Connor Bedard was dominant in his Junior hockey career. He was miles ahead of everyone and he proved it in the World Juniors, where he broke a single-tournament record for points and Canada's overall record for goals and points.
It is no surprise that the hype for Chicago's first overall pick has been extreme. Many analysts and fans have the 18-year-old ripping up the league in his first season, cruising to a calder trophy. Bedard's preseason has only added fuel to the fire as he has looked dangerous and also produced, scoring a hat trick in his first game.
Andy Strickland, who is a part of the Cam & Strick podcast, said in the podcast that he did not expect Bedard to win the calder trophy and that expectations were overblown. Strickland expects Bedard to score less than 30 goals as it is a hard transition to the NHL.
It is obviously not a big deal if Bedard does not have an insane year. The kid has loads of talent and will be a game-breaker in the NHL soon enough. Only time will tell if Strickland was correct or if Bedard will continue to smash through expectations. Keep in mind that none of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby it even Wayne Gretzky won the Calder Trophy.
