There's NHL draft hype, and then there's what heralds the arrival of Connor Bedard. He's been called "magical" and "otherworldly," a player that can "change the fortunes of a franchise" by himself.
While NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has proclaimed that his teams don't tank, there are a handful this season that seem OK with a slight downtick in success in the hopes of drafting the 17-year-old center from the WHL's Regina Pats next summer. Fans of those potential lottery teams have adopted some variation of "Fail/Tank/Lose Hard for Bedard" as a 2022-23 battle cry.