Connor McDavid is the greatest hockey player in history and Connor Bedard will be the next one, says veteran sportscaster Rod Pedersen..The former voice of the Regina Pats and Saskatchewan Roughriders who now hosts a daily sports talk show, believes the Battle of Alberta has offered conclusive evidence..“I'm putting a poll question to my viewers today, 'Is Connor McDavid the greatest player the NHL has ever seen?' And until this series, I think there was a debate. I don't think there's a debate anymore. Gretzky wasn't doing the things that Connor McDavid's doing; he just wasn't, and there's no bigger Wayne Gretzky fan than me,” Pederson said in an interview with Western Standard..“Game Two was being played and I'm watching McDavid saying he should count as two players on the ice at one time. That's how much he's accomplishing out there. Listen, I remember the '80s and we wouldn't allow Wayne Gretzky to be in our playoff drafts because it was unfair. Well, it's unfair what McDavid's doing on the ice right now, but for different reasons, totally different reasons.”.The hockey force remains strong with Pedersen, but a recent stint in Calgary swayed him to the dark side. .“I was in Calgary for three months broadcasting my show from a casino. So I kind of got swung over to the Flames side of things. There's no doubt,” Pederson said..“I grew up an Oilers fan. I'm not as much of an Oilers fan as I used to be. I'm just a fan of good hockey and holy smokes, have we ever got that.”.Pedersen, who is broadcasting in Estevan, Saskatchewan as he hosts the Centennial Cup, says Cow Town is really Hockey Town..“Hockey's number one, that's all they think about is hockey,” Pederson said..“It's cool when they play other teams in the playoffs. I was there for the Dallas series. That was exciting, the rink was full. Everybody's wearing their jersey, that was the talk. But they all wanted Edmonton. And I'm sure Edmonton felt the same way. And they got it.”.Watch what you wish for, Pederson says. Calgary prevailed 9-6 in the highest-scoring playoff game since 2000, only to lose 5-3 and 4-1 in the next two games..“Now I'm looking at it going, 'Well, you got what you wanted. How do you like it?' Because they're sitting down two to one in the series,” Pederson says..Pederson likens the Battle of Alberta to a “civil war,” but says the current iterations are “not as rough.”.“Those were great, this is great — just different. From an offensive perspective, it's going to a whole new level. But Milan Lucic running Mike Smith and getting five [minutes in the penalty box], that was nothing, that's like Tuesday back in the '80s. I don't even think that's probably a penalty [in those days]. So that's a little bit of how it's changed,” Pederson said..“I think we all remember the Marty McSorley spear on Mike Bullard, and McSorley beating up on Lanny McDonald. Nobody wants that anymore.”.Oiler Marty McSorley was suspended for spearing Calgary Flame Mike Bullard in game three of the 1988 series. This author asked McSorley about the incident a few years ago and he insisted it was not intentional. Pederson doesn’t buy that..“I know Marty pretty well. And of course he meant to do it. He's pulling your leg. But I think something comes over you in those moments when you are a player like that. I'm good friends with Matthew Barnaby, Stu Grimson, Marty McSorley. Those were the villains of those series and we don't really have those guys anymore,” Pederson said..“Ask Milan Lucic why he ran Mike Smith — I don't think he could give you an answer, either. So that's what this series brings out of you.”.The 1980’s Oilers had Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, and Kevin Lowe. The star power of the current team doesn’t match, Pederson says..“The Oilers were a deeper team. It was a team full of Hall of Famers in the 80s. This [year’s] Oilers aren't bad, but they might have the greatest player ever. So that's pretty cool.”.Maybe, but 53% of Pederson’s viewers disagreed and said McDavid is not the greatest all-time. Whatever he is, both Pederson and this author think the Regina Pats’ Connor Bedard is the only one like McDavid..“There will be people that will shush us for making that comparison. But you wait till Connor Bedard is in the NHL and we'll be saying the same things.”
