For a long time, it was Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin; now it's Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. Moving forward, will it be Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard carrying the weight as the faces of the NHL?
The 2024 and 2023 first-overall picks are already often compared and will be linked for the entirety of their careers. Both were very highly touted entering the draft and the league, though the hype around Bedard reached Crosby and McDavid levels, particularly after his ridiculous performance at the World Juniors.
However, for the Blackhawks' star center, it's been difficult to live up to such high expectations through his first two seasons. On the flip side, Celebrini came in and went above and beyond what was expected, which is where all of the comparison comes into play.
NHL prospect analyst Corey Pronman has recently joined the conversation, ranking the best players and prospects under 23 years old in an article for The Athletic. He had Celebrini ahead of Bedard, though both landed in a tier of their own at the top.
"Celebrini was the best rookie in the NHL last season and one of the best 18-year-olds I can remember in the league in recent memory. He's one of the few players I've scouted where it's hard to see any noticeable weakness. He's average-sized, but Celebrini is highly competitive, wins a lot of battles, and projects as a two-way matchup center in the NHL. He has all the makings of a potential superstar around whom you can build a contender," Pronman said.
"Bedard's second NHL season was a bit more challenging than his rookie year, but he was still a top player for Chicago and one of the best young players in the league. He can make special plays around the puck consistently. He competes hard and doesn't get pushed around. There's a possibility he has to get pushed to the wing due to these slight limitations, but he can play a competent center. He projects as a player who will sit at the top of the scoring leaderboards in the league," Pronman added.
New @TheAthleticNHL: Ranking the best NHL players and prospects under 23 https://t.co/m5kYwruYo2
— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) September 2, 2025
The rookie put up 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in just 70 games in his first season as a Shark, while the sophomore tallied 67 points (23 goals, 44 assists) while playing all 82 games in Chicago.
Celebrini and Bedard have trained together this summer
While hockey fans and the media love to debate over Macklin Celebrini or Connor Bedard, the two don't seem to be affected by it.
The North Vancouver, British Columbia, natives have been skating together in their hometown throughout the offseason, something you have to think will become a tradition similar to that of Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Brad Marchand back in Nova Scotia.
Iron sharpens iron, and Celebrini and Bedard will only make each other better as they look to take the next step in 2025-26 and the years to follow.