Seems like Blackhawks star Connor Bedard will never be good enough

The Connor Bedard criticism saga never ends, this time covering his choice to skip the IIHF World Championships for Team Canada. During the season, it was "he's not a point-per-game player" or "he's out there playing pond hockey, not winning hockey" (Paul Bissonnette). Pre-draft, it was his lack of height and horrendous faceoff stats, which then led to even more criticism over his PPG production.

I genuinely don't know what people are expecting when it comes to the development of a teenager in the big leagues. Sure, you have phenoms like, Connor McDavid who makes waves in his second or third season and proves to be a force in the NHL right off the bat, but the NHL hasn't seen anything like him ever since.

The idea of a "phenom" continues to be muggy.

What exactly makes a phenom? A player who transforms a basement dwelling rebuilder into a contender in the first season? A player who commands the attention of all the opposition defensemen? One who takes on the tough assignment night after night? One who shoulders the pressure of the fanbase with the understanding that he has to drag his team back to relevance?

The elite in the NHL do not share the same sentiment with superstar Nathan MacKinnon stating that he "would kill for stats like that" (subscription required to access content linked) at nineteen. MacKinnon finished his sophomore campaign with 38 total points in 64 games on a Colorado Avalanche team finishing with a 39-31-12 record in 2014-15, and would then be a part of an Avalanche team that ended with a 22-56-4 record in 2016-17.

Bedard has not done anything that would warrant such criticism, but, like Sidney Crosby, turns out his career will be full of naysayers and haters.

In total, Bedard has 128 points in 150 games played, 45 goals and 83 assists, becoming one of two players to score 40 goals and 70 assists before turning 20.

He has finished with more than 60 points in both campaigns, making him one of the few to achieve this feat. Bedard holds the record for the most assists by a teenager on an Original Six team, who has been around the NHL since its inception in 1926 (approaching the century mark here, guys).

This team has had teenagers come through their rankings such as Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane recently, Dennis Savard and Eddie Olcyzk in the past. Sure, many of these guys only had one season, but it just shows how young Bedard is and how much time he has to improve.

His stats are improving where they need to as well, namely his recent improvement in the faceoff dot. With help finally arriving, he doesn't have to be the one-man show anymore, which he hasn't had in the past. The Regina Pats were not a good team in his time there, so he is starting from scratch in a sense, being able to rely on his teammates more next season for Chicago, a luxury he hasn't had. With this, his point production should increase to ideally the 80-90 range.

There really is no reason for Bedard's critics this early in his career, the guy is turning 20 next month and already proved he can play in the NHL at a high-level. Patience has been preached by Kyle Davidson consistently and should be applied to Bedard as well.

Bedard will be getting a revamped Frank Nazar back with him this season, following his electric IIHF World Championship and the other youngsters should make huge steps forward in their play. There are exciting times ahead and the hockey world, especially Blackhawks fans, need to have just a little more patience as the core develops.