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NHL Insider says league ‘would be happy’ if Connor Bedard went to Flyers

By Chuck Bausman

Jan 25, 2023; Langley, BC, CANADA; CHL Top Prospects team red forward Connor Bedard (98) skates during the second period in the 2023 CHL Top Prospects ice hockey game at Langley Events Centre. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2023; Langley, BC, CANADA; CHL Top Prospects team red forward Connor Bedard (98) skates during the second period in the 2023 CHL Top Prospects ice hockey game at Langley Events Centre. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Flyers want Connor Bedard, the NHL’s next superstar in waiting. Naturally. So does every other team.

Bedard apparently is that good. Bedard is expected to be the top pick in June’s draft. He is ranked as the top prospect by the prestigious NHL Central Scouting — along with anyone else who ranks draft prospects.

Hockey Night in Canada insider Elliotte Friedman dropped this little newsmaker on a recent episode of “32 Thoughts: The Podcast”:

“I think the NHL would be very happy if Connor Bedard ended up in Philly. That’s a big-time hockey market … Philly is a big, big, intense, sports-loving, hockey-loving market, near, sorry West Coasters, the East Coast media hub of North America.”

Beating the odds

Friedman’s remarks are the giddy, the fun, the potential dream come true.

This is the reality: The Flyers have a 6.5 percent chance of winning the draft lottery on May 8, only the seventh-best odds.

But they have enjoyed lottery luck in the past.

In 2017, the Flyers went from 13th to second in the lottery. They had a 2.2 percent chance of landing the top pick. The Flyers selected forward Nolan Patrick at No. 2 in 2017, who turned out to be one of the team’s most disappointing picks ever.

Bedard, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound center, is the most touted prospect since Connor McDavid was selected in the 2015 draft class. McDavid has been the cornerstone of a surging Edmonton team. McDavid had a league-leading 64 goals and 89 assists this season.

McDavid has 850 points in 569 career games.

A rebuild has begun in Philadelphia as the Flyers try to regroup after missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season. They have a new interim general manager in Danny Briere, a second-year coach in John Tortorella, and a young core of players the team hopes grow into a winning unit.

Boy, could Connor Bedard help a rebuild …

According to thehockeywriters.com: “Connor Bedard is going to be a special player in the NHL sooner rather than later and any team that lands the first overall pick this year is going to be absolutely ecstatic.

“He has such an incredible wrist shot that you could drop him in the NHL this year and he’d feast. Bedard’s wrist shot will be one of the absolute best shots in the NHL from the moment he arrives (at least top-five), with the power and deception to make professional goalies tremble in their creases.”

Here are the odds for the 11 teams eligible to win the No. 1 pick:

1. Anaheim Ducks: 18.5 percent

2. Columbus Blue Jackets: 13.5 percent

3. Chicago Blackhawks: 11.5 percent

4. San Jose Sharks: 9.5 percent

5. Montreal Canadiens: 8.5 percent

6. Arizona Coyotes: 7.5 percent

7. Flyers: 6.5 percent

8. Washington Capitals: 6.0 percent

9. Detroit Red Wings: 5.0 percent

10. St. Louis Blues: 3.5 percent

11. Vancouver Canucks: 3.0 percent

The odds are long. The stakes are high. But the payoff would be dramatic.

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