Connor Bedard's EA Sports rating: too high, too low, or just right?

EA Sports released its forward ratings for the upcoming NHL 27 game, which comes out on September 11. In its Top 10 centers post on social media, the company did not include Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard, whose 90 overall rating wasn’t enough to make the cut.

Last year, Bedard had an 88 rating, meaning he received a two-point boost heading into NHL 27.

Is Connor Bedard’s EA Sports rating correct?

Bedard earned an 88 rating following the 2024-25 season, when he scored 23 goals and 67 points in 82 games. Last year, injuries once again limited him to 69 games, but he still scored 30 goals and added 45 assists for 75 points, leading all Blackhawks players in each category.

Overall, Bedard was one of 45 NHL players to score at least 30 goals and one of 43 to collect at least 45 assists, finishing 36th in league scoring despite missing 13 games.

Oddly, Bedard’s NHL 27 rating is only four points higher than returning Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane (86), five points ahead of Frank Nazar (85), and six points higher than Tyler Bertuzzi (84), the only other Chicago players currently ranked among the game’s Top 299 skaters.

Although Bertuzzi outscored Bedard by two goals last season, he didn’t come close to matching his teammate’s assist or point totals.

Bedard also ranks 43rd overall among centers despite producing at a similar level to several players rated ahead of him. For example, EA Sports ranks Jack Hughes as the No. 8 center, even though he scored only two more points than Bedard last season and didn’t reach 30 goals.

Then there’s Aleksander Barkov, who ranked sixth among centers despite not playing in the NHL last season. That doesn’t mean Barkov suddenly isn’t one of the best two-way centers in hockey, but it does show how much EA Sports factors reputation and past performance into its ratings.

If that’s the standard, it raises the question of whether Bedard’s current production and importance to the Blackhawks should have earned him something higher than a 90.

Has Connor Bedard Been Underrated So Far?

When Bedard made his NHL debut in one of the league’s biggest hockey markets, the schedule makers made sure the Blackhawks opened against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

At the time, Bedard was viewed as the NHL’s next potential superstar. More recently, Macklin Celebrini has stolen some of that spotlight after producing a monster 115-point season with the San Jose Sharks.

Before Celebrini’s breakout, Bedard was widely expected to become one of the faces of the league. Despite playing on a rebuilding team, the former first overall pick has already won the Calder Trophy and produced 203 points in 219 games, good for a .93 points-per-game average.

Much like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin were constantly compared after entering the NHL together in 2005-06, Bedard and Celebrini appear headed toward a similar conversation.

Celebrini’s career-best season earned him a 95 rating, while Bedard sits five points lower at 90. The gap feels significant considering Bedard has spent three seasons carrying much of Chicago’s offensive load while dealing with injuries and an inexperienced supporting cast.

A 90 rating certainly isn’t disrespectful, but based on Bedard’s production, role, and trajectory, it feels a little low for one of the NHL’s most important young stars.

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