Idols-turned-rivals: Bedard to debut against idol Crosby

The second game of the NHL's season-opening slate will bear a familiar storyline of an idol turning into a rival.

Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick in this year's NHL draft, makes his start for the Chicago Blackhawks against his favorite player, Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby.

The 18-year-old forward was born less than two weeks before Crosby was selected first overall by Pittsburgh in the 2005 NHL draft. The two met at the NHL player media tour in September.

"Of course, my childhood idol in the hockey world and [Crosby] is such a good, genuine guy," Bedard told NHL.com. "For me to kind of spend some time with him and learn about him. ... Just his playmaking and the way he controls the game in the offensive zone is pretty incredible. Just his complete game. He's such a 200-foot player, so you can learn a lot from him."

The veteran center offered support for Bedard ahead of his NHL debut.

"I think he's a really good player. He's going to get a really good opportunity there to be one of the guys, if not the guy," Crosby said.

Bedard joins a list of players to face off against a beloved superstar early in his career.

Allen Iverson

In his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Iverson faced a big assignment of facing the Chicago Bulls and namely the GOAT: Michael Jordan.

Iverson took advantage of the moment and shook up MJ with his signature crossover.

"All I could think about is I had no fear," Iverson told NBA.com. "I feared so many other things off the court, but nothing on the court. [That crossover] was indicative of how I felt as far as being fearless on the court. We was at war. I looked at him as anybody else being in front of me. Coming into the league, I knew if I had the opportunity of trying my move that I was going to do it, and not be fearful of it."

Kobe Bryant

Throughout his career and in retirement, Bryant was vocal of how Jordan inspired his game. Like Iverson, he faced Jordan as a rookie with the Los Angeles Lakers and it was a memorable experience

During an episode of the "Holding the Court with Geno Auriemma" podcast, Bryant recalled his first time facing Jordan to theUConn Huskieswomen's basketball coach.

"I was thinking in my mind, I didn't care. I'm going to destroy this guy. I don't care if I'm 18, I'm coming for blood. And the first thing he did, they ran a fifth-down sequence in the triangle. He caught the ball in the corner and he made his little pirouette spin that he does and sneaks baseline. I fell for it, and he went by me and dunked it. I remember just laughing to myself all the way up the court. I've seen that move thousands of times and I can't believe I just fell for it. And then after that, it was like, 'OK, let's get to work.' Every time I faced him I wanted to see how he was going to respond to his same moves. The best way I could figure out how to defend him was to see how he would defend himself if I hold a mirror up."

Xander Bogaerts

At 21 years old, Bogaerts was the Boston Red Sox's youngest Opening Day shortstop in 100 years when he played his idol, longtime New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Bogaerts donned No. 2 in honor of Jeter and shared what it was like to play against his idol in 2014.

"Growing up, he was my favorite player. I mean, he's just a good person, on and off the field. He came up big-time in big situations for the Yankees, all those World Series. What do I appreciate about him most? Everything," Bogaerts said. "He's never been in trouble for anything, just a clean man. You don't hear too much about him off the field."

Carlos Correa

Correa took advantage of a second-inning delay between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels for an umpire play review to meet a childhood hero of his, Albert Pujols.

"He's a guy I admired, a guy I looked up to when I was growing up," Correa said, per MLB.com. "He's obviously a great player and one of the greatest hitters in the game. It's good to talk to guys like that who have knowledge of the game and can help you with some stuff."

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather's first title fight was against Genaro Hernandez in 1998. At the time, the 21-year-old was ranked No. 8 after racking up the first 17 consecutive wins of his perfect 50-0 professional boxing record.

During an Instagram live with rapper Fat Joe in 2020, he reflected on the first title fight of his career that happened to be against his idol.

"When I was 16, I had a poster on my wall, because you remember, when we were young, we used to have posters on our wall. Young kids don't do that anymore," Mayweather said. "I had a poster, right above my head, Genaro 'Chicanito' Hernandez. And I used to watch him on TV fight and I said nobody will beat that guy. I was 16. Five years later I was across from that guy, fighting for the championship."

Brock Purdy

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback's first start was a memorable one as he faced then-Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. Purdy accounted for three touchdowns and looked far from "Mr. Irrelevant" in the 49ers'35-7 blowout victory.

After the game he shared his thoughts while on the opposing sideline of the seven-time Super Bowl winner.

"It was surreal just standing there like, man, that's Tom Brady, you know, talking to guys and dapping guys up and stuff. So, for him to have respect for what I did today was pretty cool. I'm not going to lie," Purdy said. "Being a little kid, watching that guy kill it throughout all these years, win Super Bowls and then to be able to just even give him a high five or whatever at the end, I thought that was pretty cool."