I mean if you guys think Bedard it too short, I’m happy to take him at 11th

This year’s conn smythe winner was 5’9. Its about the size of the fight not the size of the player

If height wasn't a problem for shifty skilled players like Kane and Crosby, I don't see why it'll be a problem for Bedard. He's very quick and in very good shape with decent physical strength. Martin St Louis was 5'8 and won two art rosses and a hart trophy. The argument is simply invalid.

Hopefully these doubters watched Jonathan Marchessault 5'9 win the Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup! This kid is going to be amazing!

The issue is that too many people have a double digit IQ and simply react emotionally at the first chance given. It's sad, but it is what it is.

The height comments are always nonsense. This isn't the NBA. 🙄

He’s 17… still a lot of time for him to grow, he’s gonna be just fine !

I don't think Bedard will burst on the scene quite as prolifically as Crosby or McDavid in his rookie year, but he'll be just as good when alls said and done. I look at Jack Hughes. All the generational talent, but his size made his first season a little more difficult. If anyone thinks Bedard won't be successful due to his size, they're nuts. But thinking it might take a bit longer for him to dominate isn't nuts at all.

Bedard will be fine. I just hope people don't expect him to compete with McDavid in the next few year's. The problem with size in this sport is that it'll take some time to adjust to giant's. He obviously has an amazing IQ and will adjust eventually. His dangles won't work out like in the junior's and he, like most skilled players will realize that by making mistakes. In the junior's, you need a few strides and you blasted by the D, in the NHL , he'll lift his head up and realize that it just looks like they teleported 3 feet down the rink, defensemen don't get enough credit for braking, taking off and keeping up with some of these player's. Luckily, Chicago is so horrible that no one in their right mind will put pressure on him to make the playoffs so he'll get a patient fan base.

People dont realise that size doesnt matter as much as speed and hockey IQ anymore. Its useful and physical teams do really well (as the Panthers showed this post-season) but its not a requirement

Patrick Kane was 5”8’ when he was drafted. He turned out just fine

Cole Caufield is 5’7, nuff said

Damn this is a well done video man. Awesome stuff 👍

I find it funny when people act like hes a 5'1 midget, like dude 5'10 is only 1 inch shorter than Crosby, who cares? Also his iq is phenomenal, he is Gretzky like with his almost magical ability to always know when and where the open space is going to be. Unrelated but that shot of his might be the most satisfying release ive ever seen, that whipping motion of the top hand is so unique

Okay, Theo Fleury, Tie Domi, Cliff Ronning, Doug Gilmour are just a few of the players who played in the NHL, and their lack of size never stopped them. These guys also played in a tougher, more physical era. Wendel Clark was 5'11", he played the game as one of the toughest players to ever play the game and fought every heavy-weight!

I like the video! I will add that when the NHL started enforcing obstruction in the early 2000's, it became a lot easier for smaller skill players. I don't know that the general attitude in hockey has adjusted all the way from the 70-90's big body/fight hockey. That being said, I've heard that it is an advantage to have a bigger center.. Why is that? Is there a chance Bedard would be better off on the wing? Honest questions And for the playoffs.. The Hawks can add a lot more talent, and still tank with bad goaltending. They might ride Mzarek for another high pick next year.

Kane, Marchand, Zuccarello, Caufield, Fleury, St. Louis, Dionne, Cournoyer, Bower, Worsley...etc.

as a hawks watching this almost 2 days later, post draft, pre free agnecy, kyle davidson has already made some huge moves. i hope free agency works out well for us and if some bigger names like domi comes back or even i have this gut feeling bertuzzi will end up in our roster only because of hall and foligno being with us now too. maybe even the bedard effect comes into play too?

how did you get the thumbnail photo if u posted this vid at like 2:30 pm?

Your content is fantastic. As someone who has been fortunate enough to be completely enthralled in everything Hockey for 15 years, the way you are able to tie in your in-depth commentary to correlating clips that match your points impresses me each time you make an upload. Your hard work and well thought out opinions do not go unnoticed. Cheers to a fantastic beginning to what I hope is a long career for you within the game.

Only in hockey can a measly 2 inches be the equivalent of two skyscrapers. And these distractors are completely forgetting that Bedard is only 17. He's still growing.

The lateral mobility of a smaller player is an advantage inside smaller diameter.

They said I was too small for your dad but I always leave him satisfied.

Not to be pedantic but Kane was actually 5'9.5" 162lbs when he was drafted.

Speaking facts! Thanks for level headed content!

"2007... 16 years later (today)". Holy crap. I had to do a double take on the math there. Wow.

