"I know Connor Bedard has been asked this question and he's got a little more modern day take on it, I know he kind of visualizes himself being similar to Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild)," Marr said on the "NHL Draft Class" podcast. "Both elite talents, but it's very reminiscent with me with Patrick Kane. Just the speed, the quickness, those big, timely goals when they're needed, and the accuracy to finish on the play, or just in general to create the scoring chances when you need them."
"And the fact that he goes out there and makes it look so easy."
Bedard leads the Western Hockey league with 21 points and is tied for first with 10 goals in 12 games with Regina of the Western Hockey League. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound center received an
A rating from Central Scouting on its preliminary players to watch list
presented by BioSteel, which was released Tuesday.
"One of the things that Connor has that's similar to player like Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) and Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) is that he has the ability to adapt quickly," Marr said.
Marr also discussed some of the other A-rated prospects for the 2023 draft, among them forwards Adam Fantilli of the University of Michigan, Gabriel Perreault of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team, Samuel Honzek of Vancouver (WHL) and Matvei Michkov of SKA Neva St. Petersburg in Russia's second division.
Marr said Michkov might be on Bedard's level from a skill perspective, but he is under contract in the Kontinental Hockey League through the 2025-26 season.
"It's going to be challenging to get the scouting in with Russia-born players, but it's not the scout's role to look at the contract status of a player because that's up to the management to where they have to make a decision," Marr said. "The scouts have to give you their opinion. So if you're just talking on-ice play, he's one of the elite players in this draft class.
"Michkov and Bedard] have their own unique styles of attack when they have the puck, but those are the top two players for this draft class."
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[NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts
and the NHL app.
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Listen: New episode of NHL Draft Class
