Bedard named recipient of E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence
Regina Pats captain Connor Bedard was the recipient of the 2023 E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence Monday at the 2023 NHL Awards in Nashville, TN.
First awarded in 2015, the award is presented annually by the League to a candidate who best exemplifies commitment to excellence through strength of character, competitiveness and athleticism.
In 2022-23 Bedard was simply incredible over 57 games for the Pats; he led all CHL skaters in goals (71), points (143), shots on goal (360) and points per game (2.51) before he added 20 points (10 goals) in seven postseason tilts.
At year’s end, the 17-year-old collected the David Branch Player of the Year, Kubota Top Draft Prospect Award and CHL Top Scorer Award to become the first player in league history to collect all three awards in one season.
On Wednesday night, Bedard is the presumed first overall selection in the NHL Draft, a pick held by the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Connor Bedard exemplifies all the qualities recognized with the E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence,” said Dan Marr, Director of NHL Central Scouting. “The motivation, commitment, and discipline that he displayed throughout this season with the WHL Regina Pats and with his gold-medal, record-breaking performances at the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Championships were truly outstanding feats of excellence.
“Connor is projected to be in that rare category of being able to influence the success of a franchise and is a worthy recipient of this award.”
At the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax, Bedard recorded an astonishing 23 points in just seven games as he claimed a second consecutive gold medal. Bedard’s 17 goals and 36 points, tallied across two World Juniors, are the most ever by a Canadian in tournament history.
Bedard is the fifth CHL player to win the award after Travis Konecny (2015), Nico Hischier (2017), Brett Leason (2019) and Zayde Wisdom (2020).
E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence History
After many years of coaching and scouting at various levels of hockey, McGuire joined the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau in 2002 and assumed day-to-day responsibility for the department in 2005. McGuire spearheaded an operation that provided scouting and evaluation of draft-eligible players to NHL Member Clubs. He led a team of eight full-time and 15 part-time scouts throughout North America. Just as he brought innovation to the coaching profession throughout his career, McGuire was responsible for several advancements in the area of scouting during his nine years at the League, including the development of a new scouting technology system that brought the “art” of scouting to a whole new level. He was instrumental in raising both the effectiveness and profile of the League’s annual scouting combine. McGuire lost his short, but courageous battle with cancer in April 2011.
