The Next One (ice hockey)

The Next One is a nickname found in ice hockey attached to a new, up-and-coming player, who is deemed to have the capacity for being a top, sport-dominating player, akin to Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Maurice Richard and Mario Lemieux.^[1][2]

List of "The Next One"s

The moniker has been applied to the following ice hockey players (in order of bestowment):

• Eric Lindros^{[3][failed verification][4][5][2][1]}
• Paul Kariya^[6][7][2][1]
• Sidney Crosby^[8][7]
• John Tavares^[9][7]
• Connor McDavid^[10][7]
• Connor Bedard^[11][12]

History

The name is a play on Wayne Gretzky's nickname, "The Great One". Each of the players listed has been or is currently billed as the next Wayne Gretzky. To date, only Connor McDavid has broken a National Hockey League record set by Gretzky, and only Sidney Crosby has won the Stanley Cup. Mario Lemieux, "The Magnificent One", was the closest to breaking several of Gretzky's records, but he was never called "The Next One" by the media, because he was Gretzky's contemporary for most of his NHL career. The name continues to be used to highlight the achievements of young players still in their teenage years, who outcompete players older than them in minor league or international junior play as Gretzky did.

References

1. Helene Elliott (6 February 2000). "There's No 99 in 2000". Los Angeles Times.
2. Rachel Alexander (7 May 1999). "Who Is the Next Wayne Gretzky?". Washington Post.
3. Fitzpatrick, Fames. "Time for the Next Hockey Nickname". Retrieved 2007-02-07.^{[failed verification]}
4. Eric Goldwein (27 June 2016). "'The Next One' wasn't 'The Great One,' but Eric Lindros is still Hall-worthy". Washington Post.
5. John Grigg (14 November 2016). "Why Eric Lindros is the most important CHL player ever". Sportsnet Canada.
6. "The Showdown with The Next One> Paul Kariya facing off against Maine mates". Bangor Daily News. Bangor Publishing Company. February 17, 1994. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
7. "Before McDavid, others wore "The Next One" label". USA Today. Associated Press. 7 October 2016.
8. "The Next One". 2004-01-18. Archived from the original on 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
9. "The Next 'Next One?'". TSN. Archived from the original on 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
10. Alan Adams (April 24, 2013). "Connor McDavid burnishing 'Next One' status at U-18 tourney". CBC News. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
11. Kevin Mcgran (April 24, 2013). "The next one: Canada's Bedard is another can't-miss Connor". The Toronto Star. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
12. "'A helluva player': Connor Bedard expected to fill Saddledome Wednesday as Pats take on Hitmen". calgarysun. Retrieved 2023-02-23.