32 Thoughts: Bedard, Celebrini making strong cases for Team Canada

• Pavel Mintyukov is a name to watch in trade
• Can Oilers, Leafs turn around rocky starts?
• Why Nashville's decision-making process is tough to read

Last week, at the NHL GM meetings in Toronto, commissioner Gary Bettman jumped on the Generation Z bandwagon.

There was a video highlighting the fact Zoomers led 18 teams in goals, with 10 per cent of all goals scored coming from players aged 21 or younger — the highest since 2018-19. There were slides showing a 20-year age range among the top 10 scorers, with both teenagers and 35-plus geriatrics represented.

Seven days after that presentation, Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini put on another show. Energized by an “A” stitched onto his jersey (smooth move, Blackhawks), Bedard sealed a 5-2 win over Calgary with his second hat trick of the season. Ninety minutes later, Celebrini matched with his third of the night an overtime winner to beat Utah.

It was the second night in NHL history with hat tricks by players 20 or younger. Almost 82 years ago, on Feb. 19, 1944, Jack Hamilton and Bud Poile combined for seven Toronto goals in a 10-4 victory over Boston.

Bedard and Celebrini deserve a ton of credit. Bedard’s been very private about last summer’s training — the one detail that’s understood is better co-ordination of his workouts to truly impact on-ice performance — but the impact is obvious. In all of 2024-25, he had 70 speed bursts of at least 32 km/h. That was in the 55th percentile of the NHL. By last weekend, he was already at 60, now in the 97th percentile. He’s Barry Allen, after the lightning bolt struck his forensic lab. 

More importantly, the back-to-back No. 1 picks are elevating their organizations. Entering Wednesday’s games, Chicago’s a wild-card team and San Jose is two points out of the playoffs. No one saw this coming. (Apropos of nothing, if this continues, Spencer Knight is going to build himself a heck of a Vezina case.) 

Now, there is an even bigger conversation.

Twenty years ago, Team Canada left 18-year-old Sidney Crosby off the Olympic team. Did it prevent them from winning gold? That’s a stretch. But, with 20/20 hindsight, would a different decision be made?

Both Bedard and Celebrini attended the August Olympic orientation camp in Calgary. You can definitely see Canada thinking, “We hope one of them forces us to think hard.” Two? Nope. No way, not happening, not even a conversation over Doug Armstrong’s favourite Scotch. 

Yet here we are in the year 2025 AD. Team Canada is careful about discussing these decisions, knowing the nuclear nature of discourse. 

The case for Bedard/Celebrini is obvious: use your eyes. And: not taking them is anti-fun. 

But there are enough clues to understand where resistance might come. In putting together the 4 Nations champion, Canada emphasized winning pedigree at the senior level. That mattered. It was a short, stressful event with a nail-biting championship that had an entire country sweating buckets on their couches. The calmness of those who’d played in multiple main events won the day. 

Bedard and Celebrini don’t have that experience, due to their age and that when you get taken first overall, you don’t get an elevator straight to the top. Bedard won back-to-back World Junior golds, featuring highlight-reel material and 31 points in 14 games. He had eight points in 10 games at the 2024 World Championship, where Canada finished fourth. Celebrini had eight points in five games at the 2024 World Juniors, and six points in eight games at the 2025 World Championship. Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals at both. (Obviously, that’s not solely on him.) 

I think you can, however, shape this into an argument for them. Mitch Marner celebrated junior success — a Memorial Cup — and won silver at the 2017 World Championship, but had not been past the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He talked at length about Sidney Crosby’s poise, how the bench never lost positivity, then set up the tying and winning goals in the 4 Nations gold-medal game. 

If that attitude elevated Marner, there’s no reason it can’t do the same for Bedard and Celebrini.

The more I think about it, though, the more I wonder if the real debate is defensive play. If the 4 Nations taught us anything, it’s that if you weren’t committed to being a two-way demon, you weren’t going to be trusted. Look at all of the players on the Canadian and U.S. rosters who were more dogged defensively than with their regular teams. Look how hard it was for even Connor McDavid, the most dynamic player in the sport, to do what he needed to do. Every inch of the ice was a fight.

Neither Bedard nor Celebrini have seen this before, but, again, it’s a factor of being drafted to bad teams. I think it’s safe to say they’d do whatever they could to show they’d adopt the same attitude. The underlying numbers indicate Chicago and San Jose give up more goals (and shots) when they are on the ice as opposed to when they aren’t — although it should be pointed out they do play against the best players.

