Connor Bedard didn’t crack EA Sports’ Top 10 centers for NHL 27, and that omission says plenty about where his rating sits right now. The Chicago Blackhawks star landed at 90 overall, a two-point jump from last year’s 88, but it still wasn’t enough to push him into the company’s center rankings post on social media. The game arrives on September 11.
That number is going to spark debate, because Bedard’s production last season gave him a strong case for something higher. He put up 30 goals and 45 assists for 75 points in 69 games, leading the Blackhawks in goals, assists and points.
Injuries limited him again, but even with the missed time, he finished 36th in league scoring. He was one of 45 NHL players to hit 30 goals and one of 43 to reach 45 assists.
The comparison to other Chicago skaters is where the rating starts to look even tighter. Bedard is only four points ahead of Patrick Kane at 86, five points above Frank Nazar at 85, and six points higher than Tyler Bertuzzi at 84, the only other Blackhawks players currently listed among the game’s Top 299 skaters. Bertuzzi actually scored two more goals than Bedard, but Bedard’s edge in assists and points was far more substantial.
EA Sports also has Bedard slotted 43rd among centers, which feels modest when stacked against some of the names ahead of him. Jack Hughes sits at No. 8 among centers despite finishing with only two more points than Bedard and falling short of 30 goals.
Aleksander Barkov is sixth among centers even though he didn’t play in the NHL last season. That kind of placement makes it clear EA Sports is weighing reputation and past body of work heavily, not just last season’s numbers.
Bedard’s track record still points to a player on a strong upward climb. He earned the Calder Trophy and has 203 points in 219 games, a .93 points-per-game pace. Last season he was one of the league’s youngest offensive engines, asked to carry a rebuilding team while dealing with injuries and a thin supporting cast.
The bigger picture is that Bedard is no longer just the next big name. He’s already in the conversation that comes with being one of the league’s faces, even as Macklin Celebrini has grabbed some of that spotlight with a 115-point season for the San Jose Sharks. Celebrini’s breakout earned him a 95 rating, while Bedard is parked at 90.
That five-point gap feels meaningful, especially given how much Bedard has had on his shoulders across three seasons in Chicago. A 90 doesn’t insult him. But with his production, role and trajectory, it still looks a little light.
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Blackhawks Nostalgia Hits Hard As Bedard And Kane Share Spotlight
As the Blackhawks keep rolling out preseason content, the mix of old and new is hard to miss. Connor Bedard landing atop the teams NHL 27 ratings only reinforces how much the franchise has shifted toward its next era, even as player profiles and rankings keep fans looking ahead to the season to come.
At the same time, the nostalgia piece still has real pull for Chicago. Zdeno Charas farewell game, Zees Final Shift, is set for Trencin, Slovakia, and it will feature Blackhawks Hall of Famers Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith, a reminder of how many big names from the organizations recent past still resonate. For a fan base balancing Bedards rise with memories of a championship core, there is still one more familiar thread worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Prospect Rankings Just Reshuffled One Big Part Of The Rebuild
Corey Pronmans latest 2026 NHL under-23 pipeline rankings offered another reminder that the Blackhawks rebuild is starting to stack up in a meaningful way. Chicago landed fourth among the leagues 32 teams, a placement that reflects the depth in the system as much as the headliner at the top, with Connor Bedard still projected as a star first-line center. Pronman evaluated 18 Blackhawks prospects age 23 and under, giving the organization a broad look at where the pipeline stands and which young players are closest to becoming real NHL pieces.
The more interesting part for Chicago is how the ranking frames the rest of the group behind Bedard, because this is where the rebuilds next steps get clearer. Pronman went prospect by prospect with detailed grades and commentary on names such as Vaclav Nestrasil, Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel, offering a snapshot of who he views as more advanced, who still needs time and how each player fits into the long view. It is the kind of ranking that does not settle the debate around the Blackhawks future, but it does sharpen the conversation about which young talents are driving it. [Read more 🡒]