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| It seems certain Connor Bedard will be in the NHL next season. |
On Wednesday, the Regina Pats 17-year-old phenom centre met the media for a season ending availability as the players cleared out of the locker room. The atmosphere for the scrum for Bedard had the vibe of a farewell.
In his three seasons with the Pats, the North Vancouver, B.C., product appeared in 134 career regular season games posting 134 goals and 137 assists for 271 points to go with a plus-48 rating in the plus-minus department. That included recording 71 goals and 72 assists for 143 points to go with a plus-39 rating for this past regular season. His goal and point totals were tops in the WHL and his assist total equaled Prince George Cougars star centre and Saskatoon area product Riley Heidt for the league lead.
Bedard proceeded to have a monster post-season series posting 10 goals, 10 assists and a plus-eight rating in the WHL Playoffs as the Pats fell in seven games in a best-of-seven first round series to the Saskatoon Blades. The Blades claimed a 4-1 victory in a series deciding Game 7 on Monday at the SaskTel Centre before a sellout crowd of 14,768 spectators.
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| Connor Bedard topped the WHL with 143 points this season. |
“I’ve had
so much fun these last three years here whether there’s more or not,” said
Bedard. “The people are so nice and for me, I love it here.
“I’m super
grateful that I got to play here.”
With Bedard in their lineup, the Pats finished sixth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and 11th overall in the league with a 34-30-3-1 record. He was asked if he had second thoughts about not asking for a trade to one of the league’s top five teams, and Bedard said he had always intended to stay in Regina.
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| Connor Bedard led the WHL with 71 goals this season. |
“I just got
so much support from the whole city and everything. To see kids are looking up
to me and everything, that is pretty special.”
When it came to dealing with the fact the 2022-23 campaign was over, Bedard said it was still tough to take.
“It is sad
no matter what,” said Bedard, who was the first player to be granted
exceptional player status to play full time in the WHL at age 15. “Obviously, I’m
not sure of the future or anything.
“I’m just
kind of saying my thank yous to everyone whether I will be back next year or
not. It is always tough to leave a group of guys you were with all year.”
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| Connor Bedard had 20 points in the Pats seven post-season games. |
At this past world juniors held in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B., Bedard set numerous Canadian team records helping Canada take the gold medal final 3-2 in overtime over Czechia this past January 5 in Halifax.
Bedard was named the most valuable player at world juniors along with picking up accolades being named the event’s best forward and a tournament all-star.
His tallies for assists (14) and points (23) were new Canadian records for a single world juniors along with setting a new record for points in a tournament by any player aged 18 or younger. In 16 career games played at world juniors, Bedard set new Canadian career records at the event for goals (16) and points (36).
“What he has
done all year is outrageous,” said Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock.
“To have 19 points in six games in playoffs like who does that? 
Connor Bedard has 271 career regular season points in 134 games.
“In the
last 10 days or so, I’ve had more people from the league just sort of side
conversations they had never seen anything like it what he is able to do. I had
an NHL scout say to me after the game on Saturday like he has so much
determination to get it done. If you want to rate the determination on a scale
of 10 like everything else, he is 11.
“It has
been great to have a front row seat to see him for this season.”
Bedard has the respect of his foes from the WHL Playoffs in the Blades.
“I’m such a
massive fan of Connor Bedard,” said Blades head coach Brennan Sonne. “He is a
winner. He is a worker.”
Connor Bedard enjoys playing in Regina.
Sonne had a
short friendly chat with Bedard in the handshake line following Game 7. The
Blades bench boss told the ultra-talented centre he will be cheering for him.
“We’re both
from the lower mainland in B.C.,” said Sonne, who is from Maple Ridge, B.C. “We’ve
heard about him since he was 12 and 13.
“He’s done
a lot of people proud in the province of British Columbia, and I’ll be
continuing to cheer for him the rest of his career. Unless, we are playing
against him, and then I will try and shut him down. Huge fan, incredible
talent, he is the real deal.”
Blades star
left-winger Jake Chiasson, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the
Edmonton Oilers, said Bedard deserves the praise that comes his way.
“I have a
lot of respect for Connor (Bedard),” said Chiasson, who is from Abbotsford, B.C.
“Being from the geographical area, you kind of tend to lean towards those guys
a little more than other province guys just with similarities. 
Connor Bedard (#98) celebrates one of his 10 post-season goals.
“What
Connor (Bedard) did for this league is great. It made it exciting.”
Chiasson said
a lot of people were looking forward to the series between the Blades and the
Pats. The attendance figures backed that observation up as the Pats sold out
each of their three home games with 6,499 spectators packing into the Brandt
Centre for each of those contests. The Blades drew 47,729 spectators total for
their four home dates of the set.
Chiasson
said it was a good experience for his Blades to play Bedard and the Pats in the
post-season.
“You’ve
seen for a while he has been selling out buildings, and I can only imagine how
much that does for the league,” said Chiasson. “I’m just really grateful to be
able to play against him, to go head-to-head with him.
“I’m sure
he is going to have a long good career coming up here. It was definitely a
moment to look back on playing him in a series of a playoff round.”
Connor Bedard is slated to go first in the NHL Entry Draft.
Blades hard
working right-winger Vaughn Watterodt said he marvels at what Bedard can do on
the ice.
“He
(Bedard) is amazing,” said Watterodt. “He is a special player.
“He is
going to do special things. It was fun to play against him.”
Bedard’s
humility once again showed through during his final presser when he was asked
about the NHL Draft Lottery, which is set for May 8. That lottery will
determine which NHL club will select first overall in the NHL Entry Draft.
“It is a
long time until that,” said Bedard. “For
(NHL Draft) lottery day, I will watch it as a fan, and if I am fortunate enough
to go one, that’s awesome, but there are so many great players in the draft.”
It was brought up that it seemed inevitable that Bedard will go first overall in the NHL Entry Draft. Bedard tried to play it off that wasn’t a for sure thing.
“If I get
that honour, it would be unreal,” said Bedard. “I’d be super grateful to kind
of the people that have helped me with that, but it is a long time away..JPG)
Connor Bedard skates off the ice after a Game 7 loss on Monday.
“For me, it
is just kind of focusing on what I can do now to improve myself as a player and
everything. That would be unbelievable, but we will see what happens obviously.”
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