The debate is not Bedard vs. Celebrini. It’s about both. There’s no way Team Canada thought this would happen. The brain trust is remembering 4 Nations overtime: can they play 200 feet in that?

1. All of that discourse and didn’t even mention Matthew Schaefer. As impressive as Bedard and Celebrini are, Schaefer’s ascension to this discussion is mind-blowing. He was added to the Olympic drug-testing protocol, making him eligible to be selected by Team Canada. Total credit to him. He’s been above 25 minutes six times in 20 games, and his arrival breathed new life into Long Island. You can’t tell me his positive aura isn’t an important factor in their rise to a .600 points percentage.

Canada was very happy with its 4 Nations defence, so it would be a surprise if anyone was deleted. (Drew Doughty’s injury timeline is not a factor.) There’s an extra spot in Milan that Schaefer’s in the fight for. The Islanders do an excellent job deploying the defender, shielding him a bit against the toughest competition so he can freely wreak havoc. His ice-times (at home) vs. key opponents: 

Macklin Celebrini: Schaefer 2:52 (Pelech 14:03)

Connor McDavid: Schaefer 2:06 (Pelech 8:43)

The numbers were closer against Dylan Larkin, Alexander Ovechkin and Mark Scheifele. Would Canada be comfortable with his lack of experience against the best? His attitude would be welcome anywhere, though.

2. Patrick Roy’s eruption at Alexander Romanov’s injury is about one thing: standing up for his team, making sure the players know he has their backs. That resonates.

Florida and Tampa Bay were warned last weekend before their first meeting since the exhibition brouhaha, and Roy will be too before the Dallas/Islanders rematch in March. Don’t let things go too far. (Didn’t stop the Panthers and Lightning from playing their typical, nasty affair.) One thing the officials were told to do that didn’t happen during the pre-season meeting? Throw players out of the game, right away. Don’t be afraid of that. 

3. One more Olympic note: At the 1956 Summer Olympics, the equestrian events were held in Sweden, away from the rest of the Games, in Australia. That country’s laws required all foreign horses to be quarantined for six months, an impossible ask. So, while there’s precedent to host one event separately from the rest, the NHL and NHLPA made it very clear they are not interested in anything remotely similar this February. Both sent emissaries to the Milan rink this week. Reaction: There’s still a lot of work to do, although the hosts are saying the right things. One source who saw photos last week called the facility “Stonehenge.” I said no way it’s that bad. He laughed. Clearly, Bettman is agitated that this is even a discussion. The last thing he wants is injury because of a rushed rink.

4. It is impossible not to look at what is happening in Anaheim, Chicago and San Jose without wondering about attitudes to rebuilds. The arguments against them are simple: there are no guarantees, the lottery is a fickle mistress (ask Detroit) and, perhaps the one that scares owners the most — you get financially pummelled while going through them. Organizations will tell you fans may support rebuilds, but not the way it most matters in a gate-driven league. There was a lot of pain for the Ducks, Blackhawks and Sharks. That said, every team reaches a point where you must consider it. You can’t help but look at those rises and think: wouldn’t it be easier to sell that now?

5. Those three teams are must-watch, with a new, particularly promising trend arriving in Anaheim. At the GM meetings, another slide was about power play/penalty kill differential. A couple of people noticed the Ducks weren’t in their customary position, last. Heading into Wednesday, they were even: 67 power plays, 67 penalty-kills, and were around plus-7 until last week.

Over the past 20 years, the Ducks were the worst team in the NHL in this differential — a gap the size of the Pacific Ocean, minus-722. Second-worst was Boston, minus-327. It’s kind of hilarious that the difference between 31st and 32nd was more than the Bruins’ entire total. When the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007 and were at their peak, it was a tactic. They bullied you and dared you to do something about it. But they made a conscious point of trying to change that this year, and so far, it’s working. A few coaches on other teams have said that several members of the staff received short-term contracts (I think two years), so they’re happy for their peers to make an instant impact.

6. Best teams? Carolina (plus-518) and San Jose (Plus-411).

7. There was never a question Adam Lowry wanted to stay, the latest Jet in a close-knit group to make a Manitoba commitment. Lowry showed why he’s the captain, not complaining that he wasn’t the first priority, knowing Kyle Connor’s puzzle piece needed to be inserted first. He’s a unique case at his age (33 when the deal kicks in) and has intangible value to the organization. I have zero doubt the Jets wanted to make a splash at their Wednesday-night gala, and bent a bit to get it done in time. His teammates will be thrilled to see him taken care of.

