Bedard and McDavid had similar hype coming into their rookies seasons. How does hockey's latest generational talent stack up against the best in the game when he began his career?

Connor Bedard has wrapped up his rookie season with the Chicago Blackhawks, and it was impressive. The last player who was considered a true generational talent right off the bat was Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, so it's only fair to compare their rookie seasons.

While very different players, both Bedard and McDavid are Canadian-born, former CHL superstars who were drafted first overall. Both were taken by high-profile franchises going through rough times. Both had an immediate spotlight on them to perform.

Bedard is known for his shot already and has an amazing release, but proved this season he can pass the puck as well. McDavid came into the league as a stellar playmaker and it wasn't until recently (2022-23) where he showed just how lethal he can be at scoring goals when he led the league with 64.

Similar to Bedard with the Blackhawks this year, McDavid played on a weak Oilers team in his 2015-16 rookie season. It wasn't until his Year 2 that things started to turn around in Edmonton. 

Both missed time as rookies with injuries. A broken collar bone cost McDavid three months and 37 games in 2015-16, but that hasn't negatively impacted his career. Bedard was fine upon his return to the Blackhawks lineup this season after sitting out 14 games with a broken jaw. He might have been even better than before suffering the injury on Jan. 5 in New Jersey.

McDavid definitely played on a better Oilers team than Bedard did on the Blackhawks this season, but the Oilers were in position to turn things around quicker after drafting first overall three of the five years before McDavid was selected. Bedard was just the Blackhawks' second No. 1  overall draft pick ever. Patrick Kane was the other in 2007.

Since Bedard and McDavid are very different players, but both elite talents at a young age, comparing them after all the hype that surrounded them makes sense.

Let's get going with the basic stats comparing the rookie seasons of Bedard and McDavid.

Bedard in 2023-24

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McDavid in 2015-16

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Even though Bedard missed 14 games this season, his injury wasn't nearly as bad as McDavid's which kept him out for 37. Again, the surrounding help on the team was better in Edmonton for McDavid's rookie season than what Bedard had in Chicago.

Bedard had just one teammate record over 37 points this season and it was Philipp Kurashev (54) who played with him at even strength and on the power play. Due to McDavid missing nearly half the season, he finished third on the team in points and three other players recorded over 37 points (Taylor Hall - 65, Leon Draisaitl - 51, and Jordan Eberle - 47).

Though Bedard led his team and NHL rookies in scoring, McDavid's first-year numbers do indicate the high level he was at from the start. To get a better indication of who was more effective each game, we are going to dive even deeper and look at analytics of both rookie seasons in which games played are removed and the comparisons become more clear.

Bedard in 2022-23

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McDavid in 2015-16

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McDavid has the upper hand on Bedard in almost every category and it helped that McDavid's finishing ability through his shooting percentage started strong. McDavid has size on Bedard and has unmatched speed with the puck. That's why he had 10 more individual high-danger chances than Bedard in 23 fewer games.

Keep in mind that Bedard was a bit younger than McDavid, playing his entire season at 18 years old. Bedard also didn't have three healthy first-overall picks (Hall, 2010; Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2011; and Nail Yakupov, 2012) and a third overall pick (Draisaitl, 2014) skating with him in the forward group to help generate offense and convert scoring chances. 

Interestingly, the Blackhawks had acquired Hall, now 32, to play on a line with and help Bedard. But Hall played in only 10 games in 2023-24 before undergoing season-ending right ACL surgery.

Bedard is a special talent and will get much better like most elite NHL players typically do after very strong starts. He had a strong first NHL season, but when comparing anyone to McDavid at any point in his career, it's tough to measure up. 

Bedard has time, but McDavid is already in the conversation with the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux when it comes to scoring, records, and ability.

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