Connor Bedard has been just as good as everyone expected in his first NHL season.
He was one of the most hyped-up prospects in League history when he got drafted first overall last summer, and although the Chicago Blackhawks is ranked 31 out of 32 teams this season, Bedard has been a joy to watch.
Bedard unfortunately missed more than a month of play around February due to a broken jaw.
But he still leads all rookies in points with 59 in 64 games. That puts him in 14 more points recorded than the next player in the rookie scoring chart, despite playing around 15 games less.
But if there’s one thing Bedard can improve coming into his second NHL season, it’s his physical play.
Bedard is a generational talent, but he’s been criticized for the number of big hits he receives over the season. On Wednesday, he yet again found himself on the receiving end of a massive hit from St. Louis Blues’ Tyler Tucker.
Bedard had just grabbed the puck along the boards, looking for someone to play it to, when Tucker saw his chance and absolutely steamrolled Bedard along the boards.
Although the hit wasn’t particularly dirty, Bedard’s teammate Alex Vlasic came to his defense.
Vlasic wanted to send a message not to cross the line with physical play with Bedard, and both Vlasic and Tucker were given two-minute minors for roughing.
On X, formerly Twitter, the St. Louis Blues posted a video of the hit.
”Tyler Tucker to Connor Bedard: ’Welcome to the show,’” wrote the Blues on their official account.
But the attempted troll against Bedard backfired, as insider Mark Lazerus quickly pointed out that Tyler Tucker himself isn’t a veteran in the league and has no right to welcome Bedard to the league.
”Connor Bedard has played 15 more NHL games than Tyler Tucker,” Wrote Lazerus in a post that went viral.
In the comment section of Lazerus’ post, everyone was saying the same thing.
”Good tweet,” one said.
”This is A+,” another said.
”Who the hell is Tyler Tucker?” a third said.