8. After back-to-back healthy scratches, word filtered that Ducks defenceman Pavel Mintyukov would like to be moved if he’s not going to play. He has fallen behind Jackson LaCombe and Olen Zellweger on the left side of Anaheim’s defence. Ian Moore, who had a strong camp, was elevated in Mintyukov’s place. This is the 10th overall pick in the 2022 draft, so Ducks GM Pat Verbeek will not be rushed into anything. Something to keep an eye on. 

9. There was no mention of Marner during Toronto GM Brad Treliving’s media meeting on Tuesday. I’m not interested in re-litigating the past, but it’s impossible to look at their current struggles without recognizing the connection to his departure. Marner was everywhere: gobbling up points, getting it to Auston Matthews, entering zones, power play, penalty-kill, defending leads and a huge part of the off-ice social construct. They are still adjusting, and if the first six weeks taught us anything, it’s that this may take much longer than everyone hoped.

Toronto’s been looking for a top-six forward since the summer, but if that was an easy solve, it would be done already. Before our Nov. 8 broadcast, head coach Craig Berube shared some thoughtful observations regarding the fact he’d used 20 forward lines by that date, tied with Edmonton for most in the NHL. Injuries, which everyone is dealing with, are obvious. He wasn’t sure Matthews and William Nylander would work because the latter likes to hold the puck and the former prefers give-and-go, but they’ve showed real promise. He likes Steven Lorentz with Scott Laughton. He wanted Matias Maccelli with Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy, because Maccelli’s greatest success in Arizona came with bigger players: Nick Bjugstad and Lawson Crouse.

Now, Matthews is out, maybe (?) back Saturday. Laughton is out. Roy is out. Add Matthew Knies — who didn’t play Tuesday — although they don’t seem worried it’s long-term. There is not a definitive timeline for Chris Tanev. Tough to build chemistry.

10. The second part of this problem is that, barring the injection of another elite offensive talent, Toronto may have no choice but to change its identity and mentality. Last year, Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll were human swiffers, cleaning up all messes. In 2024-25, the Maple Leafs were fourth in save percentage. Now they are 23rd. (Woll just returned with two strong starts, but Stolarz is injured.) Adding deeper Sportlogiq numbers, they were second in even-strength save percentage and eighth in inner-slot save percentage. Now they are 29th in both.

It’s not simply: goalies, make more saves. They have to defend better, particularly against the rush. That was the focus of a harsh meeting last Monday, about the way they have to play as they adapt to their new reality. Last Thursday, they played one of their best defensive periods of the season, structured and disciplined, leading Los Angeles 2-0. But it’s not what they are used to, and they couldn’t hang on. Tuesday brought a massive win against St. Louis. It’s going to be a grind until they figure it out. 

11. I do not believe Berube is in trouble. Treliving, as is his way, has looked around. He would like to do roster-for-roster deals, if he can. They do not want to trade futures (include Easton Cowan in that). They will listen to anyone not named Matthews, Nylander, Knies or John Tavares. 

12. The Bruins outbid Toronto by $500,000 for Nikita Zadorov in the summer of 2024. Now that the Maple Leafs have a WWE partnership, maybe they dress Roman Reigns against him on Jan. 4. 

13. Treliving called his team “vanilla.” I see the same with Edmonton. I believe the Oilers’ desire is to let their players figure it out. I admit, though, I’m surprised at how long this malaise continues. There are a lot of reasons not to panic. They’re too good, too experienced, they always start slow, they’ve played a lot of hockey, there’s always one weirdly awful stretch every season and the compressed travel is harder on teams in more… remote outposts. But they are sleepwalking, and it continued Wednesday in Washington.

The most insane stat I’ve seen so far this season was unearthed by Jonathan Willis in his The Corsi Knight blog. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Oilers had nine five-on-five rush attempts in their first 21 games. That shouldn’t be possible. There were rumours last week that Edmonton was considering bringing back Paul Coffey, but that was denied to me. It’s easy to throw everything on Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard, and you always hope a goalie bails you out, but it’s not like Edmonton is playing like the 1977 Canadiens in front of them.

I’m waiting for Kris Knoblauch to pull some shock benching to wake up everyone. There was a hilarious post-game interview last weekend with AHL Bakersfield’s Connor Clattenburg, a first-year pro out of OHL Flint. I don’t know that he’s ready for NHL action, but I thought his energy is what they need.  

