"Connor Bedard hate is hilarious": NHL Network sparks online debate with Top 25 players under 25 years of age ranking

The NHL Network's Top 25 players born in the first quarter of the century list was panned by fans, as they expressed their dissatisfaction with the rankings. Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, and Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators rounded out the top three.

Some of the fan outrage was centered around the Chicago Blackhawks' Connor Bedard, who was ranked eighth on the list. Fans expected him to be ranked higher on the list.

"The Connor Bedard hate is hilarious. No chance he’s 8th hahahaha," a fan wrote.

"Absolute joke. Bedard at 8? Michkov that low is ridiculous," another fan said.

A few fans also felt that Bedard was ranked higher than expected.

"Based off what? Lol. What has Bedard done? Lucas Raymond will make you pay for your sins," a different opinion said.

Bedard has 128 points in 150 games for them so far after being selected as the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Last month, Bedard was ranked 6th on the list of top 10 forwards under the age of 25 for the upcoming season. Stutzle led the list there.

The list, in general, received negative reactions from the X community. Here are other reactions:

"I think this might get the cake as the worst list of the off-season guys," a fan wrote.

"How does "NHL Network" continuously embarrass themselves," another fan wrote.

"This is average twitter rage bait," a user said.

As it is a league-wide list made up of players from all 32 teams and especially youngsters who are expected to lead the way for each of those teams going into the future, fans must have felt offended at some of the rankings.

Connor Bedard has made changes to his game as per NHL insider

Frank Seravalli, speaking on Bleacher Report's Ask an Insider, opened up about Connor Bedard improving his overall style of play. He has worked on his movements and other adjustments that give him a more aggressive mentality with the puck.

“There have been some whispers that Bedard has really worked on his skating,” Seravalli said. “Perhaps changing some of his angling as well, things that worked for him that he never really had to touch being such a superstar at the WHL level.”

“I really hope that he gets back to or establishes in the NHL for the first time,, a shoot-first mentality,” Seravalli added. “I think his release, second only to Auston Matthews. I think it’s that good.”

Bedard heads to the final year of a three-year entry-level contract with the Blachawks. They would hope to swiftly sign him to an extension in order to fast forward their rebuild.

About the author

Nikhil Parshy is a baseball and ice hockey journalist at Sportskeeda, and after starting out as a cricket reporter, he has been an analyst with SK since November 2022. His interest in the sports were piqued a few years back after watching highlights on YouTube and he has followed the game ever since.

The Chicago Cubs breaking the 108-year curse in 2016 to lift the World Series remains Nikhil's favorite baseball moment. Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani has been his favorite player ever since he started following the game, while the LA Dodgers are his favorite team.

As a writer, Nikhil maintains a strong attention to detail and rigorously cross-checks information. He seeks to strike a balance in his writing such that the regular reader gains an insight into player profiles, while also keeping in mind that the non-regular reader is not put off by jargon and shallow analysis.

Nikhil is an avid public speaker, and when not writing about baseball, he regularly participates in debates and quizzes.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash