DETROIT — Patrick Kane laughed at my premise, but not my point.
My premise was that Connor Bedard could have an identical career to Kane’s — three Stanley Cups, a Calder Trophy, a Hart Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, an obvious first-ballot Hall of Famer — and there still would be some mouth-breathers in the hockey world insisting he didn’t quite live up to the hype, that he was a disappointment, that he wasn’t (here comes that word) generational.
“Who’s saying that?” Kane said with a laugh.
OK, so maybe I’m online a tad more often than he is. But my point was that the hype surrounding Bedard was so hyperbolic, so ludicrous, so unmatchable, that he’d have to be Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux or Sidney Crosby to live up to it.
That, Kane could agree with.
“It’s different with social media,” Kane said. “When I was younger, I got to be somewhat of a regular guy, you know, because people weren’t tracking every single thing that you did throughout your day, right? He’s going to be noticed. He’s probably bothered everywhere he goes. You feel for the younger kids coming in these days, because they get more hype and more attention when they’re younger. That’s just how it is, but is that necessarily a good thing?”
Kane’s a fan of Bedard’s. The Red Wings star (and man, isn’t that still a strange thing to type, read, say out loud, imagine, see and stomach) still keeps an eye on the Blackhawks, even if he’s starting to finally move on in his second full season away from Chicago. He wants to see the Blackhawks get good again, for the organization, for the city that embraced him. So he knows what Bedard has been able to do in his first season and a half in the NHL, and Kane is anything but underwhelmed so far.
In fact, the reason I wanted to talk to Kane about Bedard is that — at this stage of their careers — they’re remarkably similar. Through 109 games, Kane had 34 goals and 71 assists for 105 points. Through 109 games, Bedard has 33 goals and 65 assists for 98 points. Kane was a pass-first player who was almost hesitant to use his world-class shot at times, unwilling — but not unable — to seize command and just take over a game by himself. Kane has said it took years for him to learn that being selfish was sometimes the right way to go, that it’s OK to know that you’re the best player on the team, and it’s OK to act like it when warranted. Kane said that you learn quickly that some of the moves that always worked in junior don’t work against NHL defensemen, and it can make you a little more reluctant to try them.
Bedard, whose remarkable shot made him a household name before he was even drafted, has been very much the same as Kane was those first two years. I asked him about it Friday morning after speaking with Kane.
“I’m just trying to make the right play,” Bedard said. “I’m not pass-first, but I do look for the pass maybe sometimes more. It’s just finding that balance of when to shoot, when to pass. It’s funny, coming in (to the NHL), everyone talked more about me as a shooter than a passer, but I thought of myself as a playmaker and distributor, trying to get guys looks. But, of course, I’ve got to get myself some shots, too. And I feel like I try to do that. It’s all finding a balance.”
Connor Bedard and Patrick Kane have similar skill sets. (Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)
Bedard was a month shy of his fifth birthday when Kane scored the Cup-winner in Philadelphia in 2010, but like so many other skilled players in the league, he grew up watching and admiring and trying to emulate Kane’s creative style of play. Bedard thinks their styles are different, but can understand the similarities, too.
Their skill sets are almost the same. The way they create space for themselves and find soft spots in the ice despite not being the fastest skaters are almost the same. Their numbers are almost the same.
Well, not all the numbers.
Through 109 games, Kane had been part of 54 victories. Through 109 games, Bedard has been part of just 34.
And that, as Kane correctly pointed out, is the biggest difference between Kane’s first two years and Bedard’s. Kane’s Blackhawks were good. And it made a world of difference.
“Obviously the team back then — and I’m not saying it’s not that way now — but the team, the organization, wanted to win,” Kane said, very carefully. “It was all about winning. We signed free agents, (Brian Campbell) and (Cristobal) Huet and (Marián) Hossa, and our younger guys were taking the next step. It was just the perfect storm for a team to come together and have that success. Nowadays, who knows how it works, really?”
Kane rattled off a list of names that even I had forgotten were on those late-2000s teams, such as Kevyn Adams, Patrick Lalime and Yanic Perreault, as well as more familiar names such as Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Marty Lapointe, Marty Havlat and Robert Lang. Nobody was looking to Kane to save them. In fact, Kane said they gave him plenty of “tough love,” teaching him how to become a professional.
“They were hard on me,” Kane said. “Just little things, little details. Did you get in the gym today? Why are you here only five minutes before the meeting? Stuff like that. It just kind of helps you grow up a little bit. And on the ice, too. I always thought that was one of the best things about our teams that won — we were hard on each other and expected so much of each other. We’d be bickering on the bench, or the ‘D’ would be yelling at the forwards, or me and (Jonathan Toews) would be getting into it. And then after the game, we were best friends and laughing about the situation. Toews and I would always talk about the inner competition within the team. If he scored, I wanted to go out and score. We were always pushing each other. That was a really positive thing about those teams, especially in my early years, to help get the most out of each other and develop faster.”
Bedard doesn’t have that. Kane joined a team that was already trending up. The Blackhawks missed the playoffs by three points in his rookie season. The next season, they went to the Western Conference final. The next season, they were Stanley Cup champions.
Bedard started on the ground floor. He doesn’t have the help Kane had. Chances are slim the Blackhawks will be able to sign Mikko Rantanen or Mitch Marner this summer. Or Kirill Kaprizov the following year. Or trade for Elias Pettersson this season. It’s a much longer-term process for Bedard. A much bigger picture to keep in mind.
“That’s not for me to think about, I’m a player,” Bedard countered. “We’re all in here trying to win, trying to be the best we can be. It’s been frustrating losing, you don’t think about the next five years, you’re thinking about what you can do to win, and to get better. That’s all I can really focus on.”
It certainly helps now that the team is getting a little younger. Frank Nazar is here, and looks the part of a second-line center. Colton Dach is adding some energy and an attack mentality. Kevin Korchinski made a cameo and looked greatly improved. Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel should be here by season’s end.
It’s taking longer for Bedard than it did for Kane, but it’s coming.
“For sure, you see these guys come in and make an immediate impact, and you can only imagine in a couple years how good they’re going to be, and other guys that are in Rockford and stuff,” Bedard said.
No, the Blackhawks haven’t put Bedard in a position to succeed the way they did Kane. Kane was a No. 1 overall pick, too, oozing with talent and bravura just like Bedard was. But he wasn’t immediately asked to be the best player on the team the way Bedard has been. He wasn’t stranded on an unworthy roster as a rookie the way Bedard was. He wasn’t thrust into a years-long losing culture the way Bedard was. And he wasn’t hyped to absurd levels the way Bedard was.
Which makes the fact that Bedard’s first 109 games so closely mirror Kane’s all the more impressive.
“He was the rookie of the year last year, he’s around a point-a-game this year,” Kane said. “He’s had an incredible start to his career and he hasn’t really — I mean, I feel like they have good pieces around him, but the team hasn’t really been in a great spot. I feel like it’s put a lot of pressure on him.”
Maybe Bedard really will become a Gretzky/Lemieux/Crosby/McDavid-like player in time. Maybe not. What does “generational” even mean these days, anyway?
Because if Patrick Kane’s career — he’ll retire as the best American-born player in the sport’s history, with a roomful of hardware to show for it — is the ceiling, well, you could do a hell of a lot worse.
(Top photo of Connor Bedard and Patrick Kane: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
