A few weeks ago, we wrote about how Macklin Celebrini is having a much better sophomore season with the San Jose Sharks than Connor Bedard had with the Chicago Blackhawks last year. Bedard might have heard us and decided to prove us wrong. Entering Wednesday, both Bedard and Celebrini are top five in league scoring, with 25 and 26 points, respectively.
That got us thinking about another pair of consecutive first overall picks whose careers are always intertwined and compared too. Perhaps they are the most famous example, of such in league history. We’re of course referring to Alex Ovechkin with the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ovechkin was taken first overall in the 2004 draft and Crosby in the 2005 draft (more on that in a minute).
“Ovi vs. Crosby” has been a major league headline for two decades at this point. Will “Bedard vs Celebrini” ever reach that level? Probably not, and the reasons we don’t think it will might have nothing to do with their success scoring on the ice.
First was that each was drafted on the opposite end of the infamous lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 season. Ovechkin never had a real “rookie” season because he had to wait a year for his NHL debut. Then again, players waiting a year before making the NHL after their draft year is common, but it built anticipation for Ovechkin’s highly anticipated debut. Imagine where his records would be if he didn’t have to wait until for the puck to drop on the 2005-06 season.
Crosby landed in Pittsburgh as a result of a draft lottery to award the 2005 first overall pick for the generational “next one”. When hockey finally came back, both of these kids were unproven commodities on NHL ice. Even with Ovechkin having a one year age advantage, both were essentially starting from the same place. It makes that “lost year” for Ovechkin and their rivalry a bit more mythical because of the added lockout drama.
Next is their national origin. Global recognition was one of the driving factors with Ovechkin and Crosby. Both Celebrini and Bedard share an allegiance to the true north, and we don’t mean the ownership group of the Winnipeg Jets. Both are Canadians are will one day be teammates on Team Canada, if not this year.
While Crosby will join them with a red maple leaf sweater, Ovechkin comes from Russia. The Russians are the bad boys of international hockey going all the way back to the Soviet Union days. If anything the “Ovi vs. Crosby” rivalry was a historical continuation of those Summit Series games from the 1970’s. Their rivalry isn’t just on NHL ice and that adds an extra level.
The thing that really defined and escalated “Ovi vs. Crosby” was their numerous playoff matchups. There was the 2009 playoff game that saw both players score hat tricks. There was Ovechkin’s failure to get the best of Crosby and company until following breaking through en route to the 2018 Stanley Cup. With both Celebrini and Bedard playing in the Western Conference there is potential for some equally exciting Blackhawks vs Sharks matchups. Both teams have to get there first, though.