{"id":451665,"date":"2026-02-08T23:13:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/451665\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T23:13:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:13:42","slug":"san-jose-sharks-compare-favorably-with-chicago-blackhawks-for-now-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/451665\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Sharks compare favorably with Chicago Blackhawks. for now"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2013 Perhaps Macklin Celebrini<\/a> and Connor Bedard <\/a>will always be compared to one another.<\/p>\n

They were both labeled generational-type talents<\/a> when they selected first overall in the NHL Draft, with Bedard going to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023 and Celebrini to the San Jose Sharks<\/a> the next year. They\u2019re from the same hometown, are both in the Western Conference, and are the faces of their respective franchises.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s good for the game to have that,\u201d Bedard said of the comparison.<\/a> \u201cStuff like that\u2019s fun for fans and obviously brings interest into the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

But maybe it\u2019s not the players who should be compared to one another. Going forward, maybe it\u2019s their teams.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure the fans like it. They want to (see) those types of stories,\u201d Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said Sunday when asked about the two stars. \u201cThe reality is, though, is the comparison over the years should be about the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s the case, then the Sharks have jumped ahead<\/a> of the Blackhawks, at least for the moment.<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks and Sharks, who play each other for the first time this season at the United Center on Monday, have been NHL\u2019s 31st and 32nd place teams, respectively, each of the last two years. <\/a><\/p>\n

While Chicago appears headed toward a sixth straight spring of playoff-free hockey, thanks to a recent slump, San Jose, with Celebrini leading the way (and an 11-4 overtime record), is eyeing its first postseason appearance since 2019.<\/p>\n

The Sharks (27-22-4) have already raced past last season\u2019s win total (20), have seen some improvements with their goaltending and have averaged a half-goal per game more than last season. Some of general manager\u2019s Mike Grier\u2019s moves \u2013 either trades or signings \u2013 have flopped,<\/a> but several others have worked out, as he\u2019s added some quality experience<\/a> to an impressive cadre of younger players.<\/p>\n

With his team in contention, Grier on Jan. 19 also took the bold step of acquiring forward Kiefer Sherwood,<\/a> a pending unrestricted free agent, from the Vancouver Canucks for two second round draft picks. He\u2019s also reportedly shown interest i<\/a>n trading for skilled New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin and signing him to an extension.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Sharks wouldn\u2019t be in this position without Celebrini, who enters Monday fourth in the NHL in scoring, with his 79 points in 53 games putting him in the Hart Trophy conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s having such a good career and he\u2019s such a great player, but it doesn\u2019t happen by accident,\u201d said Bedard. who spent some time this past offseason skating with Celebrini. \u201cHe puts in a ton of time and effort. For both of us, getting to compete against each other every day, having that competition \u2014 we\u2019ve got a great group of guys that skate in the summer \u2014 it\u2019s always fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if Celebrini\u2019s success motivated him, Bedard said, \u201cI\u2019m rooting for him to do well. We\u2019re both our own people, our own players. I work on my game. I\u2019m not kind of comparing myself too much to other guys.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m rooting for him to be great, and I\u2019m trying to be the best version of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bedard, too, has taken a big step forward this season, especially with his skating.<\/a> He has 52 points in 42 games and would likely have stats closer to Celebrini\u2019s had he not sustained a shoulder injury in December that cost him 12 games.<\/a><\/p>\n

Still, even with Bedard back, the Blackhawks have floundered.<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks were 19-19-7 and three points out of a playoff spot on Jan. 11, a day after Bedard returned. But they\u2019ve since gone 2-6-2 to fall out of the race. With 27 games left, they enter Monday nine points back of the Los Angeles Kings (23-17-14) for the Western Conference\u2019s second and final wild card spot.<\/p>\n

After he brought a handful of veteran players in 2023 and 2024 who largely didn\u2019t work out, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has now charged into a youth movement, with Bedard, winger Frank Nazar and defensemen Alex Vlasic leading the way.<\/p>\n

In recent months, both ESPN and The Athletic<\/a> ranked the Blackhawks\u2019 prospect pool as the fourth best in the NHL. Both outlets also had the Sharks at No. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything really that we\u2019re missing or disappointed (with),\u201d Davidson recently told the Chicago Tribune<\/a> about this season. \u201cIt\u2019s all part of the process. We have taken a nice step this year, all in service to the long-term plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about that process, Bedard said, \u201cas players, I don\u2019t think we really look at it as rebuilding. We try to go win every game. We\u2019ve got a lot of great players, a lot of young players coming up, a lot of guys that aren\u2019t here yet. But that\u2019s more for management to look at.\u201d<\/p>\n

With some young cornerstone pieces in place, there\u2019s certainly a chance that, in time, the Sharks and Blackhawks can become two of the best teams in the Western Conference. But right now, if the focus is on the teams, and not the individuals, one looks a little further along than the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Blackhawks versus Sharks. I don\u2019t think (Celebrini or I) really look at that if you ask him the same thing,\u201d Bedard said when asked if he had been looking forward to playing Celebrini on Monday. \u201cObviously, I\u2019m looking forward to seeing him just off the ice and saying hi, but it\u2019s just another game.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2013 Perhaps Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard will always be compared to one another. They were both…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441406,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5115],"tags":[521,2617,37,96,5263,5,4,168,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-451665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-blackhawks","8":"tag-blackhawks","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","12":"tag-chicagoblackhawks","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-san-jose-sharks","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116037550709405891","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}