Comparing Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard’s Rookie Seasons – Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

The future of the NHL has never looked brighter due to the proliferation of talent throughout the league. While the production talents of Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, and Alexander Ovechkin can be counted on for the success of the league at the beginning of this century, the future rests on the backs of Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard, and others. The Connors are arguably two of the greatest prospects ever to be selected in the NHL Draft, and even though they have an eight-year age gap, comparing their rookie seasons can better determine who will have the better future.

Before the NHL

Before the NHL, both McDavid and Bedard played in the Canadian Hockey League. McDavid played for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League where he scored 44 goals and 120 points in 47 games during his draft year. He also scored 21 goals and 49 points in 20 playoff games. Bedard played for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League where he scored 71 goals and 143 points in 57 games. He also scored 10 goals and 20 points in seven playoff games.

McDavid finished the season with .97 goals per game, 1.55 assists per game, and 2.52 points per game. Bedard finished the season with 1.27 goals per game, 1.28 assists per game, and 2.55 points per game.

Rookie seasons

McDavid was selected first overall by the lowly Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 Draft, and Bedard entered the same situation with the Chicago Blackhawks as the first overall pick in the 2023 Draft. From there, both McDavid and Bedard missed games in their rookie seasons due to injuries, with Bedard’s season cut to 68 games while McDavid’s played just 45 games.

On pace for 82 games, McDavid finished his rookie season with nearly 29 goals, 58 assists, and 87 points, playing mostly alongside Jordan Eberle, Benoît Pouliot, and Nail Yakupov at times. McDavid obviously didn’t get much help as even with his missed games, he finished the season with more points than any of his three most popular players.

Bedard’s rookie season was a similar story as he played on the same similarly depleted roster. He finished the season with nearly 27 goals, 47 assists, and 74 points in 82 games. His most famous partners were Nick Foligno and Phillip Kurashev.

Related: Connor Bedard Caps Whirlwind Season With Calder Trophy Win

Despite missing 14 games, Bedard led the Blackhawks in goals, assists and points. He went on to win the Calder Trophy, which is given to the player selected as the most professional in his first year of competition in the NHL. McDavid didn’t win the Calder Trophy because of his shortened season and Artemi Panarin’s 30-goal, 77-goal campaign with the Blackhawks.

Blackhawks Should Take Notes

The goal of comparing these two talents to each other is not to say who was the better prospect or rookie, but rather to show how the Oilers developed McDavid and what the Blackhawks should learn from building around Bedard.

With McDavid winning his four Ted Lindsay Awards, three Hart Memorial Trophies, five Art Ross Trophies, Maurice Richard Trophy, and Conn Smythe Trophy, the Oilers never won the Stanley Cup in his nine-season career. Of course, it takes more than one player to win the Stanley Cup and they were close last season, but the Oilers made a lot of mistakes, and the Blackhawks should be careful.

The Blackhawks need to create a timeline around Bedard. He’s currently on his entry-level contract, so when the 2026 season ends, his salary will go from under $1 million a year to over $10 million, roughly in the annual average range of $12 to $15 million. Although it’s tempting to try to capitalize on this opportunity, the Blackhawks shouldn’t be aggressive too soon.

After McDavid’s rookie season, the Oilers signed Milan Lucic to a seven-year contract. Everyone knows how that went, as he was eventually replaced by James Neal who was later bought out, making the dead beat team still paying off today.

Similar to the 2016 Oilers, the Blackhawks had a busy start to the 2024 offseason, signing free agent players Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen, in addition to trading for Ilya Mikheyev. These signings weren’t made to win a Stanley Cup this season, but rather to improve Bedard’s teammates to ensure he doesn’t get stuck playing next to bottom-six talent.

Importantly, Blackhawk general manager Kyle Davidson avoided the mistakes of the 2016 Oilers by staying away from high-risk, long-term contracts. Bertuzzi is signed for four seasons, Teravainen for three seasons, and Mikheyev has two years left on his contract.

The Blackhawks needed to spend money this offseason to reach the final salary cap, and Davidson picked up the players needed to build a strong offense around Bedard without hurting the team’s long-term structure. Breaking the team’s long-term salary outlook, there is only $19.6 million in signed salary for the 2027-28 season, including Seth Jones’ $9.5 million that expires next season.

Prioritize Prospect Development

The Blackhawks also don’t have to chase their top prospects. It’s easy to have a player like Bedard and want to maximize each season he has with the team, but Stanley Cup champions aren’t built overnight. After the Oilers signed Lucic, they won one playoff series in the next five seasons. Of course, this shouldn’t be blamed on Lucic, but rather represents the team’s misunderstanding of its own talent.

The Oilers ended up trading rising stars like Eberle, Yakupov, Taylor Hall, and Jesse Puljujärvi for a variety of reasons, but the common thread among them was mismanagement of the organization. The most outstanding player the Oilers kept was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who instead of being chased, he was free to develop and become the current most valuable player going forward. By keeping him in the late 2010s, the Oilers got a 100+ point finish, two ways to one of the most lucrative contracts in the NHL.

Blackhawks top prospects Artyom Levshunov, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, Sacha Boisvert, Ethan Del Mastro, Drew Commesso, Landon Slaggert, Marek Vanacker, and others will play key roles in the future this group. Learning from the Oilers’ mistakes, each player should be gradually introduced to the NHL, and this seems to be the approach the team has taken so far.

Moore and Rinzel returned to college for another season despite being ready to play in the American Hockey League (AHL). Levshunov was signed to an entry-level contract and will likely start the season in the AHL alongside Commesso, Del Mastro, and Slaggert. Boisvert and Vanacker will return to their junior teams from last season.

It’s easy to have open roster spots and rush young talent into the NHL, but by cutting high hopes for development, the Blackhawks are proving they’re looking to build a strong window from 2027 and beyond, instead of trying to win now. Davidson has instead filled these program holes with accomplished veterans to teach a young core what it takes to establish long and successful NHL careers.

The Blackhawks learn from the Oilers and McDavid’s experience by building a team around Bedard without rushing the timeline. By focusing on developing expectations and minimizing risky contracts, the Blackhawks can lay a solid foundation for long-term success. With Bedard at the helm, along with promising prospects and experienced veterans, Chicago has a chance to build an even stronger team than it did in the early 2010s.