Bedard went through the gauntlet on a depleted team as a rookie and was the top player on the team while Celebrini is going to have an easier time in his first year in the NHL.
The Chicago Blackhawks had a tough first season with Connor Bedard and there wasn't too much done to surround the eventual Calder Trophy winner with talent other than bringing in forwards Taylor Hall (injured 72 games) and 36-year-old Nick Foligno.
Bedard led the Blackhawks offensively when he was healthy and finished the 2023-24 season with 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games — also tops among rookies. Only one player on the thin and injury-depleted 2022-23 Chicago team finished within 23 points of Bedard, even though he missed 14 games. That was forward Philipp Kurashev (54 points), who played on the same line most of the season.
Bedard's second season is going to be a lot different with a healthy Hall and additions like Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Ilya Mikheyev. But his rookie season was another story. In comparison, 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini looks like he is going to have an easier go of things with some solid players around him in the top-6.
The San Jose Sharks did well this offseason picking up some players who were pushed aside around the league and making some other moves to get better. Not only will the Sharks likely have a healthy Logan Couture back in the mix as well as players like Mikael Granlund, William Eklund, and Fabian Zetterlund, the team added Tyler Toffoli, Barclay Goodrow, and Alex Wennberg.
Toffoli is the key addition here that will likely be playing with Celebrini. It's similar to the Blackhawks acquiring Hall if Hall scored more goals and was able to stay relatively healthy. Chicago was a mess last season, especially once injuries started to hit. The Sharks look better built to sustain injuries or poor play from some players and will be able to shuffle lines around accordingly as to not hang Celebrini out to dry in his rookie year.
A big difference is going to be the protection Celebrini is going to get as opposed to what Bedard had to endure in his first season. Bedard was without a doubt the top line center because the next best option was Jason Dickinson. The Sharks have Couture and Granlund, so Celebrini can get better matchups and not have to go up against players like Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Nathan MacKinnon. The top defense pairings on opposing teams will also likely be put out against a different line.
We have yet to see how Celebrini will perform in the NHL, but he and Bedard may be closely tied together for a long time being first overall picks and centers from back-to-back drafts. Bedard has the edge, but the expectation is that he takes a nice step forward in his second season while Celebrini should impress and also take home the Calder Trophy.
