CONNOR BEDARD IS HERE - AND SO TOO IS THE NHL'S BALANCING ACT THAT COMES WITH MARKETING THEIR STARS

Mario Russo

Connor Bedard is a generational talent. He shoots like one, controls the puck like few others have, and possesses the confidence and cutting edge to his game that the hockey world has yet to ever see.

There is a reason why he is so heavily sought after in the media right now. It should come as no surprise either. The NFL did it with Patrick Mahomes in 2017. The MLB followed the same suit in 2020 with their young star Fernando Tatis Jr. The NBA has never even taken a break from their stars - both young and old - and market them as entertainment better than any other league in the world.

How the NHL has, and continues to market the 18 year-old as he progresses through his rookie season could possibly be the easiest decision the league has had to face in the premature stages of the 2023-24 campaign - a shocking statement when factoring in the NHL’s handling of Travis Dermott’s hockey tape fiasco last week.

Bedard hikes up viewership wherever he travels to - case and point, his NHL debut on the road against the Penguins earlier this month that garnered a record average of 1.43 million viewers on ESPN.

When he scores, especially in similar fashion to the likes of his lonesome tally last night against the Arizona Coyotes, he carries a signature wrist shot in which the game has been deprived of since Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews broke into the league in 2016.

In less than ten games, the 14-year old kid that was projected to personify the next new era of professional hockey has arrived and done just that - even without dominating the competition like the generational talents have done before him.

With Bedard, it’s all about pushing forward the next chapter of the game and distancing the sport from the head-down, work-hard and exchange blows discourse that has nipped at its heels over the past decade.

But take the rose-coloured glasses that come with watching the rookie season of the league’s next generational star off. Focus on the objective of his game, the bigger meaning behind what he brings to the table and how / why he is marketed as such.

Bedard is the next generation of hockey players with his unapologetic confidence and perhaps his quirky awkwardness that makes him relatable to the kids growing up and playing the game today. Individuals who don’t think twice about making a skilled deke in the neutral zone or attempting to balance the puck as they sweep across the back of the opposing goal.

These are the things Bedard does, the NHL promotes, and the younger generation watching better relates to. These are also the parts of the game that the league promoted last season - and the year before that - with Trevor Zegras. Not a generational talent, but a grower of the game and its new era.

Yet the two players could not be further apart in terms of how they have been marketed so far this season. For the first time in a while, the NHL has a pair of youthfully marketable stars playing in booming markets.

Now comes the hard part - the balancing act that comes with possessing such a luxury. The NHL cannot afford to slip up on this golden opportunity to push the game forward, and break free from the fight-first formula that’s been fed to the younger generation of hockey fans since what feels like forever.

The league has a serious chance at busting through the traditional shackles that have locked hockey in place throughout all levels of competition over the years. Matthews loosened the grip with his display of what the next modern goalscorer could look like. Jack Hughes almost snapped the cuffs open entirely with the childish wonder he brings to the game each and every night.

Now it’s Bedard's turn, but Zegras - who was once the cover athlete for the league’s popular video game - cannot be lost in the shuffle of it all. For what it matters, the league’s Instagram account has featured the Chicago rookie eight times on their feed in the last three weeks. Zegras on the other hand, was featured in just one post over the same span.

Comparing social media representation may not be the most ideal way to showcase the parity between these two modern-day trailblazers, yet the platform remains the most integral medium in which the league possesses to expedite the game’s growth throughout its younger generation of fans.

Although the slow start offensively for the young Ducks star (two points through nine games) may be the underlying reason towards the limited coverage, the league must get creative in their approach to these two athletes.

Highlighting their personalities off the ice could be a step in the right direction as the league transitions into a looser and more casual era. Unlike the business-like persona associated with Connor McDavid and even Sydney Crosby well before him, the NHL currently has a great shot at ditching the hard-nosed culture of hockey for good.

The two athletes face off three times this year - meeting twice in just over a week in March. Promoting a rivalry - similar to that of Matthews and Patrick Laine when the two broke into the league in 2016 - has the potential to attract millions of eyeballs towards television screens and showcase a new, desired wave of hockey in one sitting.

There is zero room for error here with the NHL. What has always been the league to complete the foursome of professional sports in North America, now has a genuine shot at climbing up the rankings and attracting a large number of sport fans that pay little, to no attention towards the NHL.

And so the league begins to tiptoe the tightrope of their next generation, filled with new, young and relatable stars that bring so much more to the game than what is seen on the ice’s surface. Having this luxury is a first for the NHL in the game’s modern age. The league cannot afford to fall and plummet into another era of having little to no entertaining youths at their disposal.

The NHL has arrived at the circus and their balancing act is well underway. Will the league make a fool of themselves as they have always seemed to do, remains to be seen.