Can Celebrini vs. Bedard become NHL's next great rivalry? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on X at @Sheng_Peng.
For the first time on Thursday, Macklin Celebrini will play against Connor Bedard.
It’s the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft versus the 2023 top pick, two North Vancouver boys who skated with each other when they were kids at North Shore Winter Club … and the NHL’s next great star rivalry?
“I don’t know if it’ll be the Crosby-Ovechkin,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said, “but it’ll be probably in that ballpark.”
Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin has been must-see TV for two decades, since Crosby was the 2005 first-overall pick and Ovechkin was the 2004 first overall.
But like Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins and Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals, both Celebrini’s Sharks and Bedard’s Chicago Blackhawks have a ways to go before they see each other in a meaningful game.
For the third consecutive season, San Jose and Chicago are vying for the No. 1 pick.
The 2024 Calder Trophy winner, in his second season in the cellar, had this advice for the 2025 Calder front-runner.