The Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks are set to clash on Tuesday night. This game marks the first time that superstar Connor McDavid will take the ice against hyped prospect Connor Bedard. Bedard took time to praise McDavid prior to this game. However, the praise is going both ways before puck drop.

Bedard entered the league as the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. His draft status, plus his record-breaking performances for Team Canada at the World Juniors, created immensely high expectations for the former Regina Pats star. The media frenzy has already become a topic of discussion early in the 2023-24 NHL season.

McDavid can relate in a way. He came into the league as a similarly hyped prospect. The Oilers selected him first overall in 2015 and immediately brought him to the NHL. He dealt with the expectations and intense media interactions. In fact, he hasn't stopped dealing with these.

So, McDavid can relate to the whirlwind of things Bedard is juggling right now. And the Oilers star is impressed with how the 18-year-old is conducting himself. “It seems like he's very mature, mature beyond his years,” McDavid said of the Blackhawks star, via NHL.com.

Connor Bedard's rookie season projection

Unfortunately, McDavid didn't play his entire rookie season. He suffered an injury that limited him to just 45 games in 2015-16. And that injury may have cost him the Calder Memorial Trophy that season, as well.

The injury didn't put any hindrance on the expectations placed upon McDavid. The Oilers star bounced back in a major way, too, developing into the best player in the NHL. Bedard has a long way to go before he reaches that status. However, he is on pace for 70 points this season and is likely a front-runner for the Calder Trophy.

The Blackhawks moved on from two franchise icons in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews this past summer. Bedard is tasked with leading the next era of glorious Chicago hockey. That's a lot to place on an 18-year-old kid who is just getting his feet wet. That said, McDavid believes he has a good grasp on things.

“It looks like he's handling everything really well,” McDavid said, via NHL.com. “Obviously, there are things going on there in Chicago, and he's handled it really well and is playing at a very high level.”

“For him, I'm sure it's a lot. Everywhere he goes, it's a circus,” the Oilers star continued. “It'll be no different here when he comes to Edmonton, I'm sure you guys (the media) will make him feel good and welcome, but he's handled it all, it seems like, very well.”