14. I am a big Brett Kulak guy. Big. Every year, people are like, “Oh, he’ll drop down to a third-paring guy.” When the games get bigger, he gets better, the Oilers lean on him more and more. Never fails. Happened before he got to Northern Alberta, too. Someone sent me a stat that Edmonton’s been outscored 15-0 this month at five-on-five with him on the ice. That’s insane. Just as crazy as the lack of rush chances. 

15. Less than one week after David Kampf terminated his contract to stay in the NHL at a lower salary, there are rumours that Alexandre Texier is considering the same. He has played only one game for St. Louis since Oct. 28 and is making $2.1 million.

16. Would Texier make any sense for Montreal? The Canadiens are looking to plug injury holes. The standings are tight, so few white flags are waving.

Here’s what’s out there.

Calgary gets a lot of calls, but few they’d consider serious (reminder: all it takes is one legitimate conversation to change everything). They can be patient, they have players people want. Nashville is starting to get calls and will have decisions to make. (More on them shortly.) We mentioned the Maple Leafs. Minnesota’s been pretty consistent, looking for forwards and edge on defence. Vancouver and centres is the romance waiting to be consummated. Washington, looking for speed. The Hurricanes, as always, and the Senators are lurking, looking to hit a home run. 

17. St. Louis? The thing about Armstrong is he’s sent thunderbolts before, including an epic pre-Christmas 2018 memo laced with holiday shopping motifs. Six months later, they won the Stanley Cup. He’s gone to that method a couple of times since, hoping it shocks everyone back to their senses. One of the Blues said this week that “everyone’s been bad at the same time, which never happens.” Another said they were trying to be more aggressive, particularly with a lead. When it comes to Brayden Schenn, teams that have talked to St. Louis the last two seasons say the price was very high. 

18. I’ve talked quite a bit about Buffalo’s goalie situation, because there are a lot of bodies. The thing I can see becoming an issue here is if Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen feels the cluttered crease costs him a shot at the Olympics. He’s only played four games. He has to be better, too. 

19. Not surprised Andrew Brunette survived Nashville’s post-Sweden break. Mid-season changes usually come when a team shows zero pushback, and the Predators’ late comeback in the first game was the exact opposite.

20. The toughest thing with trying to read Nashville’s decision-making process is that we don’t have a long runway with new owner Bill Haslam. What we do know is that he went with the team on their Canadian road trip early in the season, and joined them in Sweden. I’ve heard that, in his wish to make informed decisions about the future, he is making sure he spends “up-close” time before committing to anything. So, what we’re getting here is an education into his process. It’s not as fast as fans might like, but it’s the right move. He’s also trying to keep a lid on things because the NHL can be leaky. (No way that’s true.)  

21. It seems like there are a billion injuries out there. I asked Steve Fellin, one of the brains behind Sportsnet Stats, who did some work with the people behind the invaluable nhlinjurybiz blog. (Thank you to both.) We are on-pace for 7,230 man games lost to injury in 2025-26. That’s more than last season (6,723), but less than 2023-24 (7,375) and 2022-23 (9,152). Just seems like 15 guys are going down every night. 

22. Anze Kopitar took about 20 sticks on the Kings’ recent road trip. A few were, obviously, for game use. Others were given to opponents wanting a keepsake from his final season. Apparently, a referee received one. Let’s see who gives the Kings a few extra power plays down the stretch. One teammate, asked if Kopitar has changed at all during his last season, laughed, “No, he’s still a robot.”

23. Flames president of hockey operations Don Maloney joined Brendan Parker during the first intermission of Calgary’s Wednesday win in Buffalo. On the John Beecher waiver claim: “We need more speed in our lineup. It’s clear from the first 20 games, we need to be quicker.” Overall, Maloney called the season start “terribly disappointing,” adding they weren’t giving up.

“We’re just determined not to throw young players in before they are ready,” he said. “It doesn’t work, it’s not good for your culture. We go into the season, we want to win hockey games. We expect to be a playoff team. That's how we have to enter in our minds, every season… We want a team people will want to watch and be proud of… this identity we established (last year) as a hard out, a hard-working team, that’s who we are. When (our young players) are ready, they are going to get a chance.” 

24. That quote will raise eyebrows locally, but it’s part of another conversation in hockey development circles. The NHL and NHLPA agreed in the new CBA to allow one 19-year-old per organization to play in the AHL, beginning in 2026-27. However, that’s more of a guideline than a negotiated rule and teams are pushing for more flexibility.

