Insider Declares Connor Bedard-Macklin Celebrini Debates Over

Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini have and always will be compared as first-overall picks taken in consecutive drafts (2023, 2024), tasked with turning things around for two franchises that needed someone to save them.

Both players are budding superstars, just scratching the surface of what they’re going to become. However, much of the hockey world currently favors Celebrini, including Team Canada management, who not only selected him for the Olympic team but also immediately put him on the top line alongside Connor McDavid, while Bedard is left watching from home.

Celebrini has flourished in that role on the international stage, and as a result, Jeff Marek believes any debates over who is better are over—for now, at least.

Marek said:

“One thing that does stand out now too—and this is not going to be a shot at Connor Bedard, it’s not meant to be that, he’s an excellent player—but the conversation about who’s better has to be over. The conversation, if there even was one this year, about Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, that conversation is done. Macklin Celebrini is, I don’t know, I’m sort of running out of superlatives to describe Macklin Celebrini”

The 19-year-old Celebrini is tied for second in tournament scoring with six points (four goals, two assists) through three games. He’s also, of course, having a phenomenal season in San Jose, sitting at 81 points (28 goals, 53 assists) produced in 55 games. Bedard, 20, on the other hand, has had a great campaign as well, having recorded 53 points (23 goals, 30 assists) across 44 games for the Blackhawks.