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Connor Bedard

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Connor Bedard
Bedard in 2022 with the Regina Pats.
Born (2005-07-17) July 17, 2005 (age 18)
North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
WHL team Regina Pats
NHL draft Eligible 2023

Connor Bedard (born July 17, 2005) is a Canadian junior ice hockey centre for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL).[1] Bedard was selected by the Regina Pats first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft in 2020 as the first WHL player of exceptional status.[2] Bedard will be eligible for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and is projected to be picked first overall.[1]

Playing career

In 2018, Bedard emerged as a young hockey prospect, being named "the future of hockey" in an article by The Hockey News.[3] Bedard played minor hockey with West Vancouver Academy Prep of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.[1] While playing with this school's U15 and U18 teams, Bedard led the league in goals and points and was named Most Valuable Player both years.[1]

In March 2020, Bedard was granted exceptional status by Hockey Canada,[4][5] and in the WHL Bantam Draft in 2020, Bedard was selected first overall by the Regina Pats as the first ever Western Hockey League (WHL) player of exceptional status.[6][7][8] In September 2020, Bedard was loaned to the HV71 junior hockey system, where he played until the WHL returned to play for its 2020–21 season beginning in March 2021.[9][10] As a rookie in the WHL, Bedard scored 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in just 15 games before leaving for the 2021 IIHF World U18 Championships, as a result of which he was named the Western Hockey League's East Division rookie of the year and subsequently awarded the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL's rookie of the year.[11][12]

During the 2021–22 WHL season, Bedard became the youngest player ever to score 50 or more goals in a season, managing his 50th and 51st goals in the last game of the regular season.[13] He finished the year with 51 goals and 49 assists for an even 100 points, ranking second in the WHL in goals and fourth in points. He was only the third 16-year-old to manage a 100-point season in the WHL, and the first to do so in the 21st century.[14] As he attended the 2022 NHL Entry Draft as an observer, Bedard was profiled in The New York Times as "the most exciting future NHL player attending this week’s draft."[15]

International play


Bedard at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Canada
World U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 United States

In April and May 2021, Bedard played for the Canada men's national under-18 ice hockey team in the 2021 IIHF World U18 Championships in Frisco, Texas, winning a gold medal, tying for second in the tournament in points and earning a spot on the media all-star team.

On December 12, 2021, Bedard became the seventh 16-year-old to be selected by Team Canada for the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[16] Initially the thirteenth forward in the lineup, by the end of the team's first game he had been elevated to the top six. Bedard scored four goals in an 11–2 victory over Team Austria, breaking Wayne Gretzky's 44-year-old record for most goals by a 16-year-old at the championships, and tying the overall Team Canada record for most goals in a single World Junior game.[17] The spread of the Omicron variant thereafter forced the suspension of the World Junior Championships. It was subsequently announced that the event would be rebooted in August of 2022.[18][19]

On April 18, 2022, Bedard was named to the Canadian team for the 2022 IIHF World U18 Championships, the only returning player from the previous year's championship team.[20][21] He scored a hat trick in the second game of the tournament, an 8–3 victory over Team Germany, breaking former teammate Shane Wright's record for Team Canada goal-scoring at the U18 Championships, and simultaneously breaking Mathew Barzal's Team Canada points record.[22] Team Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals following a 6–5 overtime loss to Team Finland, with Bedard scoring two goals in the game.[21] Later in the summer, at the revived World Junior Championships, Bedard again played for Team Canada, attracting considerable attention for his shot.[23][24] He recorded four goals and four assists over the course of the seven-game tournament, winning gold with Team Canada.[25]

