Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Comparing Connor Bedard To Connor McDavid

12/24/2022 at 11:18am EST

from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

If what we know about the 10,000-hour rule is true — that it takes literally years of intensive practice to achieve the mastery of a complex skill — then maybe Connor Bedard does have a chance at becoming the next Connor McDavid.

After all, it’s not just their names that they have in common.

As early as the age of 10, McDavid has been practising with skills coach Joe Quinn, whose reactive-countering training technique is used by some of the best players in the NHL. Bedard started when he was just eight, giving him two more years — and hundreds, if not thousands — more hours of practice than McDavid.

“He’s one of the longest-serving superstars that we’ve had, no question,” said Nick Quinn, who runs Power Edge Pro with his father.

The Quinns still have video of an eight-year-old Bedard on the ice with a 16-year-old McDavid, both of them whizzing around an obstacle course that tests your ability to stickhandle and skate in tight spaces without losing speed. Even then, Bedard stood out. Not only because the North Vancouver native was so much smaller than McDavid and everyone else, as well as the only player wearing a full cage. But also because he was so good at what is basically a high-speed juggling act that has at times humbled the likes of John Tavares, Taylor Hall and Jack Hughes.

“I don’t say it lightly, because we’ve had so many top players come through the program, but he is the closest I’ve seen to Connor McDavid — both from a skill perspective and also his mental state.

continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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