Bedard among all-time prospects heading into 2023 NHL Draft

Connor Bedard not only is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, but a possible generational talent targeted for one of 11 NHL teams in the mix to win the No. 1 selection in the NHL Draft Lottery on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).

The 17-year-old center with Regina led the Western Hockey League with 143 points (71 goals, 72 assists) in 57 regular-season games this season. He also had 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in seven WHL playoff games and was the first league player in 11 years to score 10 or more goals in a single playoff series.

NHL.com spoke to several full-time evaluators at NHL Central Scouting during a recent visit to discuss Bedard's place among the best draft-eligible players they've scouted.

Dan Marr was director of Central Scouting for 12 years before serving as vice president this season. Before that, he was with the Atlanta Thrashers as head scout from 1998-2011 after spending more than 12 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He's never seen another player quite like Bedard.

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"Connor Bedard holds the title as the best draft-eligible prospect that I have scouted, as were other unique, elite talents before him such as Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby," Marr said. "It seems that each one of these 'generational' talents help set the platform for the next talent to surpass them and achieve success. [Bedard] has been in the spotlight for over three years and during that time has risen to impact and impress at every occasion while often being the youngest member on his teams, and he has done so with a humbleness and approach that all around him respect and those younger than him should use as a measuring stick."

McDavid, selected No. 1 by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Draft, had 120 points (44 goals, 76 assists) and averaged 2.55 points in 47 games with Erie of the Ontario Hockey League in his NHL Draft eligible season of 2014-15. Bedard had 143 points and averaged 2.51 points for Regina this season.

"He's an exceptional young man on and off the ice and has truly shown all season long that he's worth the price of admission, which is that rarest of compliments associated with players who achieve greatness," Marr said of Bedard.

McDavid had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in seven games to help Canada win a gold medal at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. Bedard led all players at the 2023 WJC with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in seven games and was named the tournament's top forward and most valuable player, helping Canada win a second straight gold medal.

Crosby had 168 points (66 goals, 102 assists) and averaged 2.71 points in 62 games with Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2004-05, his draft-eligible season, before being selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. He also had nine points (six goals, three assists) in six games for Canada at the 2005 WJC.

"I saw Sidney Crosby and I didn't think I'd ever see a junior player that would be as dominant as that, and then I saw Connor McDavid and thought I'd never see another player that dominant. But here comes Connor Bedard," Central Scouting director David Gregory said. "It's really amazing what he can do, and those other guys had good players on their teams. I'm not saying Bedard doesn't, but those teams that Sid and McDavid played on had some stacked teams. ... Regina, to me, was not as stacked but were a good team with lots of good players.

"Bedard was bringing them along as this younger player in the league. I hate to be on the fence and not give a definitive answer, but I'd say those are the three that I saw and said, 'I'll never see another one like that again.'"

Peter Sullivan, who specializes in scouting WHL players, has evaluated NHL draft prospects the past 26 years with Central Scouting. He's still blown away by how dominant Bedard was at the 2023 WJC.

"Past players that stood out to me were Crosby, McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, but Bedard did something those guys couldn't do in the World Juniors at the same age," Sullivan said. "Seeing what he did at World Juniors was bigger than huge. But the thing is, everybody's waiting to see how it translates to the NHL. The reality is he's been doing this since he's been 9 years old.

"I know those other players did that too, but Bedard, to me, has taken it to an extra level at the same age and that's been the difference between Bedard and the rest of the players I've seen in the past."

Bedard has a history of rising to the occasion.

As a 15-year-old, he tied for second at the 2021 IIHF World Under-18 Championship with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in seven games to help Canada win the tournament and was named to the tournament all-star team.

"For me, it's the goal-scoring ability, the release of the shot," said Jean-Francois Damphousse of Central Scouting. "I think there's obviously great shooters in the NHL, like Auston Matthews and those guys. Even at his age, Bedard's at a point where he could probably beat NHL goalies with the strength of his shot. As a goalie, I can see the way he's changing the angle of his shot all the time, the toe-drag release."

Damphousse is a former goalie chosen No. 24 by the New Jersey Devils in the 1997 NHL Draft. He played six NHL games and 176 games in the American Hockey League.

"A lot of kids try to shoot (like Bedard) but nobody can whip it the way he does, stand still when he does that change of pace, where he snaps it from almost the center of his body," Damphousse said. "It screws with the goalie."

Bedard had 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 15 games as a 15-year-old with Regina in 2020-21 after becoming the first player to be granted exceptional player status into the WHL in March 2020.

"He can walk into the NHL and be one of the top shooters right now; he's by far the best player I've ever scouted," said Tim Campbell, who joined Central Scouting in 2019-20. "Bedard's size (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) at the next level won't be an issue either, because he's like a tank. He's solid, rolls off hits and can counter-hit people. He's like a running back in the NFL. He can take hits and he's good at protecting himself."

John Williams has been a part of Central Scouting since 2014 but his extensive scouting background spans 34 years, beginning with Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League for 10 seasons. Williams said the feeling he gets watching Bedard is similar to how he felt when he began evaluating forward Eric Lindros with St. Michael's in the Metro Junior B Hockey League in 1988-89.

"I remember we went to go see Lindros as a 15-year-old, playing junior A, a really good league at the time," Williams said. "He was just physically dominant and had the skill on top of that. He would go in, play against guys five years older and was just running them out of the rink and making plays to score or set up a goal. It was just unbelievable for a kid at his age doing what he was doing. I think he was just a physical freak of nature.

"It was the same thing with McDavid, only this time it was the skating. Right now, Bedard's in that conversation with the two of them for what he does and brings to his team and that's very impressive."

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