The NHL is calling, but Connor Bedard just wants to be in the moment with the boys in Regina — for however long it lasts.
Few 17-year-olds have had a hockey resumé as decorated as Bedard’s, but he isn’t caught up in where he may be after draft night.
“You never know what the future holds, whether I’m back next year or not,” he said, sitting in the lower bowl seats of the Regina’s Brandt Centre, wearing a Regina Pats hoodie featuring his No. 98, grey Pats shorts and black slides.
“I don’t know if I would like to have that mentality of, ‘This is the last little bit.’ I want to be focused and be present.”
People throughout the hockey world are proclaiming Bedard to be the next generational player and fans are lining up to see him in person. So far, he’s as advertised, but he isn’t focused on the hype.
Bedard is content to let his play do the talking.
Love and hockey
Bedard didn’t enjoy skating much when he first learned as a child. Then his parents gave him a stick and a puck.
After that, he never let go.
He tore up flooring in the family’s North Vancouver home working on his puck handling, and was exiled to the backyard to work on his shot after breaking a window.
After suffering a broken wrist, he practised his shot one-handed.
He once packed hockey gear on a family trip to Hawaii.
There was never a eureka moment when Bedard realized he could go far with hockey, he said, but he has always been driven to improve. Pats head coach John Paddock said that’s what has steered Bedard’s natural progression as a player.
Hockey phenom Connor Bedard strapped on a GoPro for CBC during a practice.
At 15, Bedard became the first player in Western Hockey League (WHL) history to be granted exceptional player status, a rare designation given to players that the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) decides will develop better in one of the CHL’s leagues than in their natural age division.
Only six former CHLers, including John Tavares and Connor McDavid, previously received the designation.
Bedard first suited up for the Regina Pats in the 2020-21 WHL season, shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He notched 28 points in 15 games in the bubble.
He has improved every season since. This year, his play has led…
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