In what will likely be the only homecoming game of his junior career, Connor Bedard extended his point streak to 22 games as the Regina Pats shut out the Vancouver Giants 3-0 on Friday night in WHL action.
The 17-year-old from North Vancouver, who is widely expected to be selected first overall at the 2023 NHL draft in Nashville next June, helped draw a sellout crowd of 5,276 to the Langley Events Centre, where the Giants have been averaging just over 3,000 fans so far this season.
Leading the WHL scoring race with 49 points in 23 games, 10 points clear of second-place Connor McClennon of the Winnipeg Ice, the Pats’ captain and top-line center saw his average production slip slightly on Friday, to 2.13 points per game. His only counting stat of the night was what he called “a pretty lucky assist.”
Early in the second period, with the Pats already up 1-0, Bedard showed off his speed and his deception as he dished a pass into the slot while cutting behind the Giants’ net.
He also led the Pats with seven shots on goal on Friday, including this end-to-end dazzler early in the first period.
Bedard said after the game that his parents, sister and some friends and neighbors from North Van had all come out to Langley to see him play.
A handful of fans in attendance also went to the trouble of overlaying Bedard’s name onto their Canucks jerseys — trying to do their part to will the local phenom onto the team he has supported while growing up, which has never had a No. 1 draft pick in its 52-year-history.
“I saw some Canucks jerseys, but I never saw the back,” Bedard said.
And while Friday marked the first time he had ever played a WHL game in Vancouver, Giants coach Michael Dyck had a very clear idea of what his squad would be facing.
Last year, Dyck served as an assistant coach for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship — both the cancelled edition last December, where Bedard logged a four-goal game against Austria in a 13th-forward role, and the remounted tournament in August where his minutes were elevated and he put up eight points in seven games as part of Canada’s march to gold.
So the Canucks are Bedard’s team, and he cites his off-season training partner Mat Barzal of the New York Islanders as a valuable mentor who’s helping to teach him what it takes to be a pro. But when asked which NHL player he’d most like to start his pro career with, Bedard named his world juniors linemate Mason McTavish on Thursday — who just happens to play for the now 32nd-place Anaheim Ducks.
Hmmm…
And while Bedard didn’t light up the scoreboard on Friday, he played big minutes and put on a show for the fans in attendance.
“I thought he played really well,” said Dyck. “You’ve got to give our guys some credit for defending. I think they rose to the occasion.
“But he’s a threat every time he’s out there. He’s an elite finisher, and he’s an elite playmaker. When you have that, you not only have to be aware of where he is, you have to be aware of where everybody else is.”
When the three stars were handed down at the end of the night, Bedard was left off the list.
His linemate Borya Valis earned third-star honors for his two-point night. He scored Regina’s opening goal in the first period and picked up the primary assist on the second-period tally that was triggered by Bedard.
Giants captain and Ottawa Senators prospect Zack Ostapchuk was named second star, with a game-high eight shots on goal and a 6-for-9 record on the faceoff dot.
And on a night where the Giants outshot the Pats 47-35, former Vancouver goalkeeper Drew Sim earned first-star honors with his second shutout of the season for Regina — in his first-ever start at the Langley Events Center. During his time with the Giants, he played two road games during the 2019-20 season, then nine games in the bubble environment in Kamloops and Kelowna during the shortened 2020-21 campaign. He was traded to Regina on Oct. 13, 2021.
Friday night’s win in Vancouver kicks off the Pats’ five-game tour through British Columbia. With the potential to be the first B.C.-born player to be selected first overall since Ryan Nugent-Hopkins went to the Edmonton Oilers in 2011, Bedard’s name and reputation are spurring unprecedented ticket demand across the province.
Sitting seventh in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a record of 10-11-1-1, the Pats will visit the Victoria Royals on Saturday before heading to the Interior to face the Kelowna Rockets, the Kamloops Blazers and the Prince George Cougars.
They’ll then hit Edmonton and Prince Albert on their way back to Regina, where they’ll host the Calgary Hitmen at the Brandt Centre on Saturday, Dec. 10.
“It’s nice to have somebody like that in our league, that can come out here and sell out buildings,” Dyck said. “You hear about it in the Quebec League with Crosby or the Ontario League with McDavid. Not that I’m putting that kind of pressure on Connor, but it’s nice to have a guy like that. It’s not only a treat for our fans, it’s a treat for our guys to play in that atmosphere.”
