Vancouver Canucks center Teddy Blueger made an appearance at training camp today (as per Noah Strang of the Daily Hive). The 30-year-old wore a no-contact jersey today after undergoing minor surgery recently to repair a lower-body injury. Blueger wasn’t listed on the team’s camp roster but appears to be ramping up to become a full participant.
Blueger had a good first year in Vancouver last year, dressing in 68 games and matching a career-high with 28 points. The former Stanley Cup champion has never offered a ton offensively but is more than serviceable in a bottom-six role and will be a welcome addition for the Canucks when he gets back to full health.
In other Western Conference notes:
- Calgary Flames prospect Matvei Gridin was involved in a QMJHL trade today as he was dealt by the Val-d’Or Foreurs to the Shawinigan Cataractes (as per team release). The move has been rumored for quite some time since the CHL annual Import Draft in July. Gridin had yet to come to an agreement with Val-d’Or on his QMJHL Scholarship and Development Agreement and was not part of the team’s training camp. Calgary selected Gridin with the 28th overall pick in this year’s NHL entry draft and has unusual eligibility this season because he was drafted out of the USHL and never played a CHL game. Gridin can start the season in the NHL, AHL or CHL.
- The Chicago Blackhawks aren’t expected to make the playoffs this season but there is pressure on the team this season to look like a structured NHL team once again (as per Mark Lazerus of The Athletic). The Blackhawks haven’t won a playoff series since 2015 and won’t likely win one this season, but the expectations are that the team will be competitive and superstar Connor Bedard will take the next step towards being a megastar. On top of that, there will be pressure on third-year head coach Luke Richardson who finally has an NHL lineup to coach and will be expected to implement a system and structure that utilizes the talent that the team has brought in over the last two summers.
Did I miss something? Connor Bedard had 61 points last season. He was 83rd in scoring; eight defensemen outscored him. By a single pip, Bedard *just* missed having the worst plus/minus in the league. His faceoff percentage (granted, like most rookies) was terrible. With over 400 players ahead of him in hits and over 500 ahead of him on blocks, he doesn’t play a physical game.
He is certainly a very heavily hyped and promising young star, but he’s not yet the reincarnation of Stan Mikita or Denis Savard. You have to EARN being a “superstar,” Gabriel, before you get crowned being a preeminent star. Connor Bedard has not yet done that.
I mean… you missed him being a near ppg player as a rookie, with 50% of his points coming at even strength. The guy’s a stud already. He missed 14 games because of a broken jaw. He was over 2.7 pts per 60 mins played… placing him between Quinn Hughes and Travis Konecny, and ahead of guys named Stuzle, Jarvis, Malkin, Trocheck and Nugent Hopkins…. He also did this on one of the worst NHL teams I’ve seen play in a long time (I live in Chicago). I’m not a Hawks fan (Let’s Go Red Wings!!!), but it’s pretty clear this kid is absolutely special, and is on the path to superstardom, so yeah in my opinion, you missed alot.
Good call Feury. That was the kids first year, so even give him a chance to acclimate. Let’s see you excel at your job the first year with literally the world watching your every move. No, I think the kid is doing just fine.
I agree he’s a stud. But not only is he not YET a superstar, you even agree with me, so I’m unsure what your issue is here.
@feury and @hockey. I agree, the kid had a strong rookie season, even with a broken jaw. However, the point that @nha is making is that Bedard is *not yet at the superstar level. “On the path to superstardom” and “doing just fine” are not qualities defining superstars. Bedard still needs to improve on a lot of skills to complement the awesome skills he’s already shown. I think the kid will be great, or at least I hope so. And yet I do think the hype is exceeding his play thus far. Hopefully, he’s able to continue to grow his game this season.
(nods) Yep. ALL Bedard is doing on the ice so far is points, and the last time anyone thought 61 points was “superstar” production was the 1940s.
He was 18 years old last year. I’d cut him a little slack since most 18 year olds just figured out how not to whiz on their shoes. Doing that at 18 is amazing and as was said, His line mates didn’t exactly set themselves apart from cannon fodder.