EP Rinkside has been doing these mid-season reviews of select rookies throughout the league lately and they provide really excellent analyses of how each player has performed in their first season (or first *full* season for someone like Vlasic) in the NHL.
This is paywalled content but I’ll add a few quotes here and link all of the YouTube videos that the articles include since they are open/free content. While there is a lot in this post, it is not even close to all the insight discussed in the actual articles so I definitely recommend! It’s also just really interesting to read about two drastically different players with different expectations and development, but how they each fund success this season.
[**Connor Bedard – Already exceeding immense expectations**](https://eprinkside.com/2024/02/08/rookie-midterms-connor-bedard-already-exceeding-immense-expectations-with-chicago-blackhawks)
*The weight of that [hype] is probably a lot to bear for Bedard, but when you follow in the footsteps of players like Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Connor McDavid, it’s the ability to thrive in this environment that makes someone special.*
*Bedard was passing the test with flying colours. That is, right up until he suffered a broken jaw on a hit at the start of January that took him out of the All-Star Game. That left the Blackhawks budding star with 15 goals and 18 assists at the 39-game mark, a couple of highlight reel plays among those points.*
[…]
*While his game may not be well-rounded from a defensive perspective, Bedard’s tools, cunning, and sense have already been on full display for hockey fans to marvel at. Elite shooting talent and this level of hockey sense don’t come around often, and instant translation to the NHL game has only been positive for the sport.*
*Bedard transcends the normal expectations for a player in this age group; he’s someone who can be sold as an exceptional talent and a worthy spokesperson for the sport.*
*It’s easy to envision a future of wins, hardware, and goals in abundance when such a player comes along.*
[How Connor Bedard improves the condition of the puck](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ9mU70178s&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feprinkside.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
[Connor Bedard breaking down defenders in transition](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wsvt8e_W-vs&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feprinkside.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
[How Connor Bedard’s pass support habits expands his scoring](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtqtm8i6SZI&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feprinkside.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
[How Connor Bedard’s magnetism opens space for teammates](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SZs44h1bQFw&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feprinkside.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
[Connor Bedard’s use of give-and-go passing in transition](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8VRfyEbmjNw&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feprinkside.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
[Connor Bedard’s physical challenges in his rookie season](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CQciNn-WgjQ&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feprinkside.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
[Connor Bedard – Learning to defend in a hostile environment](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1lZxS54LK-Q&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feprinkside.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
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[**Alex Vlasic – Slow and steady development paying off**](https://eprinkside.com/2024/02/14/rookie-midterms-slow-and-steady-development-paying-off-alex-vlasic)
*One of the season’s great developmental success stories is quietly unfolding in Chicago. Alex Vlasic, who the Blackhawks took 43rd overall in the second round of the 2019 draft, is turning into one of the NHL’s premier shutdown defenceman in only his first full season of action.*
*Playing on the first pair, next to Seth Jones, he’s accumulated impressive defensive results no matter which model you cite, all while playing among the most difficult minutes in the NHL.*
*This hasn’t happened by accident either. When the Blackhawks travelled to Edmonton to play the Oilers in the midst of their near-historic win streak, Vlasic often lined up opposite Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. It was a similar story when the coaching staff called his number to take the ice opposite Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller against the Vancouver Canucks and Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz when they faced the Dallas Stars.*
[…]
*This season, the team can’t ask much more out of him. Vlasic seems to be performing at a high level and still improving. His recent play has been a shining bright spot in an otherwise unexciting stretch of games for the Blackhawks in Connor Bedard’s absence.*
[Alex Vlasic – Range](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c3RHYLGIr_I&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feprinkside.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
[Alex Vlasic – Offense](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEKppVbd87Y&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feprinkside.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
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Yes, the Bedard article is way more in depth lol
by JD397