Man this kid is good his height don’t mean shit this kid is jacked

This video is a masterclass. The analysis, the clips, the presentation style... everything. 10 out of 10 from me.

I get the arguments in this video that size won't be an issue for Connor Bedard. However, here's my thought on small players: • When adked if he remembers NOT being the best player, Eric Lindros answered that he was on a team of guys who physically matured early • in 1981, Dale Hawerchuk and Ron Francis were 5'11" and drafted 1st and 5th respectively (maybe Francis was taken 4th or 7th, Jim Benning was taken 6th).Dale Hawerchuk won the Calder Trophy and became the youngest player to score 100 points while Ron Francis was the second best rookie. But Ron Francis suffered a sophomore jinxa and never came out of it for 2 seasons. When he finally started living up to his projections, he was 6'1, a full 2 inches taller than when he was 18. He had to grow into his body! Although Hawerchuk at the end of his career was ahead in career points, Francis continued playing, finished 10th in league scoring at the age of 37! My point is that a little guy may have matured earlier than the big guy. His coordination, strength and timing may have come to him sooner while a taller, lankier 18-year old boy has yet to fill out and have his coordination come to him. I'm wondering if Connor Bedard will physically improve or has he reached his maximum level and his only improvement will be experience. If he is to succeed, I suspect that he is head and shoulders above the next best guys who are bigger but he will have to be sooooooo good that the gap between him and a still maturing big guy will only be narrowed but not closed. Am I making sense here? Size doesn't really matter at age 25 but at 18 the little guy might have stoped growing and physically developing sooner than his contemporaries.

These are great commentaries! 🙏

He’s only 17, he can keep growing too. Also great video!

Absolutely correct -- Saw Bedard play NYE, Canada vs. Sweden. Sweden's team was bigger and maybe more physical than Canada's, and they couldn't knock Bedard off the puck. He was consistently protecting the puck and then distributing it, against NHL-sized players who, at a glance, looked like they would just throw him to the side. I went in there thinking it was more likely to see a display of skill and sniping -- what I saw, was strength, puck distribution, and the off-the-charts hockey IQ alluded to in this video. With Bedard playing next to Taylor Hall, I am expecting Hall will have at least 30 goals, and Bedard will have at least 50 to 60 assists in his rookie year.

Marner, Marchand, Pasternak, Matthew TKachuk, Clarke, all small players but amazing..

This aged very well.

They said Ray Ferraro was too small for the NHL. They even said he was too small for the WHL. For that matter, I remember a lot of people, including sports writers, saying Wayne Gretzky was too small for the NHL.

I wouldn't be surprised if Bedard has a slower than expected start in his first season. He's one of the younger players in the draft class, still 17. The league appears to be extremely difficult now for 18 year old players to succeed. The last time a player really tore up the league in their draft season was Matthews and he was already 19 by the time the season started. More recently, Sillinger put up 31 points, Stutzle a 45 point pace, Hughes 28 point pace. 40+ points would be a good first season for Bedard. I don't think his height will be an issue, it's more about adjusting to the level of play.

People talking about height being an issue never played against a small fast moving rock solid guy flying around. Big guys would try to hit me and at 5’6 I was rocking people almost 7ft on skates.

Anyone who says that height matters is wrong. Look at Brad Marchand and Martin St.Louis they’ve both been to the cup and won the cup.

So was Theoren Fleury and Gretzky was 165 when he was playing. I hope the people who make these statements aren’t making money off sports.

I don't think that Bedard's size will have an affect on his success, other than possible injuries, as he may be out-bodied by defensemen who outweigh him by 30 to 40 lbs. I'd love to see him break Teemu Selanne's rookie scoring record, but I don't see it happening. I doubt that he'll be one of those "first game, first shift, first goal" guys. But, he'll have pretty good success, as a rookie.

Paul Bure, and Kariya were amazing small players oh yeah and St. Louis who’s 5’8”and another great small player

30 goals, 45 assists. I’m betting he’ll start off slow, adjusting to the NHL game, but by the Allstar game, he’ll be averaging a point per game.

Martin St-Louis, 5'8" 180 pounds won 2 Art Ross trophies and 1 Stanley Cup and that was in the years where hooking wasn't a penalty! So at 5'10" Bedard will amaze you! Hey if Chicago thinks he's too small send him to Montreal we love small players here!!!