On December 12, 2022, Bedard was named to Team Canada to compete at the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[26]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2018–19 West Van Academy Prep CSSHL U15 30 64 24 88 22 4 5 2 7 2
2019–20 West Van Academy Prep CSSHL U18 36 43 41 84 32 1 1 1 2 0
2020–21 HV71 J18 J18 Region 1 1 1 2 0 ― ― ― ― ―
2020–21 HV71 J20 J20 National 4 2 2 4 0 ― ― ― ― ―
2020–21 Regina Pats WHL 15 12 16 28 6 ― ― ― ― ―
2021–22 Regina Pats WHL 62 51 49 100 42 ― ― ― ― ―
WHL totals 77 63 65 128 48 ― ― ― ― ―

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2021 Canada U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 7 7 14 2
2022 Canada U18 5th 4 6 1 7 4
2022 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 4 4 8 2
Junior totals 18 17 12 29 8

Awards and honours

Honours Year
CSSHL U15 Most Valuable Player 2019 [1]
CSSHL U18 Most Valuable Player 2020 [1]
WHL Exceptional Player Status 2020 [2]
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy 2021 [11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Connor Bedard at eliteprospects.com". Elite Prospects. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Bell, Josh (March 25, 2020). "Connor Bedard Granted First-Ever WHL Exceptional Status". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  3. ^ Campbell, Ken (November 16, 2018). "Meet the future of hockey, 13-year-old Connor Bedard". The Hockey News on Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "14-year-old Bedard granted exceptional player status for WHL". National Hockey League. March 26, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  5. ^ "BC Hockey announces exceptional player status for Connor Bedard". Western Hockey League. March 24, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Cosentino, Sam (April 27, 2020). "What makes Connor Bedard such an exceptional player". Sportsnet. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  7. ^ "NEWS: Pats Sign 2020 First Overall Pick Connor Bedard". Regina Pats (Press release). April 21, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "2020 Bantam Draft". Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Bodin, Uffe (September 14, 2020). "Kanadensiske supertalangen i Sverige - tränar med HV71". Hockey Sverige (in Swedish). Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  10. ^ Olausson, Robin (September 15, 2020). ""Man vill bli jämförd med sådana killar - det är ganska coolt"". Hockey Sverige (in Swedish). Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Pats forward Bedard wins Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as 2020-21 WHL Rookie of the Year". WHL.ca. June 9, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  12. ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (May 7, 2021). "Michkov named MVP". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "Connor Bedard becomes youngest WHL player to score 50 goals in a season". Sportsnet. April 17, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Sadler, Emily (April 19, 2022). "Looking at 16-year-old WHL phenom Connor Bedard's historic season". Sportsnet. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  15. ^ Joyce, Gare (July 8, 2022). "He's the N.H.L.'s Next Big Star. He Just Has to Wait a Year". The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  16. ^ Spencer, Donna (December 12, 2021). "Connor Bedard named to Canadian junior men's hockey team at 16". CTV News. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  17. ^ "Bedard ties single-game goal record with 4, as Canada dominates Austria at world juniors". CBC Sports. December 28, 2021.
  18. ^ "2022 World Juniors to be played in August, was postponed due to COVID-19". NHL.com. February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  19. ^ "Further IIHF event updates". IIHF.COM. March 19, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  20. ^ "Connor Bedard headlines Canadian roster set to defend U18 hockey championship". CBC Sports. April 18, 2022.
  21. ^ a b "Kemell completes hat trick in OT, Finland beats Canada in U18 quarterfinals". The Sports Network. April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  22. ^ Peters, Chris (April 25, 2022). "Under-18 World Championship: Connor Bedard makes history, USA dominant". DailyFaceoff.com. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  23. ^ Dixon, Ryan (August 12, 2022). "Showcasing 'super-elite' shot, Bedard continues to amaze in early WJC performance". Sportsnet. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  24. ^ Ellis, Steven (August 21, 2022). "World Junior Championships: Top 20 plays from the 2022 summer tournament". The Hockey News. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  25. ^ Sandor, Steven (August 20, 2022). "Canada defeats Finland in OT thriller for gold at world juniors in Edmonton". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  26. ^ Kimelman, Adam (December 12, 2022). "2023 World Junior Championship rosters". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Connor_Bedard&oldid=1128065461"