3 Best NHL Situations for Top Prospect Connor Bedard

NHL top prospect Connor Bedard has been putting on a show for years and recently, he's taken his game to another level at the World Junior Hockey Championships. Bedard has shattered many Team Canada records throughout the tournament and on Monday night in their quarterfinal matchup against Slovakia, scored one of the nicest overtime winners you'll ever see. Tank for Bedard is about to take over the NHL's bottom feeders and here's three teams who would be great situations for the young phenom:

Anaheim Ducks

Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish and Connor Bedard on the same line for the next decade? Zegras and Bedard could form one of the most explosive one-two offensive punches in the NHL. It's a smaller market with not a ton of pressure and who wouldn't love playing hockey for a living in sunny California. The Ducks are second last in the league ahead of only the Chicago Blackhawks and would be wise to try and trade away some assets before the March 3 trade deadline in order to keep them on track with the league's worst.

Chicago Blackhawks

Speaking on the Blackhawks, they are currently the worst team in the league with a record of 8-24-4 on the season. There's been plenty of talks about Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane being moved this season, but imagine a scenario where neither say Kane stays and Bedard joins forces next season. This would be fun to watch but may be a bit of a pipe dream at this point. Bedard would be the perfect replacement as the face of the franchise in Chicago and given how passionate their fan base is, this could be an ideal situation for the consensus number one pick.

Arizona Coyotes

It would be kind of weird for Bedard to go from playing in a small arena in junior to an even smaller arena in the NHL, however you can bet he wouldn't care. Bedard would give the Coyotes a cornerstone piece to build around and with the expected trade of Jakob Chychrun and their loads of draft picks, things could turn around quickly in the desert. Bedard would play major minutes for the Coyotes and could quickly become their best player. Another non-pressured market, and a team the NHL would love to see add a superstar.

Photo credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

All 16 from #16...🤩

Watch every one of Connor Bedard's record-setting #WorldJuniors goals. pic.twitter.com/LMIU1ZysbR
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) January 3, 2023