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Connor Bedard reveals how he really feels about rival 1st overall pick Macklin Celebrini: It's a surprise
Photo credit: NHL.com
Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini both play in the Western Conference, on opposing teams, as both the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks selected them 1st-overall in consecutive years, so what does Bedard think about his newest rival in the West?
The Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini's story is quite similar.
Have a fantastic year in the juniors and become the consensus #1 overall pick during your draft year, and both are products of Vancouver, B.C.
Which ultimately led to both stars being selected by the bottom diving teams in the NHL, as both Bedard and Celebrini would be selected by the Blackhawks and Sharks.
Celebrini wouldn't be selected to win the Calder Trophy, unlike his counterpart, Bedard. And as hockey fans notice the similarities, we have to wonder where the similarities end, and they both start butting heads on the ice?
The Connor Bedard & Macklin Celebrini Friendship
They don't, as it seems both players grew up not too far from one another, shared a training session with Justin Rai of the Seattle Kraken in the Kaivo Hockey camp in Burnaby, B.C.
Bedard noted how nice it was to have another B.C.-born NHLer, other than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, with Celebrini in the league.
"It's fun," Bedard said. "Before the two of us, there was only Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from B.C. even to be picked that high (No. 1 by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2011 NHL Draft), so it's cool that we're obviously back-to-back years and we get to train together like this."
Nice guy Bedard, stays nice.
As we see the classy nature he has remains consistent, and while he keeps it competitive on the ice, he's a kind and friendly person.
We saw plenty of his humility during his rookie season, where he'd take time out of his practice schedule to make fans happy and sign autographs.
Now, he extends his hand out and helps his competitors grow, as he knows this will make him better, too.
Will it come back and bite him in the end when the Sharks and Blackhawks end up in a playoff situation in the future?
For now, it's a friendship it sounds like.
Previously on Chicago Hockey Insider
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 7 | 171 ANSWERS Connor Bedard reveals how he really feels about rival 1st overall pick Macklin Celebrini: It's a surprise Do you think Center Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks will take on forward Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks in a future playoff game? | ||
| Yes | 130 | 76 % |
| No | 41 | 24 % |
| List of polls | ||
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