The Flames are used as an example, with another executive saying, “If Calgary wants to put Matvei Gridin and Zayne Parekh in the AHL, why shouldn’t a team be able to do what’s best for their development? These are million-dollar investments.”

I don’t speak to everyone, but have received a lot of sympathy for this position and I don’t sense — yet — the NHL is against the idea. Some teams are protective of the CHL, recognizing it is an excellent development path and not wanting to hurt that, others don’t care as much. But, one thing everyone seems to agree on is that there aren’t 50 19-year-olds who would bolt. The AHL is a tough league and not everyone is ready for that. The NHLPA has a vote here, too. This is one to keep an eye on.

25. The NHL made it very clear it wants the USHL to be protected. One CHL executive agreed, saying, “It’s not good to have every 16-year-old American playing in Canada.” That’s why you are hearing a lot of rumours about its future. At the GM meetings, there was also a stat tossed out saying this NCAA freshman class was more than 50 per cent Canadian. Crazy times.

26. There’s a lot of Gavin McKenna slander out there. Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala and Sam Cosentino — who are much more plugged in than I am — dropped him out of the No. 1 draft position. I’m not an expert, but I’ll say this: All of this is the best thing that could happen to him. The road is never straight. When you’re a big dog, everyone comes after you. Get used to it now, and, even more importantly, get used to handling it.  

27. The NHL’s time of game (regulation only) is up one minute. From 2:32 to 2:33. You’d be surprised at how much they care about this, but they do.

28. Smiled when I saw Ben Hutton score his first of the season the other night. One of the NHL’s nice people still carving out a role in Vegas. There’s another great story unfolding, Braeden Bowman. Undrafted three times, captain of the 2023-24 OHL Guelph Storm. Attends Golden Knights prospect camp last year, ticketed for the ECHL. Does enough to get an AHL deal, where he finishes second in scoring. Now, an injury replacement, he’s playing with Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev, earning first power play time. Love to see it. 

29. Dallas players call rookie Justin Hryckowian “Ritz-Carlton” because it’s easier to pronounce than his real name.

30. Attended the Dallas Stars Hall of Fame last weekend. I’ve said it 100 times, but every team should be doing this. It’s such a fantastic event. Was great to see Joe Nieuwendyk recognized, because, as you can imagine, he needed time after being let go as GM. There are so many players who name him their favourite teammate, including Jamie Langenbrunner, who introduced him (and Mats Sundin). Nieuwendyk looked it up in preparation for the speech, but Lanny McDonald was 36 when the Flames won the 1989 Stanley Cup. Then he added, “Jamie Benn is 36.” The message was not lost on the other players. 

He also told a great story about Jere Lehtinen, who was there. Nieuwendyk said Ken Hitchcock kicked the great checker’s line — with Brett Hull and Mike Modano — out of practice once to make a point. Hull and Modano rushed to the showers to make an earlier-than-expected tee time, while Lehtinen sat on the bench “apologizing like he was in a church confession.” 

The Builder inductee was Ralph Strangis, like so many play-by-play orators, the voice connecting the fans and the team. Introduced by Dan Stuchal, he was afire. He had a priest deliver grace, later saying, “You think you have a hard job? He’s my priest, and I’m an atheist.” He revealed that, when he got divorced, Tyler Seguin helped him create a Tinder profile. And he added advice we all need from time to time: “If you want to create things, don’t listen to anyone.”

31. The great Michael Russo added another Nieuwendyk story after listening to the podcast. Nieuwendyk signed with Florida in 2005, when he covered the Panthers. Russo was vacationing in Italy at the time, and his hotel room was robbed. He still needed to file a story, so he got a note to Nieuwendyk asking him to phone an internet cafe. “I’m sitting at one of the computers, and all of a sudden the guy working there asks, ‘Is there a Mike Russo here?’” Nieuwendyk made the call. Russo sheepishly admitted he offered to reimburse the cost, but switched jobs and never got the opportunity. Nieuwendyk should collect, with interest.

32. Last week, Major League Baseball debuted a new off-season golf event, called the MLB Open, at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Vegas. It was a two-day tournament won by the duo of Twins third basemen Royce Lewis and recently retired Aaron Hicks. I would love to see something like this in the off-season for NHL players. The NHL has looked into it, but cost is an issue. Golf is notoriously expensive to produce. The league is brainstorming “a signature off-season event.” This is something I’d love to see tried at least once. There are some great golfers, active and retired.