HALIFAX — Brandt Clarke was manning his position on the blue line early in the second period when the action abruptly stopped. The Canadian defenceman knew Connor Bedard just had the puck on his stick.
Then he didn’t.
There were gasps and cheers moments later Thursday night from the red-clad crowd inside Scotiabank Centre when they – along with the officials and Bedard’s teammates – realized what happened.
The 17-year-old phenom had perfectly placed a shot from a tight, near-impossible angle under the crossbar on the unsuspecting Austrian netminder for his first of two goals in what would turn into an 11-0 romp.
“Very sudden,” Clarke said when asked his perspective following Friday’s practice. “Then you look at the replay and you’re like, ‘What in the world?’ It was literally a puck-width of space and he put it in there only like he can.
“Pretty remarkable.”
It has, quite frankly, been a remarkable week at the world junior hockey championship for the 2023 NHL draft’s presumptive top pick.
Bedard has 14 points to lead the tournament – linemate Logan Stankoven is second with seven – and he’s tied Jordan Eberle’s national record of 14 career goals at the men’s under-20 event.
The North Vancouver, B.C., native also knotted a Canadian single-game mark with seven points in Wednesday’s 11-2 drubbing of Germany before putting up six more against Austria.
“Pretty special,” said forward Dylan Guenther, a member of the Arizona Coyotes loaned to Canada for the tournament.
“You don’t see that – ever.”
Except you might when No. 16 is on the ice.
And Clarke, a member of the Los Angeles Kings, believes Bedard could play in the NHL right now.
“He’s got the drive, he’s got the skill, he’s got determination,” Clarke said. “There’s not exceptional status for the NHL.
“But if there was, he’d be the No. 1 candidate.”
The star centre for the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats – coincidentally where Eberle played – is also just four points back of the record 31 put up over three world junior tournaments by Eric Lindros.
It’s unlikely, however, the event will ever see Bedard again with a straight-line path to the NHL coming after this season.
The world junior records are nice, but what Bedard really craves is a moment like the one Eberle is truly remembered for – his dramatic tying goal in the dying seconds of the 2009 semifinals in Ottawa against Russia.
“If you ask anyone in the country, they’d want to be scoring that goal,” Bedard said. “It would be nice to score a big one like he has.”
With the tournament hosts set to meet Sweden on Saturday in a New Year’s Eve matchup with massive seeding implications, Canadian head coach Dennis Williams said Bedard would trade each of his points for another gold medal after also winning August’s pandemic-delayed showcase.
“Everyone loves scoring goals and being on the scoresheet,” Williams said. “But getting to know him deep down, he’s here for one thing – he wants to repeat.
“He’ll do whatever it takes.”
That drive comes, at least in part, from Bedard’s appreciation of his dad’s profession.
Tom Bedard is a logger in B.C., often starting his days before dawn and spending hours on the road getting to and from his gruelling job.
“Pretty hard worker,” Connor said of his father, whose birthday is Saturday. “His schedule’s probably tougher than most. He comes home and he’s still the most positive guy.
“Realizing what he does makes me feel so lucky just to play hockey.”
And Canada feels lucky to have Bedard.
“First played with him at the under-18 tournament,” said defenceman Jack Matier. “He was the quiet kid. Coming back here, I really notice his confidence, but also his humility off the ice.
“And a very special player on the ice with his highlight-reel goals and all the skill in the world.”
Clarke was asked what he thinks pushes Bedard, a player already being mentioned in the same breath as Connor McDavid.
“People get motivated in different ways,” he said. “A guy that knows his abilities, likes to put on a show for people, likes to make plays with the puck, has the utmost confidence in himself. The drives him. He wants to be better than he was last game.
“Just the kind of person he is.”
His country couldn’t ask for anything more.
SEEDING SCENES
Canada enters the final day of Group A action with six points from three games. Sweden leads with eight, followed by Czechia with seven.
Canada dropped its opening game to Czechia. A regulation win for the Canadians over the Swedes would guarantee them second place ahead of Monday’s quarterfinals.
Czechia – the country commonly known as the Czech Republic – takes on Germany in its round-robin finale.
MILIC GETS THE CALL
Williams announced Thomas Milic would start in goal ahead of Benjamin Gaudreau.
The only player not drafted when eligible on the Canadian roster – Bedard and Adam Fantilli get their turn in June – the 19-year-old netminder has used that as fuel.
“I’m pretty proud,” Milic said of backstopping a star-studded roster. “(Not being drafted) is always something that’s in the back of my mind. But right now my top priority is this tournament and helping the team.
“If you’re playing good, you’re playing good. That’s all that matters in tournaments like this.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2022.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
