Growing up watching the NHL in the 2010s, the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks were consistently two of the best teams across not only the Western Conference, but the entire league. In 2024-2025, the two teams were 31st and 32nd in the standings at season’s end. Despite some exciting pieces on each of their roster, it appeared they were both a while away from being competitive again. As of today, the Sharks have a 11-9-3 record, and are tied for the final wild card spot in the West, and the Blackhawks are one point behind them with a 10-8-4 record. The first overall picks from the 2023 and 2024 NHL Draft are changing the narratives surrounding their teams, and Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini are putting the league on notice.

Connor Bedard was the most hyped up draft prospect since Connor McDavid when he was drafted first overall in 2023. His rookie season may have been a little bit underwhelming for the expectations going in, but Bedard still managed 61 points in 68 games (missed time due to a broken jaw), and took home the Calder Trophy. Year two was by all means a disappointment, as people were expecting him to take a jump and establish himself as a star, and even though he was able to stay healthy and play all 82 games, he only made a slight jump to 67 points, and his point per game production dropped.

The discourse around Bedard heading into this season was very negative. Given how much hype he had coming into the league, and the results driven sports world of today, people were already giving up on the once thought to be generational prospect.

This year has been the breakout season everyone was waiting for, through the first 22 games of the season Bedard sits fourth in league scoring with 31 points, and tied for sixth in goals with 13. He is on his way to set new career highs as his 82 game pace would have him finishing with 48 goals, and 115 points. The goal scoring is certainly the most encouraging improvement as Bedard was known to be an elite all around offensive player coming into the league, but his ability to put the puck in the net from anywhere in any way was his greatest strength. Having scored 71 goals in his draft year in the WHL, only having 22 goals as a rookie and 23 as a sophomore was underwhelming. He has the ability to be a consistent name in the Richard race, and I fully expect him to claim the trophy at least once in his career.

The Blackhawks have been one of the surprise teams through the first quarter of the season, and it is not just Bedard. Teammate Frank Nazar is enjoying a breakout season of his own, with 15 points in 20 games. 5 on 5 the two are on separate lines which allows the scoring to be spread out the lineup. Tyler Bertuzzi, Tuevo Teravainen, and Andre Burkovsky give head coach Jeff Blashill lots of options on the wing to compliment their young 1-2 punch down the middle. Young defenceman Artyom Levshunov, the 2nd overall pick in 2024 is emerging in his own right, and leads the D in points, and occupies the PP1 D spot. Lastly, their goalie of the future (and now) Spencer Knight (first round pick by Florida in 2019( has been lights out, with a .924 SV% and 2.38 GAA.

Macklin Celebrini came into the year with a far less negative sentiment than Bedard. He had 63 points in 70 games as a rookie, and would have likely won the Calder if not for Lane Hutson. For a team as bad as San Jose last season, to have a spot as bright as Celebrini was encouraging, fans adopted the frame The Future Is Teal as they were excited about what was being built. Macklin not only produced on the scoresheet, but anyone who watched Sharks games knew how special he was and that he was one of the best players on the ice out of the gate. There was lots of excitement for his second season, expecting that play to carry over, but he has emerged as one of the best players in the league, regardless of age.

He is second in the NHL in points with 34, only trailing Avalanche Superstar Nathan MacKinnon, and is tied for third with 14 goals. On pace for 50 goals and 121 points, we have not seen production like this from a 19 year old since Sidney Crosby, a player Celebrini had drawn comparisons to. The Sharks already have more than half their win total from last season with 11 (20 wins in 2024-2025), and with a bonafide Superstar leading a group of young and talented players such as Will Smith, William Eklund, Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson, the future does certainly seem to favour the Sharks. Not to mention they too have their own former first round pick goalie Yaroslav Askarov (11th overall in 2020) who has taken over as the team’s starter with an impressive .913 SV% and 2.76 GAA.

When the two are among the top players in the league in scoring, as they are both alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid in the top four, the argument for Team Canada becomes less of an argument for them, and more for the players that might be picked instead of them. Sure they are young, but they are outproducing their peers and making strong cases to play in the Olympics. Could you imagine the two on a line together with another one of Canada’s talented forwards? It feels as though the two are motivating one another, whether it is intentional or not. It feels like every time one has a big game, the other responds with one of their own. Keeping us fans entertained night in, night out.

Whatever happens with the Team Canada selection process, or the rest of the Blackhawks and Sharks seasons, this year has been very exciting for the future of hockey. It seems that Chicago and San Jose will soon be back to competing for the playoffs and more, and the Western Conference just got even more loaded, with the emergence of these young Superstars and their squads.