Connor Bedard’s Regina Pats teammates are excited to see the performance the 17-year-old has put on at this year’s World Junior Hockey Championship.
The highlight reel overtime goal by Bedard in Monday’s quarterfinal against Slovakia ignited the country as fans saw – yet again –what the forward can do.
“I got a lot of texts last night from people that aren’t directly involved in hockey, but I’ve known for a long time [that watched] and you don’t know what to say [back to them]. There’s no words to describe it,” said John Paddock, the Pats’ head coach and general manager.
“He’s been doing that move for two years. He’s been here and I’ve been seeing that so I kind of knew that once the puck was on his stick, it was all his show. It was his time,” said Pats’ forward Borya Valis.
Bedard could finish with the second-best single tournament performance behind Peter Forsberg, needing four more points to take the second spot.
Right now Bedard has already set five new records: most points by a Canadian in a single tournament (21), assists by a Canadian at a single event (13) and now has the most points by a player aged 18 or younger. He has also earned the all-time Canadian records for career goals and points at the World Juniors.
“It’s pretty crazy [to see what he can do] when he’s 17. I was shaking on the couch watching yesterday, but I mean I don’t expect anything less from him,” Tanner Howe, Bedard’s linemate, said. “I’m just super proud of him and to see what he can do.”
“Those kind of guys there’s no other way to say it other than they have a knack for the big stage and the limelight at certain times,” said Paddock. “That’s just sports but he certainly has the ability to rise to the occasion.”
When Bedard and Team Canada take on the United States on Wednesday in semi-final action, he will enter the matchup with eight goals and 21 points in five games. He is the first player in 30 years to cross the 20-point mark and just the seventh overall.
However, in other semi-final action between Czechia and Sweden, the Pats will also be cheering on another teammate. Defenceman, Stanislav Svozil, is in his second year as captain of Team Czechia and making a mark at this year’s tournament.
Svozil has eight points in five games so far in the tournament and has also earned some bragging rights when Czechia came out on top against Team Canada in the preliminary round. There is a potential chance the two teams could meet once again in the gold medal game.
“It’s an honour to just watch them and hopefully they both make it to the finals and we can go over to someone’s house and watch it. It’s pretty exciting to see them get rewarded,” said Howe.
Semi-final action begins Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. with Sweden vs. Czechia followed by Canada taking on the United States at 5:30 p.m. Games will be broadcast on TSN and TSN.ca.
