Wayne Gretzky LOVES what he’s seeing from Connor Bedard | NHL on TNT

ABOUT HIS GAME? YOU KNOW THE SHOTS THERE, BUT JUST THE WAY HE’S BEEN MOVING HIS FEET THIS YEAR LOOKS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. >> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, HE’S BEEN ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR THIS YEAR. LIKE JUST IT’S SO IT’S SUCH A PLEASURE TO SEE BECAUSE COMING TO THE LEAGUE AT 18, YOU GOT ALL THIS PRESSURE ON YOU AND YOU GOT ALL THIS FOCUS ON YOU. AND YOU’RE NOT A VERY GOOD TEAM. YOU’RE A YOUNG TEAM AND YOU’RE REBUILDING. AND HE WAS FRONT AND CENTER. HE DIDN’T BACK AWAY FROM ANYBODY OR SHY AWAY FROM THE MEDIA. AND FOR HIM TO WORK AS HARD AS HE DID IN THE OFFSEASON AND COME IN AND PLAY AT THE LEVEL HE’S PLAYING AT NOW, HE’S EARNING HIS WAY ONTO TEAM CANADA. HE WORKED ALL SUMMER TO GET TO THAT POINT WHERE PEOPLE WERE GOING TO SAY, HEY, IT’S ALMOST IT’S REALLY HARD TO KEEP HIM OFF THE TEAM, SO GOOD FOR HIM. YOU KNOW, HE’S TAKEN THAT TEAM AND HE’S GRABBED IT AND RUN WITH IT. AND GOOD FOR THAT ORGANIZATION. GOOD FOR THE HOCKEY FANS IN CHICAGO. >> THE TWO NUMBER ONES RIGHT NOW THERE SEEM TO BE COMPARED ALL THE TIME WITH CELEBRINI AND CONNOR BEDARD AND CELEBRINI WENT AND PLAYED FOR TEAM CANADA, THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND CONNOR DIDN’T. AND I KNOW IT KIND OF RAISED MY EYEBROWS A LITTLE BIT, BUT HE SAID HE WANTED TO STAY HOME AND WORK ON HIS STRENGTH AND GET STRONGER. IT LOOKED LIKE BOTH MADE THE RIGHT DECISION. THIS LOOKED LIKE BOTH OF THEM BECAUSE THEY GOT OFF TO A GREAT START. CELEBRINI CELEBRINI GETTING THAT EXPERIENCE FROM PLAYING WITH TEAM CANADA, SIDNEY CROSBY AND THOSE GUYS CERTAINLY HELPED HIS GAME TAKING THE NEXT LEVEL. AND NOW CONNOR BEDARD LOOKS STRONGER AND FASTER AS A HOCKEY PLAYER TO START THIS REGULAR SEASON. >> YEAH, I. >> THINK BECAUSE HE WANTED IT SO BAD HE WAS OVERWORKING HIMSELF, IS WHAT I HEARD BEHIND THE SCENES, RIGHT? MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF OVERTRAINING AND WAS BURNT OUT THROUGH PERIODS OF LAST SEASON. SO THERE’S NO DOUBT HE’S FASTER, STRONGER, HE’S COMPETING HARDER, HE’S BETTER DEFENSIVELY AND IT’S JUST REALLY TRANSFORMING INTO ALL HIS GAME. AND I REALLY THINK WHAT YOU’RE SEEING THIS YEAR, WE KNEW THAT HE WAS A PROLIFIC GOAL SCORER COMING OUT OF JUNIOR WITH THAT SHOT AND THE WAY THAT HE’S GOT THAT SPECIAL RELEASE, AND WE TALKED TO HIS COACH AND I THINK ONE PART OF HIS GAME THAT’S EXTREMELY UNDERRATED STILL IS HIS PLAYMAKING ABILITY, ESPECIALLY WHEN HE GETS IN THE OFFENSIVE ZONE. SO I THINK EVERYTHING’S JUST REALLY COMING TOGETHER. AND HE TOOK WHATEVER CRITICISM HE GOT LAST YEAR FROM ME AND PLENTY OF OTHERS, AND HE PUT HIS HEAD TO WORK THIS THIS OFFSEASON AND GOT THE JOB DONE. AND YOU SAID THAT SO WELL. YOU’RE SO RIGHT. AND THE OTHER THING IS FACES DON’T LIE. YOU CAN SEE ON HIS FACE HE’S SMILING AND ENJOYING NOT ONLY THE HOCKEY PART OF IT, BUT WHAT TRANSP

Wayne Gretzky joins NHL on TNT to break down what he’s seeing from Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard, and why he’s earning his way onto Team Canada’s roster at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

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12 comments

  1. Connor Bedard’s scoring comes from extreme ice time. He plays more than twenty one minutes a night with more than three minutes on the power play, no penalty kill shifts, the longest average shift ever recorded for a center since time on ice tracking began in 1997, and the second highest even strength ice time of any center in the last thirty years after McDavid. Oliver Kapanen receives about half of Bedard’s minutes and produces about half of his points with almost no power play time, which places their scoring rates at the same level. Bedard receives this workload because he is a major promotional figure, and the team adjusts its defensive structure to cover his weaknesses in his own zone.

  3. Wayne Gretzky is no longer relevant. The Great One threw away his reputation when he became best friends with Donald Trump. He has become The Stupid One. When Canadians saw him wearing a Trump MAGA hat and standing next to his new friend, the outrage across Canada was huge. They even threw dog shit on his statue in Edmonton. That's how pissed off Canadians are at Wayne. He should stay on the Trump golf course where he belongs and just retire for good.

  4. Somebody mhtig want to remind these guys that Bedard went to the Worlds in 2024, so they need to stop acting like he never had that experience. But, yes. He made the right decision staying home and improving himself.

  6. As a Devils fan, I definitely have no problem appreciating Bedard and Celebrini! It is only going to make the league better having more elite players. Definitely with Wayne and the rest of the boys! But my boys are ready too! Lets get it on!!!!

  12. All the haters from last year, saying: " overrated, slow, small…." NOW they're on board, " oh yeah he's good" OPEN MOUTHS INSERT FEET( Bizz)
    & then gfy…😊

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