Simon Boisvert: “Macklin Celebrini can bring more to a team than Connor Bedard”.

And this season, Bedard already has 58 points in 61 NHL games. He’s on a terrible team, but racking up points isn’t exactly a big challenge for him after all.

In a few weeks’ time, Macklin Celebrini should in turn be selected first overall by whichever team wins the draft lottery. Lane Hutson’s NCAA teammate is destroying everything in his path, with 32 goals and 64 points in 37 games against adults.

On the most recent episode of Processus, Mathias Brunet and Simon Boisvert had a little chat about Celebrini, and the Snake made a pretty strong statement: in his opinion, Celebrini can bring more than Bedard to a team that wants to win games.

He wouldn’t go so far as to take Celebrini in a hockey pool ahead of Bedard, but hockey isn’t just about points.

Macklin Celebrini before Connor Bedard for a champion club? Listen to the new episode of Process, available on all Athletic Commission platforms! #Process #NHLHopes #NHL #ConnorBedard #MacklinCelebrini #Canadians pic.twitter.com/g9lCBKD9ya

– commissionathletique (@Commissionathl) April 6, 2024

In fact, the Snake explains that Celebrini is a more complete center who will be an excellent first center who will be both solid offensively and defensively. Bedard is a real offensive bomb, but he doesn’t have Celebrini’s 200-foot potential.

With the Blackhawks being bad again this year, it’s not impossible that the club will get their hands on Celebrini, which could result in a new Toews-Kane in town. That said, Bedard is playing center right now, but one wonders if he might not move to Celebrini’s wing eventually if that scenario were to materialize.

I’ve always thought Bedard’s future in the NHL was on the wing, personally, and getting hold of Celebrini would be a good reason to turn Bedard into a winger.

In any case, that said, it’s understandable that the team that gets its hands on Celebrini clearly won’t be getting its hands on an ordinary player. He may not be a guy who’ll rack up 100-point seasons, but he has the potential to be a top-quality first center for many years to come.

He may not have been touted for years as the future God of hockey (as Bedard was), but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s one hell of a hockey player, and it’s not for nothing that Antoine Roussel wouldn’t hate it if the Habs lost more games to increase their chances of getting him.

In gusto

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