I decided to do a little digging this morning because I noticed that last night’s Sharks game was the 41st of the season for 2024 No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini. Since there’s this movement on the interwebs to make a case that he’s a better prospect than Connor Bedard, and Celebrini is now officially half-way thru his rookie season, why not compare the two at the 41 game mark of their respective rookie seasons?
During both of their respective rookie seasons, Bedard and Celebrini dealt with injuries before getting to their 41st game in the NHL. Bedard missed seven weeks with his broken jaw in January and early February; Celebrini has missed 12 Sharks games thus far. That’s important to recognize because it levels the playing field to an extent.
| Bedard | Celebrini | |
| Games | 41 | 41 |
| Goals | 16 | 16 |
| Assisist | 20 | 20 |
| Points | 36 | 36 |
| + / – | -23 | -20 |
| TOI | 19:06 | 19:36 |
| SOG | 127 | 138 |
| PPG | 1 | 5 |
| PPP | 7 | 11 |
| GWG | 2 | 4 |
| FO Pct | 39.0 | 48.4 |
Those numbers are… strikingly similar, aren’t they?
How about the records of the teams they’ve played those rookies seasons on?
- The Sharks, with a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh last night, are now 15-32-6.
- The Blackhawks were 15-37-3 after winning the game in which Bedard played his 41st game.
Huh… ain’t that something?
