, so by the point it expires within the 2026 offseason, his wage will go from below $1 million yearly to effectively above $10 million, probably within the $12 to $15 million annual common vary. As tempting as it’s to attempt to capitalize on this chance, the Blackhawks should not be too aggressive too quickly.

Following McDavid’s rookie season, the Oilers signed Milan Lucic to a seven-year contract. Everybody is aware of how that turned out, as he was ultimately swapped for James Neal who was later purchased out, making a useless cap hit the staff remains to be paying in the present day.

Just like the 2016 Oilers, the Blackhawks had a busy begin to the 2024 offseason, signing free agent forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen, along with buying and selling for Ilya Mikheyev. These signings weren’t made to win a Stanley Cup this season, however fairly to enhance Bedard’s linemates to make sure he isn’t caught taking part in alongside bottom-six expertise.

Importantly, Blackhawk’s basic supervisor Kyle Davidson prevented the errors of the 2016 Oilers by staying away from high-risk, long-term contracts. Bertuzzi is signed for 4 seasons, Teravainen for 3 seasons, and Mikheyev has two years left on his deal.

The Blackhawks wanted to spend cash this offseason to succeed in the wage cap ground, and Davidson introduced within the gamers obligatory to construct a powerful offense round Bedard with out hurting the staff’s long-term cap construction. Breaking down the staff’s long-term wage cap outlook, there’s solely $19.6 million in signed wage for the 2027-28 season, together with Seth Jones’ $9.5 million cap hit that expires the next offseason.

Prioritize Prospect Improvement

The Blackhawks should additionally not rush their prime prospects. It’s simple to have a participant like Bedard and need to maximize every season he has with the staff, however Stanley Cup champions usually are not constructed in a single day. Following the Oilers’ signing of Lucic, they gained only one playoff collection within the following 5 seasons. After all, this isn’t to be blamed on Lucic, however fairly it represents the staff’s misunderstanding of its expertise.

The Oilers ultimately traded younger rising stars like Eberle, Yakupov, Taylor Corridor, and Jesse Puljujärvi for varied causes, however a standard thread amongst them was organizational mismanagement. Essentially the most notable participant the Oilers maintained was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who, as a substitute of being rushed, was eased by improvement and grew to become the present roster’s most dear two-way ahead. By preserving him within the late 2010s, the Oilers landed an eventual 100+ level, two-way ahead on some of the discount contracts within the NHL.

Blackhawks’ prime prospects Artyom Levshunov, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, Sacha Boisvert, Ethan Del Mastro, Drew Commesso, Landon Slaggert, Marek Vanacker, and others will all play a pivotal position within the staff’s future. By studying from the Oilers’ errors, every participant must be step by step launched to the NHL, and this appears to be the method the staff has adopted to date.

Moore and Rinzel have returned to school for one more season regardless of being able to play within the American Hockey League (AHL). Levshunov was signed to an entry-level contract and can probably start the season within the AHL alongside Commesso, Del Mastro, and Slaggert. Boisvert and Vanacker will return to their junior groups from final season.

It’s simple to have open roster spots and rush younger expertise to the NHL, however by easing prime prospects by improvement, the Blackhawks show they wish to construct a sustained window from 2027 and past, as a substitute of attempting to win now. Davidson has as a substitute crammed these roster holes with completed veterans to show the younger core what it takes to determine lengthy and profitable NHL careers.

The Blackhawks are studying from the Oilers’ expertise with McDavid by constructing a staff round Bedard with out dashing the timeline By specializing in prospect improvement and minimizing dangerous contracts, the Blackhawks can arrange a concrete basis for long-term success. With Bedard main, together with promising prospects and skilled veterans, Chicago has an opportunity to construct a good stronger staff than it had within the early 2010s.