How will 18-year-old Bedard handle life in the NHL? Fortunately, he doesn’t drink that much anymore. Foligno is supposed to take care of

Since Connor McDavid’s arrival in the NHL, the arena spotlight hasn’t shone on any youngster as hard as it has on him. Canadian hockey has produced another alien for whom the NHL is expected to be small. Connor Bedard is already proving it. But at the same time, he must avoid a number of pitfalls that can break a young man.

We’ve long heard about Connor McDavid that no player was or is like him. That he’s such an exceptional hockey player for this day and age of extreme individual skill and limitations that he may be the best in the world.

But the years go by. Currently, the 2023/24 NHL season is starting and a new discovery is on the scene that will likely shift the hockey world once again. Connor Bedard, meanwhile, is a few kilograms lighter and seven centimetres shorter than his more famous compatriot. He also has a cloud less experience. But his hunger, grit, skill and talent are virtually comparable.

He showed it right from the start of the season. He had an assist in the first game and a goal in the second. In fact, he’s already eclipsed McDavid. He’s got the face of a child, but he acts like a professional when he’s interviewed. He knows he hasn’t done anything yet. But he also knows that if he keeps working like he’s been working, he can do a lot.

The pitfalls of young hockey and alcohol

It’s strange. When you hear the phrase “NHL hockey player”, you think of a horde of muscles, knocked-out teeth and a beard that’s a kind of Stanley Cup sign.

And among them, the undeveloped Bedard is supposed to stand out. Think back to when you were 18. You’d think a kid like that would feel like he was in the jungle. The men who are supposed to stop him from scoring are nearly two metres tall and in many cases well over a hundred kilos. How is a kid like that supposed to break through in such a competitive environment?

“I’m just an eighteen-year-old kid,” says the number one pick in the 2023 draft by the Chicago Blackhawks modestly. And he’s right. In a way, he’s just a kid who’s been thrown into the big world called the NHL. Plenty of teammates and opposing players are the same age.

And this kid has the makings of taking them out on the ice and driving around them like they’re around cones at practice for years to come.

Of course, there are plenty of pitfalls for someone so young, too. How will he handle that kind of pressure mentally? Fans don’t just expect him to score goals. They expect miracles from him. He’s expected to one day attack historic NHL milestones that seemed unassailable for years.

And then there’s another thing. He has to fit in with the old boys. To do so, he must also adapt. As The Athletic website wrote, it’s very fortunate for him that he’s joining the NHL in 2023.

The NHL world is a different place today. After games and practices, people used to go out partying. Today, players are more likely to hide at home with a beer in hand, but it was once an unwritten obligation. You wanted to fit in, you had to go with them.

Then the next day at practice or on the plane, players sweated out hangovers: ‘Even short flights seemed long after nights like these guys had. The party was not just encouraged, but outright ordered,” wrote The Athletic editor Mark Lazerus. Even today’s veterans give him credit.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the NHL was a different world. Such a world would not have done Bedard much good. The question is, what will he do, for example, when his teammates go to enjoy Sin City while visiting Las Vegas?

Bedard will need a mentor

Fortunately, NHL club executives are thinking about that, too. If someone wants to make a young player a big star, they have to approach it responsibly. It’s their future. The Black Hawks made $2.5 million in season tickets alone this year.

Maybe that’s why Chicago acquired 35-year-old Nick Foligno. He’s not only a good player, a great leader in the locker room, but he’s also a bit of an older brother to the younger players. Former hockey writer Eddie Olczyk called his arrival “thebest free agent signing in the league this past summer, if only because of the impact he will have on Bedard’s career.”

“Talk to Foligno for even 30 seconds and you’ll quickly understand why. There are a lot of older brothers in the locker room, none as gregarious and protective as Foligno,” Lazerus wrote. When Bedard feels alone in his hotel room, it should be Foligno who will keep him company while the rest of the team is somewhere in the field.

There’s a reason why. Only 61 players in NHL history have played at least 60 games in their 18 years. Only 28 of them were so young that they weren’t even 19 by the end of the season. Only 13 of them were younger than Bedard, whose birthday is July 17.

Connor Bedard is rightfully being hailed as a generational talent. And even though this is an era when NHL hockey players are maturing faster than they used to, Bedard already seems to be far ahead of the other stars.

Source: NHL, The Athletic