Wayne Gretzky makes bold statement about young Blackhawks star: ‘He might be better than we thought’
Connor Bedard has been the talk of the NHL since being drafted first overall by the Blackhawks.
The young superstar has made an impact on his new team scoring 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in as many games. His galvanizing play on the ice has caught the eye of one of hockey’s legends.
Wayne Gretzky, an analyst on TNT's NHL broadcasts, has been incredibly impressed by Bedard's performance against the league's toughest and formidable teams.
"He had to go into Toronto, into Montreal, into Colorado, and he got Boston twice and Vegas twice," Gretzky said Wednesday. "Those are good hockey clubs. Those are hard buildings to play in, and I thought he held his own. And you can see him getting more and more confident."
Bedard’s tantalizing play has left its mark on “The Great One.”
"With young players, one of the hard things is you always tell them, 'you got to shoot the puck, you got to shoot more,'" he said. "Young guys don't want to be called selfish on the hockey club. You want to show your teammates, 'look, I'm not a selfish player.' And he's not a selfish player. He sees the open man, but he doesn't hesitate to shoot the puck. I think he stepped in nicely, and he's been everything that everybody thought he was going to be.
"And he might even be better than we thought."
As Bedard gets better, he will continue to catch the eye of the greats to play in the National Hockey League. He is showing that he can handle the spotlight, playing in the city of Chicago and he is the right player to carry the hockey world on his shoulders as he matures.
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