The last two NHL No. 1 picks, San Jose Sharks Macklin Celebrini and Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard are both from Vancouver and will be connected in the NHL for their entire careers.
Thursday will mark the first time the two will play against each other. San Jose visited Chicago early in the season, but Celebrini missed the game due to a lower-body injury.
“He’s always been a superstar,” Celebrini told reporters on Wednesday about Bedard. “Whenever we were younger, he’s always been the kid you see now. I think it’s just flourished and kind of grown from there.”
“He’s a dynamic player,” Bedard said about Celebrini. “I know coming in as an 18-year-old is tough and obviously it’s a good league, so I’m glad to see his production and his impact on games has been awesome. It’s been fun to watch.”
Celebrini’s hockey IQ and Bedard’s shot are the two big calling cards for the young superstars, but what is underrated about them?
“[Bedard’s] playmaking is unbelievable. I see that a lot in the summers when I skate with him,” Celebrini said. “The way he sees the ice, I think, doesn’t get appreciated as much. Also, his ability to strip pucks from guys. He has such a long stick, and he knows how to use it. He’s able to pull those pucks from guys.”
As for Bedard:
“It’s weird to say, but [Celebrini’s] energy. He’s always hounding pucks, and he’s always moving. He’s just hard to play against,” Bedard said. “I think that’s impressive, just for an offensive player that is so gifted.”
The Sharks rookie told reporters that Bedard reached out to him before the season to offer support on navigating his first year as a first-overall pick.
“He [said] if I wanted to reach out to him, he was there to answer any questions, which I really appreciated, just going through that. He obviously went through it the year before,” Celebrini said. “I never ended up using him but knowing he was a resource for me was cool.”
The two centers are their respective franchise’s cornerstone players. Both clubs intend to build their future around the No. 1 picks. Similar to Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, there could be a rivalry built between the two.
“For sure. It’s going to be great,” Celebrini said. “Them and us, we have a way to go before it’s a high-level rivalry where we’re both in a playoff spot and maybe we face each other in the playoffs. Both of our franchises need a little bit of time to get there.”
Celebrini told reporters that he believes in GM Mike Grier’s plan to turn the team around and get the San Jose Sharks back into the postseason.
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