Bedard serves notice he's ready for World Junior spotlight

TSN SportsCentre Reporter Mark Masters reports on the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, running Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Halifax, N.S, and Moncton, N.B. Team Canada practised at the Avenir Centre in Moncton on Tuesday. 

Connor Bedard surprised everyone with his dash up the ice in the third period on Monday night, even his own teammates.

 "I was actually laughing on the bench," said Los Angeles Kings defenceman Brandt Clarke. "I didn't mean to give him the puck. I cut back and he kind of just took it from me. I'm like, he'll make a good play here so feel free, and he clearly made the best play he could've made. That was pretty awesome to see."

 Bedard picked up the puck from Clarke at his own blue line and carried it all the way down the ice before going behind the Swiss net and feeding Seattle Kraken centre Shane Wright in front for a tap-in goal.

"Definitely one of the easiest ones I've ever scored," said Wright. "I wasn't really sure he'd be able to pass that one. I thought he was maybe going to throw the puck on net there. I was following up to the net to see if there was a rebound or something. It seemed like he had eyes on the back of his head there and made that play right on my tape."

Bedard saw it all along. 

"I knew he was kind of trailing me," the Regina Pats phenom said. "I go behind the net and the d-man kind of came with me a bit so I threw it there and hoped he'd be there. He did a good job going to the net."

"Connor has so many options," said Clarke. "He can drive wide. He can cut to the middle. He can shoot through them. It gives him so many plays and he's so unpredictable for the defencemen."

 Earlier in the 6-0 win over Switzerland, Bedard set up Peterborough Petes winger Brennan Othmann, his other linemate, for a goal. After Mississauga Steelheads defenceman Ethan Del Mastro kept the puck in at the blue line, Bedard made a nifty move to coral it and move to the high slot. 

"Everyone in the building thought he was shooting the puck and then he was able to make a nice pass to Otter for the one T," said Wright. "He can score from that area and the goalie and defender has to respect that. He can do it all. A special play for sure."

Again, Bedard was a step ahead of everyone. 

"Otter was pretty open so just try and look like I was going to shoot and then give it to him for a one timer," he said.

"He's got great vision," said Othmann. "He wants to show he's not a one-dimensional shooter. He can also make plays all over the ice." 

Bedard also picked up an assist on a power-play goal by Wright. So, it was a three-assist game with the promise of even better performances to come. 

"I thought I probably could have shot a little more," Bedard said, "but when you're playing with those two guys you're obviously going to try and feed them."

Bedard played on a line with Othmann at the summer World Juniors, but Monday was his first game with Wright. 

"I'd like to see them connect a little bit better out there," said head coach Dennis Williams. "At times there was a lot of individual play instead of movement. I think that takes reps. That takes a lot of time for guys to start to get comfortable and knowing where they're at. They definitely got better as the game went on."

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After the Othmann goal, Bedard made a tickling motion at the chin of Swiss defenceman Dario Sidler. 

"Me and him were right there and I don't even know why I did it, but I thought it was pretty funny," he explained with a grin. "It's kind of random, but thought it was funny. It got some attention after, which is good."

 Bedard doesn't mind attention on the ice or off it.  

"Everywhere he goes, he's got eyes on him," noted Clarke. "People are chanting his name while we're going to the bus and trying to get his attention. He's enjoying the experience, but keeps a level head and knows what he's got to do. He knows what he's here for. He's embracing the attention, but still just dialed in and ready to do his thing. It's pretty impressive how he's managing all that at just 17 years old."

"Here you're focused on winning a gold medal," Bedard explained. "It feels like when you're surrounded by the team you always got those team goals and you're focused on that more than the outside noise." 

Bedard has been in the spotlight from a young age, but this is his draft season, which means everything is magnified even more. He's the projected first overall pick, but so was Wright at this time last year. Wright, who went fourth overall in July, is impressed with how Bedard is navigating the pressurized environment so far. 

"He comes to the rink every day wanting to work," Wright observed. "He wants to get better every day. He's not letting the hype or situation around him [get to him]. He's worried about the World Juniors here. He's worried about what's going on day to day here and in practice and being a good teammate as well. He's been awesome. He's one of the hardest working guys here so far. It shows his character."  

"I don't think people really realize what probably is put on him on a daily basis," Williams said. 

The coach approached Bedard to talk about his defensive game on Tuesday and was impressed by the response. 

"I said, 'We'll get together for some video,' and he was all about it," revealed Williams, who was an assistant on last year's World Junior staff. "It's the growth from one Christmas to the next. He's wanting to round out his game and be known not just as a prolific goal scorer or playmaker offensively but also for his play without the puck. He's been conscientious about wanting to improve on that."

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At 5-foot-10, Bedard is one of Canada's shortest players, but he doesn't let that hold him back. 

"He's not overly tall, but he's strong," said Williams. "When he gets that body position, he reminds you of Sidney Crosby, just kind of that low centre of gravity and the battling and the puck protection. We call it swimming with the one arm that's off and keeping the puck out there. You never see him on the ice and that always tells you who's a strong hockey player. Players on the ice falling tend to be a little bit weaker. I don't see Connor falling that easily out there."

