Canada’s Connor Bedard: ‘I love this team, this country’
Breadcrumb Trail Links Sports Hockey
A record-breaking World Junior Championship for Connor Bedard was capped by Canada’s 3-2 OT win over the Czech Republic in Thursday’s gold medal game.
Connor Bedard, on loan from WHL’s Regina Pats, celebrates Canada’s 3-2 overtime win over the Czech Republic in Thursday’s World Junior Ice Hockey Championships gold medal game. Photo by Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press Contents of the article
Connor Bedard will return from the World Junior Hockey Championships with some gold records.
advertising 2
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
content of the article
The 17-year-old Regina Pats captain set several statistical benchmarks before Canada recorded a 3-2 overtime win over the Czech Republic in Thursday night’s gold medal game in Halifax.
By clicking the subscribe button, you agree to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or any newsletter. Postmedia Network Inc | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thank you for registering!
content of the article
But individual achievements and accolades were the last things on his mind as the players rejoiced on the ice in front of a crowd of 10,595 at the Scotiabank Center and millions of Canadians watching the game on TV.
“I don’t want to talk about myself right now,” Bedard, who was named the tournament’s MVP, told TSN. “We don’t talk about me. We just won the biggest tournament in the world and man I love this team, this country.”
Fans celebrate Dylan Guenther’s gold medalist goal during a World Junior Hockey Championships watch party Thursday night at the Brandt Center. Photo by Kayle Neis /Regina Leader-Post
Dylan Guenther settled matters 6-22 in a three-on-three sudden death match as Bedard became only the second pat to play for multiple world junior champions.
advertising 3
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
content of the article
Bedard matched the feat of Jeff Friesen, who helped Canada win the championship in 1994 and 1995.
Despite being left out of the top scorer chart on Thursday, Bedard still led the tournament in goals (nine), assists (14) and points (23).
The 23 points is the most by a Canadian in a junior singles world – and the fourth highest by a player from any country. Sweden’s Peter Forsberg had a record 31 points in 1993 while teammate Markus Naslund had 24. Finn Raimo Helminen recorded 24 points in 1984.
Bedard, the expected first overall pick in June’s NHL draft, finished the 2023 tournament with the most goals (17) and points (36) of all time.
The previous records were held by ex-pat Jordan Eberle (14 goals) and Hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros (31 points). Eberle (2010) and Bedard are the only Pats to have received MVP honors at World Juniors.
advertising 4
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
content of the article
Bedard’s three goals and four assists in last week’s 11-2 group stage win against Germany earned Canada the most points in a World Youth game. He is one of five Canadians to score seven points in a game in the tournament.
Bedard, Friesen and Eberle are among 13 Pats players to have won a world junior gold medal. The others are Garth Butcher (1982), John Miner (1985), Selmar Odelein (1985), Kevin Haller (1990), Mike Sillinger (1991), Jeff Shantz (1993), Jason Smith (1993), Logan Pyett (2008) , Colten Teubert (2009) and Sam Steel (2018).
Also, Bob Strumm – general manager of the Pats from 1979 to 1985 – was Canada’s GM in 1982 for the first of his country’s 20 junior world titles.
advertising 5
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
content of the article
Pat’s banking boss Curtis Hunt was an assistant coach when Canada won gold medals in 2007 and 2008.
On Thursday, goals from Guenther (at 12:41 p.m. in the first period) and Shane Wright (4:35, second period) looked like the Pats might have a 2-0 lead well into the third period would win. .
But everything changed within a minute of the third period when the Czechs scored two goals from Jiri Kulich (12:30) and Jakub Kos (13:24).
Canada beat the Czech Republic 38-26, including 4-1 in overtime.
As of Thursday, no team had repeated themselves as junior world champions since 2009, when Eberle helped Canada win the title for the fifth straight year.
“It’s a thrill of a lifetime for me and all my teammates, my brothers,” Bedard told TSN.
advertising 6
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
content of the article
The Czech team was captained by Bedard’s teammate in the WHL, defenseman Stanislav Svozil. Moose Jaw Warriors’ Martin Rysavy also helped Czech Republic win the silver medal.
Canada’s Connor Bedard (left) and Czech Republic’s Martin Rysavy are shown during Thursday’s World Junior Ice Hockey Championships gold medal game in Halifax. Photo by Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press
Two of Canada’s three medal round wins were in OT. On Monday, Bedard scored in the sudden death game as Canada beat Slovakia 4-3 in Monday’s quarterfinals. Two nights later, Canada recovered from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the United States 6-2 in the semifinals.
Team Canada consisted of two Saskatchewan-born players – defensemen Nolan Allan (of Davidson) and Kevin Korchinski (Saskatoon). Allan, Korchinski, goaltender Thomas Milic and forward Reid Schaefer were all on loan from the Seattle Thunderbirds, who will visit the Pats on Friday.
advertising 7
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
content of the article
A total of 10 active WHL players helped Canada win the gold medal. The league was also represented by defenseman Olen Zellweger (Everett Silvertips) and forwards Caedan Bankier (Kamloops Blazers), Logan Stankoven (Kamloops), Colton Dach (Kelowna Rockets) and Zack Ostapchuk (Vancouver Giants).
Gunther, formerly of the Edmonton Oil Kings, was on loan from the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.
Gord Cochran of the Pats was one of Team Canada’s equipment managers.
twitter.com/robvanstone
The sports world is constantly changing, and so are the times. Supplement your regular diet with sports coverage by subscribing to Regina Leader-Post’s 306 Sports Fix newsletter. Each week, Sports Editor Rob Vanstone will provide additional commentary on the Roughriders, Pats and other teams/sports of interest, along with a behind-the-scenes look. Click here to login.
Rob Vanstone: Connor Bedard mania creates delicious opportunities for Regina Pats Rob Vanstone: Connor Bedard takes brilliance to a new level Share this article on your social network Ad 1
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Remarks
Postmedia strives to maintain a vibrant but civilized forum for discussion and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour to be moderated before they appear on the site. We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful. We’ve turned on email notifications – you’ll now receive an email when you get a reply to your comment, there’s an update on a comment thread you follow, or when a user you follow comments follows. For more information and details on how to customize your email settings, see our Community Guidelines.
