Part 1

Am I the only one in the camp of Bedard not getting 80+ points lol

I mean most of this post is a best case scenario ig but I think his floor is 60 and ceiling is 80 next year

Right? The expectations are WAYYYY too high, right now, not only with CHI fans but pundits and fans all over the NHL. I will be happy if he puts up 30-50 points in his first year in the NHL as an 18 year old. More points would certainly be awesome and he is definitely capable of it, but EXPECTING anything else is just asking for disappointment. Also, I'm not predicting with any certainty that he will be, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were sheltered in a middle 6 role for his first NHL season.

This isn't the 2000 Wild buncha grinders with 36pt Marian Gaborik. CHI designed the whole F core around Bedard and included scorers. CB has pwned every junior level with eye-popping, record setting results, while being in the spotlight as the Man. The current benchmark for elite level rookies is only 40pts; CB should easily double that at a minimum. The NHL needs him to be a star in a big market and I'm sure a memo from the league office has already gone out to the other 31 teams. Everything is aligned for him to be an instant superstar a la Crosby & McDavid.

I'm not saying it isn't possible or that he isn't capable of it. I'm saying everyone needs to calm down, we don't need him to be an instant superstar, HE doesn't need to be an instant superstar either (for the good of his development, it might be good to take measured approach to learning the pro game), and it isn't the end of the world if he doesn't come in and put up 80 points in his first NHL season. It is a different game than when Crosby came into the league, and the same can even be said for McDavid, although not by as large of a margin.

Also not QUITE the same, but how many people said all this stuff about Hughes and Lafreniere? So, what I am saying is we should not be disappointed if he only puts up 30-50 points as an 18 year old rookie straight out of junior. That is still a pretty successful rookie season and there are plenty of other ways to measure a player's success outside of points.

Like... Maybe he has a ton of highlight reel attempts, but there is a steeper learning curve for getting past pro defensemen and goaltenders than expected. Or, maybe he doesn't have the talent around him to help facilitate that kind of production, this forward core isn't as good as you are making it seem in your response. Maybe he has more trouble with the NHL 82 game grind than expected. Etc.

There are a lot of factors and learning curves to consider for such young players. So, EXPECTING that kind of production is just setting ourselves up for disappointment, but HOPING for it is a whole other thing and realizing that he has the upside to BECOME that without expecting immediate results is sensible. We need to leave a margin for nuance, development, unknown variables, and error, in our expectations.