Tanner Howe, Bedard's linemate in Regina, describes him as "an animal" in the gym. That hard work is now paying off on the ice. 

"He's super strong," Wright said. "You see him off the ice, his legs are huge. He's got a super strong lower half of his body. Even though he might be smaller, I think that helps with his centre of gravity. He's always pretty low to the ice, but super stable on his feet. His puck protection is definitely an underrated part of his game. He's always able to do cutbacks and protect the puck even from the bigger, stronger defencemen."

Bedard, who weighs in at 185 pounds, uses speed to neutralize any size disparity. 

"Being quick," he said of his focus. "If a big d-man gets a hold of me he's probably going to knock me over so just trying to be quick and deceptive in corners and tight spaces. Sometimes I'll get hit and knocked down but that's hockey."

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Bedard nailed Othmann with a shot during a Canadian power play on Monday night. 

"Yeah, that wasn't fun," Othmann said with a grin and a grimace. "I told him before the game, 'I'll stand there just don't hit me.' He said he would buy me lunch. So, he owes me a steak lunch or something like that. It's a hard shot. But it's all good." 

Canada converted on two of five power-play chances against the Swiss. 

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Othmann is determined to be the last guy off the ice at the end of warmup, which led to a stand off with Vincent Despont on Monday. Othmann crouched over at the bench to fake out the Swiss defenceman, who had returned to the ice after initially leaving. 

"I eyed over there," Othmann said. "I indicated that I went off. It's my thing to be last off the ice and I snuck away with that one there. Hopefully none of the teams start catching on or it will be a battle and I won't be in there for Willy's talk. It's fun."

"We were talking in the dressing room and we're like, 'Where is this guy?'" Clarke said. "And then he comes storming in with a big smile on his face. He won the battle, I guess you could say. It's his thing and he played well so I guess it works."

 This routine dates back to his minor hockey days in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. 

"I like to be last off in every situation," the New York Rangers prospect said. "It's something that relaxes my mind and I can focus on the next 20 minutes ahead. It goes back to my Don Mills days. I've done it ever since. Once you get into that routine and that rhythm it just doesn't go away."

"Otter is a little superstitious," said Wright, who was his teammate with the Don Mills Flyers. "Just a little silly thing he does, but everyone has their own little things they do before the game to get ready."

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Quebec's Nathan Gaucher, Sherbrooke's Joshua Roy and Gatineau's Zach Dean have been clicking since Day 1 of training camp and that all-QMJHL line led the way for Canada on Monday night. 

"They've been great every day in practice so it doesn't surprise me," said Williams. "They set the tone for us. They were the best line for us all night. They were grinding their opponents down. They were working together. They weren't hanging onto pucks. I don't think any of them played as an individual. They were feeding off each other."

Roy scored just 1:41 into the game with Gaucher and Dean picking up the assists. Later in the first period, Gaucher finished a nice passing play from Dean and Roy. 

"It's the total package with us with the chemistry, the communication," said Gaucher, a 6-foot-3 centre. "We worked down low. This will be a strong thing about our line. We can play heavy and down low and get pucks to the net and score." 

"We played the right way," said Roy, a Montreal Canadiens prospect. "We played the game plan: putting pucks behind the D and forechecking. That's how we had our success." 

Gaucher and Roy are returning players from the summer team that won gold in Edmonton and have known each other for years. 

"I've known him since I'm very young and for sure it helps," Roy said.

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Monday's game was the first one for Clarke since Nov. 26 when he was on a conditioning stint with the Ontario Reign in the American Hockey League. 

"There is some fatigue, but I'm just getting back into game shape," the Nepean, Ont., native said. "That's what these exhibition games are for. Overall, I felt I was making plays. I had my head up and was making the right play when the puck was on my stick. I was pretty happy. We'll use it as a stepping stone and I'm going to get better from here. It was a solid game, but now I'll try and take it to a whole new level."

Clarke started Monday's game with Seattle's Nolan Allan. He spent most of Tuesday's practice paired with Sherbrooke's Tyson Hinds, who started Monday's game as the seventh defenceman.

"He's very quick," Clarke observed. "He's good with the puck. I like guys who are really good puck movers. He looks for me. I told him, 'Be ready. I might not be looking at you, but I'm going to give it to you.' He was like, 'I promise I'll be ready.' And he was and got good shots off from it."

There's also some off-ice chemistry already.  

"He's from Gatineau so he's an Ottawa boy," said Clarke. "We've already talked about seeing each other this summer."

Williams downplayed the change and pointed out that the minutes ended up pretty even in Monday's game. But, the coach believes Hinds has the potential to play an important role at the World Juniors. 

"He just defends really well," Williams said. "He's big, strong and makes smart decisions. He moves the puck. If he can just do what we saw during camp and what we've seen here for the last week of just playing inside the dots and being a real simple, stay-at-home D, I think he has huge value to our club."

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Lines at Tuesday's practice:

Othmann - Wright - Bedard

Fantilli - Stankoven - Guenther

Dean - Gaucher - Roy

Schaefer - Bankier - Ostapchuk

Dach 

Del Mastro - Zellweger

Hinds - Clarke

Korchinski - Matier

Allan

Gaudreau starts on Wednesday 

Milic