Maybe this is a dumb thought but honestly I feel like during the off season teams should get everyone together coaches owner gm players and talk about what type of players they need to get and what to do

As a Chicago fan, finally something to look forward to.

mcdavud, matthews and bedzy are different in that bedzy is 18 and already not afraid to get physical, despite his small size

They often said the same thing about Jonathon Marchessault throughout his hockey career. You know him, one of the key players who won the cup as well as the Conn Smythe award? lol

moving to Illinois few months can't wait to see this kid in action

This argument has been funny to me for a while. Like, there’s a slew of effective and even star players in the NHL smaller than Bedard with less skill and ability

the kid has a good bite to his game, he will be just fine, toews in 2006, kane in 2007 a cup in 2010. he is the real deal

Jonathan Mashassault just tore thru everyone on route to the cup this year his height wasn't a problem.

This kid is fantastic .I've never seen any pro player shoot the puck with that much accuracy.seriously and I've been watching hockey over 55 yrs.also I'm sick and tired of watching the same teams throwing seasons everytime there's a generational player coming up

I had no idea that people were this concerned over his size. Hockey doesn't strike me as a sport where you need to be over 6 foot to be successful. Unless perhaps you're a Goaltender.

That is the EXACT SAME THING they said about Wayne Gretzky! 😅😅

this channel is the best hockey channel. Me like hockey.

Btw, the listed height for NHL players is almost universally inflated. If you’ve ever been around any of them (without their skates), it’s obvious. Bedard is prob 5’8. That aside, when labeling a player “small”, I look at weight. A 5’9 player who’s 195lbs and built like a truck isn’t a small player. A 6’1 beanpole who’s 175lbs is a small player.

Too many people focus too much on height. Plenty of "undersized" players see success in the league. And people seem to forget that these are still children being drafted. Of course an 18 year old is under sized. They aren't done growing yet. Not like bedard is 5ft2 140 lbs

Crosby is 5'11. Ask anyone in the NHL how hard it is to get him off the puck. It's not about size, it's how you use it.

everyone was worried about kane because of his small size, his size? bang on average(like overall average, not nhl average). lol.

Hockey is a sport being 5’8 to 6’ is a massive advantage. Everyone I know over 6 ft tall is slow as fuck on the ice.

I think Jonathan Marchessault put the nail in the "too small for the NHL" people personally

Reminder John Scott has 70 point in 705 professional hockey game and he talk about success…..

Conn Smythe winner was 5’9

Kaprizov is also 5'10'' and he has done just fine in the NHL. He's successful because he has some of the best edgework in the NHL with a great shot as well. Bedard is still only 17. He could still grow a few more inches and has plenty of time to gain some muscle mass. I think the main issue is the lack of talent surrounding him on the Hawks.

The Calgary Flames called Martin St. Louis too small for the NHL and it's one of the things that cost them a Stanley Cup 🤷 And he's 2 inches shorter than Bedard. Who is fit. And I don't mean draft pick fit. I mean NHL forward fit. Guy's been training to become a pro athlete for like 6 years. His conditioning isn't comparable to a Zach Benson or Brayden Yager, who played in his division and played decently against Bedard. But Bedard still averaged 2 points / game against their lines 🤷 Personally, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bedard have a few seasons of learning curve while Chicago builds their young core. BUT with the moves the Hawks have made, I also wouldn't be surprised for him to have a hot start and Chicago to dramatically improve. It wouldn't be hard.. this season and last combined, Chicago was HORRIBLE. The arguments for the Ducks and Columbus getting screwed out of drafting Bedard fall a bit flat when you look at how much better both teams were last season.

I mean time and time again small players have shown they can be good caufield, debrincat, etc don’t know why teams still pass on players because of size

Everybody that thinks Bedard is to small for NHL Hockey obviously doesn't remember Mike Comrie, he's about the same size as Bedard, and he played in the NHL

Can't wait to see him play.

Cole Caufield, Martin St-louis, Theoren Fleury, and Mats Naslund are/were smaller, but great players.

Size can be a problem for a lot of players. Just as much as bad skating for big players. Just never hear about the ones that don’t work out. Bedard is too good for size to be a problem though

That’s about as outrageous a statement as saying Tage Thompson is too big to play hockey.

Depends on the player. Let's see when he gets run every game. So hawks need to protect him. 3:21

Everyone thought Cliff Ronning and Wayne Gretzky weren’t suitable for the tough NHL.

Bedard will be fine, I think anyone that thinks he will be a bust in the NHL is just a little jelly that their team didn't get him. On a different note my Kraken have Shane Wright and I don't know what is going on with him. I know he is still super young but hopefully he grows as a player and becomes a great addition to the team along with Matty Beniers.

