Bedard ties Canadian World Juniors point record
Another night, another historical performance from Connor Bedard.
After the Regina Pats star registered four assists Saturday night in Canada’s 5-1 win over Sweden at the 2023 World Juniors, he pushed his career points total at the tournament to 31 to tie Eric Lindros for the most by a Canadian skater.
“It’s definitely cool,” Bedard said. “To hear myself in the same sentence as [Lindros] is pretty cool.
“My dad said some stuff about him and how good of a player he was. He was a historic talent.”
As has been often been the norm, Bedard once again downplayed his achievements. But what the 17-year-old has achieved cannot be overlooked.
He’s reached 31 career points in a mere 13 games. Of those 31 points, 14 were goals, a number that is tied with former Regina Pat Jordan Eberle as the most by a Canadian in World Juniors history.
“He’s red-hot right now,” Brennan Othmann said. “We’re lucky to have him on our side … it’s crazy to be honest with you. His confidence level is just through the roof right now.
“He’s so easy going and takes everything at ease. He’s an outstanding hockey player that’s making the game look super easy.”
Connor Bedard is simply incredible 🤯 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/VGqFGJnKF2
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) December 30, 2022
The North Vancouver native also took his 2023 points tally to 18 Saturday night to tie Dale McCourt (1977) and Brayden Schenn (2011) for the most by a Canadian at the World Juniors.
“It’s unbelievable … I don’t have any words to describe it,” Bedard’s linemate Joshua Roy said. “He’s just so good with the puck and is doing things that nobody is expecting.”
Joshua Roy 57 seconds in❗️🇨🇦 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/eNdGR2MYNj
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) December 31, 2022
Bedard’s four assists Saturday were tied for the most by a Canadian against Sweden and helped Canada win its ninth straight against their Scandinavian rivals.
He helped get Canada into the lead after just 57 seconds as he fed Roy in the slot after he corralled a puck that had come off the end boards. He drew secondary assists on Othmann and Tyson Hinds’ first period goals before he fed Kevin Korchinski in the third period as the Seattle Thunderbird sniped his first goal of the tournament.
Saturday’s victory also locked Canada into the second seed in Group A and set up a quarterfinal clash with Slovakia on Monday in Halifax.
“New Year’s Eve is always a pretty big game and this year was no different,” Bedard said. “The turnout was unbelievable.”