Generational. There’s that word again. It’s the label used when we’ve run out of other words. In sports, it comes with enormous — often unfair — expectations.
It’s used when bigger, faster, quicker, stronger, elite and complete don’t seem to describe what we’re watching. It speaks to a different level of accomplishment, and suggests we don’t see it often.
It is also the ultimate eye test. Statistics aren’t needed to back it up, though they are readily available. We know it when we see it.
Connor Bedard is a generational* player.
Yes, there’s an asterisk. I need to qualify this, even though the way I described it suggests there are no qualifications. Two numbers immediately come to mind: 17 (Bedard’s age) and 1,452 (which I’ll explain later). Both will be factored in.
I’m a hard critic — superlatives have to be earned. There have been a lot of great hockey players, and I was fortunate to have played with and against many of them. In 40-plus years of high-level involvement in the game, I have traversed North America and Europe — skated, scouted, coached, managed and analyzed. I’ve also been a fan, often watching the game I love on off nights, akin to a mail carrier going for a walk on his day off.
I’ve seen special talent along the way. What I’m seeing in Bedard, most recently in Canada’s gold-medal performance at the world junior championship, is different.
The separator includes the ability to come through at the most challenging times. It’s scoring an electric goal in overtime to beat Slovakia in the quarterfinals — a work of art we won’t soon forget. It’s executing when you’re the one most expected to deliver. It’s scoring early to cut a 2-0 deficit in half against the Americans in the semifinals, taking the wind out of their sails. Timely. Integral.
At 17, Bedard dominated a tournament most often ruled by players two and three years older, and he did it with flair and consistency. But the asterisk is an acknowledgment that he is still only 17, and the road ahead is often fraught with potholes. At times we have been too quick to hand out the generational tag. It signifies more than just the best of a given draft class.
And then there’s 1,452 — the career point totals of both Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby one day recently, 18 seasons into their decorated careers. Generational also implies longevity, not short-term spectacular. Ovi and Sid are there. They entered the NHL with asterisks and will depart with exclamation marks. With Stanley Cup and individual awards, both have checked all of the boxes, and they continue to dominate.
My personal list of generational hockey talent starts with Bobby Orr, for changing the game and the way defencemen play. His career was cut short by injury, but his impact made that point moot.
In my playing days, I witnessed first-hand the impact of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as game-changers, while Mark Messier and Jaromir Jagr pushed hard to force their way into the conversation. They performed spectacularly as individuals, and made everyone around them better.
Eric Lindros brought a physical package unlike any other to that point, a rare combination of finesse and strength that set the table for today’s power forward.
Connor McDavid certainly qualifies, while Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl and Auston Matthews entered the NHL with great fanfare and have checked some of the boxes, but not all.
To date, Bedard has done everything in his power with the abilities he’s been gifted with. He has performed on the biggest stages and separated himself.
Generational? Time will determine if the asterisk is removed.
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