Bedard ready to take centre stage again at CHL Top Prospects Game
Connor Bedard will have another chance to prove himself on the big stage Wednesday night at the CHL Top Prospects Game in Langley, B.C.
The 17-year-old Regina Pats’ captain has been on a tear since returning from a gold medal winning and record-breaking performance for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships in early January.
In five games since his return from the World Juniors, Bedard has picked up 12 goals and five assists for 17 points.
The Pats also saw their first sell out crowd of the season last Saturday night in a 5-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos.
The CHL Top Prospects Game showcases the 40 best draft eligible players in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) which is comprised of the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and QMJHL Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Nineteen players from the WHL will be skating in the game.
Including Bedard, four of those 19 players will represent WHL teams from Saskatchewan.
Tanner Molendyk (Saskatoon Blades), Jackson Unger (Moose Jaw Warriors) and Brayden Yager (Moose Jaw Warriors) will be the other three representing Saskatchewan organizations.
Riley Heidt from Saskatoon who plays for the Prince George Cougars and Kalan Lind from Shaunavon, Sask. who plays with the Red Deer Rebels will also play in the game.
Bedard, who is currently ranked number one among North American Skaters for the 2023 National Hockey League (NHL) draft, leads the WHL in scoring with 39 goals, 42 assists and 81 points in 33 games this season. Bedard is second only to Jordan Dumais (82pts) from the Halifax Mooseheads for scoring in the entire CHL, but has played six less games.
"No one wants to lose," Bedard, who is expecting a competitive game, said in an interview with TSN.
"We're all here and are really excited to be with all these top players in the league. It's going to be a fun experience and we all want to play well that's just the competitor in all of us but it's going to be a cool event and we'll have a lot of fun," Bedard said.
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