The NHL has had a ton of wonderful player rivalries over the years. Some of them come as a result of geography, others happen organically with the help of the media. 

When you think of Wayne Gretzky vs Mario Lemieux, Martin Brodeur vs Patrick Roy, or Sidney Crosby vs Alex Ovechkin, you are reminded of wonderful player rivalries that helped entertain hockey fans for decades. 

Blackhawks star Connor Bedard is being forced into one early in his career. The league, media, and fans are pushing for the rivalry to exist between him and Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks. 

Bedard was the number one pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and Celebrini was selected first overall one year later in 2024. Each of them came into their rookie year with a lot of hype and delivered. 

Connor Bedard didn't truly take any steps forward offensively in his second year, but he didn't go backwards either. With Celebrini coming in hot, it has people wondering who will have the better career. Both are expected to break out in a big way over the next handful of seasons. 

NHL (@NHL) on XConnor Bedard put up 67 points during the 2024-25 season while Macklin Celebrini put up 63... 💬 #NHLYoungStarsWeek

The fact of the matter is that each of them is going to be a high-end producer for the next decade or more. It remains to be seen how their organizations will build around them. 

Although geography kept the Blackhawks and Sharks from being true team rivals in the 2010s, they were two of the five best teams in the conference during that time. They even met in the 2010 Western Conference Final, which was won by Chicago. One series later, the Blackhawks lifted their first Stanley Cup in 49 years.

The NHL may never lean into Western Conference teams the way that it leans into Eastern Conference teams, so this may never get to the level of Sidney Crosby vs Alex Ovechkin, but it will be equally as entertaining if both reach their ceiling as offensive producers. San Jose and Chicago building winners would add to the hype. 

JFresh (@JFreshHockey) on XLook, I'm open to the idea that Bedard still has upside over Celebrini but I don't think it's out of line to suggest that #71 is the more impactful player right now, arguably even comfortably.

This matchup has the feel of being led by a player-rivalry if it continues to trend in its current direction. Hockey fans, not just in these two markets, would benefit from that type of entertainment. 

Every great player rivalry has a helpful supporting cast along for the ride. For Celebrini, he has Will Smith, William Eklund, Sam Dickinson, and Michael Misa, amongst others, to be excited about playing alongside him. Connor Bedard has Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and Anton Frondell leading the depth in the organization, which is also a great budding core.  

Another layer to this is their representation of Team Canada. Neither made it on the 4-Nations Face-Off roster, but Celebrini deserved it more than Bedard. Will one or both of them have a strong enough start to make it on the Canadian Olympic squad? 

B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) on XMacklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, and Quinton Byfield among the newcomers joining Canada's 2026 Olympic orientation camp, which will take place in August 👀 Full roster ⬇️

They were each invited to the orientation camp for Team Canada, so they are on the radar. With all of the talent that they have as a hockey country, one or both would need to come out of the gate hot in 2025-26 and force their way onto the team. 

At this point, it is fair to just sit back and enjoy two very good young hockey players who are only going to get better. They also aren't the only two under-23 players in the league worth watching, either. They just may have a player rivalry that lasts for a long time. 

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