Top 5 Teams Most Likely to Draft Rookie Sensation Connor Bedard

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Kevin Garcia
March 6, 2023 (11:57 PM)

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Connor Bedard is expected to be a generational talent for whichever franchise takes him in the upcoming draft.

There were some people who were started to put Adam Fantilli ahead of Bedard, thinking he was the more NHL ready player.

Bedard quickly put those ideas to rest, especially with his play the last week in the WJC.

With Bedard back to being the unanimous #1 overall pick in the next draft, it is a good time to check out who the top five teams to land Bedard are:

1) Chicago Blackhawks: The Hawks are currently the worst team in the NHL, with an 8-24-4 record. With guys like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Max Domi, and Andreas Athanasiou likely leaving during the trade deadline, it seems certain that things will not get better for this organization this season.

2) Anaheim Ducks: You probably expected me to put the Coyotes here. Well, I just truly don't think the Coyotes will end up as a bottom two team. I know things can change with the lottery system, but I am making this list off of odds of landing the #1 pick. The Ducks have some solid young talent, but they are just playing terribly this year. They have only won a few games in regulation and have the worst goal differential in the league by 12 goals. It is definitely in their best interest to tank this season, since it is already not going well, and try to sneak into the Bedard sweepstakes to add to their pretty solid young core that they already have. Now, let me tell you why I think the Ducks will finish up worse than the Coyotes.

3) Arizona Coyotes: The Coyotes' players have more to play for than the other bottom tier teams in the league. They are playing in a tiny stadium, they have a very poor fanbase, there are discussions of them leaving Arizona, and they are just the laughing stock of the league. So, with the players knowing all of this, they go out there with the "who cares?" mentality and play every game like it is their last, because they have a lot to prove to the NHL community. Through the same amount of games, they have 11 points less than the Blackhawks. Right now, I don't think they are a bottom three team, but they have some interesting players who could get dealt by the deadline. The deadline is pretty late in the NHL season, so it doesn't impact the teams as much as in other sports, but I do like their chances to finish behind the Hawks and Ducks to end the year.

4) Columbus Blue Jackets: This is weird for me to put the Blue Jackets here, because I thought they would at least be an average team, but that has not been the case. With a couple stars in Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine, you would hope to see them doing a little better, but as we know with the Toews and Kane situation in Chicago, that just isn't the case. The stars can only be as good as the talent around them, and that has been proven with the Jackets and Hawks this year. I think they will get worse at the deadline and find a way to finish in the bottom four to end the season.

5) San Jose Sharks: The Sharks are currently the 4th worst team in the NHL, and I see them finding a way to move up one spot to the 5th worst team, despite some major changes coming their way. They are expected to heavily shop Erik Karlsson, one of the game's best defensemen. On top of Karlsson, there are rumors that they may look to move Timo Meier, as well, as he could give them a lot of value. This makes sense because Timo is ready to play for a winner now, and the Sharks are likely to take a few years to get back to any serious winning. They will get worse, but I don't see the Coyotes staying ahead of them in the standings.

If you see anyone who thinks the Hawks won't be the worst team in the NHL by the end of the year, you shouldn't believe them. The Hawks are already the worst team, even with guys like Kane, Toews, Domi, Athanasiou, Lafferty, and Seth Jones. I expect one, MAYBE two, of those guys to still be on the team by the end of the year. The defense is atrocious and constantly turns the puck over in their own zone. Mix that with the poor goaltending and there is no way to manage to turn around the season.