Hilarious TNT graphic compares Connor Bedard to Wayne Gretzky originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Connor Bedard lit the lamp for the first time in his NHL career on Wednesday, and the TNT production crew was armed with a ridiculous creative element for the occasion.
Early in the first period, Bedard played a quick give-and-go with Ryan Donato, shot it on net from the bottom of the right faceoff circle, followed up his own rebound, and scored on a wraparound to put the Blackhawks ahead 1-0 against the Bruins.
Before cutting the TNT studio for intermission, the broadcast replayed Bedard’s milestone highlight with a lower-third graphic titled “Chasing Greatness” that showed Bedard’s career goal total (1) with Wayne Gretzky’s career goal total (849).
Gretzky, who works as a studio analyst for NHL on TNT, had a good laugh about the ridiculous stat comparison with his fellow pundits.
A “Chasing Greatness” career goals tracker for Connor Bedard vs Wayne Gretzky before going to Gretzky in the NHL on TNT studio. 🏒📺😂 pic.twitter.com/0ppkqtsp4K
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 12, 2023
It took Bedard one game fewer to tally his first NHL goal than it did Gretzky, so I guess the youngster can hang his hat on that.
The Great One then brought up the fact that he beat Bedard to his first NHL penalty, which he committed in the first period of his NHL debut.
“Right off the bat, first game, first period,” Gretzky said. “Two minutes for tripping.”
Oddly enough, Bedard’s first career penalty would come in the second period—two minutes for tripping Brad Marchand.
Bedard called getting that first goal out of the way “a big relief.”
“I think it’s like, you want to get one really bad quick and kind of get it out of the way,” he told reporters after the game.
“Quick” is the key word here. Because if Bedard is going to catch Gretzky’s 849, there is quite literally no time to waste.
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