Martin St. Louis made a complete fool out of the NHL, by being an undrafted player who ended up getting given a chance by a scout later on and ended up winning the scoring race, MVP awards, stanley cups, etc... He was 5'8", maybe even shorter than that.

I know some people will hate me for saying this but I am not thinking immediately he will be one of the best players in the NHL really fast because not because he’s small but he has no people to play with him and the pressure he must have.I mean look at Alexis Lafinerie he went first and look at him now and it almost happened to Jack Huges. I like this kid and I hope he has a lot of success and he doesn’t become like Lafinerie.

So we’re Henri Richard ( eleven cups ), Yvon Cournoyer and Denis Savard. Need I go on with dozens of other examples?

Hockey isn't what it was 10+ years ago. It's normal to see defenders at 5'10 5'9, you don't need to be 6 foot anymore.. game i completely different.

Muggsy Bogues he played NBA 5''3 '' IF THEY COMPLAIN ABOUT That what about that guy ';' NBA needs tall players not small '' he was an amazing player and all the pros hated to play against him

Lol good way to get views bro and people to click on your video. 😂 brilliant if I’m being honest. Lol if height of players really truly mattered than none of these guys ever would have played in the NHL Theo Fleury, Johnny “hockey” Gaudreau, Cole Caufield, Alex Debrincat, Henri Richard, Matt Zuccarello, Brad Marchand, Brian Gionta, Nathan Gerbe lol I could go on all day with a massive list of short players all day long that absolutely dominate(d) the game. Bedard will be just fine in the NHL the kid can adapt and I’m excited to see what he can do and will do in this league. Even if it is for the crumby ol’ Blackhawks. 😂

Kane, marchand, caufield, marchessault. Just to name a few

I heard this about Jack Hughes too. We all see how wrong the haters were about that one

marner was smaller than him when he got drafted size isn’t gonna be an issue he plays like he’s bigger too and he’ll prob put on weight before game 1.

There are MUCH smaller players in the NHL right now. He's only 18. He'll be close to Crosby for height and weight as he grows. 6' ft 200 lbs. He is obsessed with his game. He just can't lose. He'll be an all time great 20 years down the road.

I'm hyped on Connor Bedard. I can't wait to see him play.

Brayden Point 5'10 is one of the best centers with 2 cups

I would be shocked if he got less than 100 pts in his rookie season. But maybe something like 90 - 110 pts in his first year. probably 40-45 goals.

I’m not too worried about Connor. He plays with a lot more size than he actually is. My thing is the development. Since like 2017. Every 1st overall pick has had a pretty bad first year and immediately gets called a bust for not performing at a high level immediately. Only exception is Owen power. I don’t want Connor to have that too. He has way too much potential for him to not be developed correctly. And I don’t think the blackhawks will help with thaf

The league is all about speed and talent, it's not the physical league it use to be. If it was the 80s or 90s he and players like Hughes would never make it. If your like me and have been watching hockey for 50 years, you are having a hard time adjusting to the way the game has evolved (no constant hard checking, fights, slap shots and so on) but to be fair all sports are tough to watch. All sports have gone soft, I'm not in the minority here, it's just that the young kids only know what they know.

There are no players "too small" anymore...15-20 years ago, yes - Small guys were few and far between. But, since the NHL has virtually taken most of the contact out of the sport and transitioned to a more "finesse" game, being small is no longer an issue.

As someone who lives in mtl and a fan of hockey...The habs had 0 bisness in the finals lol look how they played since😂

Theo fleury was 5:6 skill and a will to win is all you need size does not matter in the nhl

How many players that are above 6ft that are practically useless out on the ice, at this point height does not matter in the slightest. Doesnt matter if you are as tall as Cole Caufield, Nathan Grebe or Zdeno Chara, Tyler Myers if you have a skill set that translates well to the league who cares how tall someone is?

I'm not sure it will translate however it will be interesting the fact mitchkov went 7 is insane

For the record. There was a guy named Gretzky back in 1980 who was considered too small and weak to be able to score in the NHL. Many said it. You know who you are......

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

Nathan Gerbe is 5'4 and played 11 seasons in the NHL. There are more important things than size

no problem on size, but the habit of crossing after blue will bite him if he still insists doing it. Even in this video there are numerous opportunities to destroy him.

Aside from the 'baited headline' tell that to current players like Yanni Guorde, Cole Caufield, Mats Zuccarello, Johnny Gaudreau, or Brad Marchant, none over 5'9"...and that's current players...remember it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog

15 years ago his size would matter more then it does now