What will Connor Bedard's EA NHL 24 Rating be?

With the Connor Bedard hype train at full go, it's time to start thinking about the release of EA NHL 24 on October 6th. With a testing taking place and some industry praise already in effect it appears like this year's iteration may be one of the best ones since they introduced the "skill stick".

Since Connor Bedard isn't playing every day, the next best thing is to play "as him" afterall. One of the most fun (in my opinion) aspects of the game is to watch as Blackhawks players progress naturally season by season. If drafting high, you can (if lucky enough) sometimes even get a franchise player that typically starts off in the 80 to 84 rating range.

To look back at some of the most notable rookies entering the NHL and their game ratings:

2016: Connor McDavid - 82

2019: Rasmus Dahlin - 82

While those 2 got very respectable ratings from the jump, mostly top picks are in the mid to high 70s (even Auston Matthews at 77 in the 2017 game). My expectation is that Connor Bedard could fall in the 81 - 83 rating range. If EA (Electronic Arts) does want to push the envelope here then Bedard could start with an 83. If they want to be respectful to the process then he'll come in at 82 like McDavid and Dahlin did. If they want to play it safe then an 81 will be the rating to start.

My personal take on this is that whereever he ends up to start, that the next season he could be pushing a 90 overall if expectations are met. As a fun diversion from the product on the ice, video games have become a staple of the NHL fan community. With a new "on ice" game play being reported, this could be one of the best selling NHL sports games of all time with the addition of Connor Bedard.