A genius with the puck capable of making opponents look foolish at any moment, the supremely gifted 17-year-old is singularly focused on the world junior hockey championship.
He’s also on the verge of rewriting Canada’s record book at the event.
And one of the game’s greats Bedard just equalled has taken note.
“Don’t just break the record,” Eric Lindros posted to social media Sunday. “Smash it!”
Bedard tied the Hall of Fame centre’s mark of 31 career points at the men’s under-20 event with 18 over just four games in a jaw-dropping display of speed, skill and creativity.
The North Vancouver, B.C., native got there in just 13 contests compared to the 21 it took the player known as the “Big E” during his dominant playing days.
Connor Bedard ties pair of Canadian records in win over Sweden
Bedard is re-writing Canada’s record book as he notches three assists in the 5-1 victory.
“Pretty cool he even knows who I am,” Bedard said with a grin after learning of the tweet. “That’s awesome to hear that. Him wanting me to beat it is cool.
“A few more games, so hopefully I can.”
All-time goal-scoring mark in sight
That quest continues Monday when the tournament hosts face Slovakia in a quarterfinal matchup at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Bedard not now only sits next to Lindros, he’s also tied Jordan Eberle for the most all-time goals at the world juniors by a Canadian with 14.
Connor Bedard makes history at the World Junior Championship
Connor Bedard scores his 14th goal in 12 games of World Junior play which ties the record help by Jordan Eberle, to lead Canada to a lopsided 11-0 victory against Austria.
The list doesn’t stop there.
The presumptive top pick at the 2023 NHL draft has equalled Dale McCourt and Brayden Schenn for the most points by a Canadian in a single tournament.
He’s also tied Jaromir Jagr for the most points by a player aged 18 or younger.
“Amazing to play with,” Canadian defenceman Ethan Del Mastro said. “And it’d be pretty tough to play against him.”
Slovakia will take their shot Monday.
Connor Bedard leads Canada past Germany at the world junior championship
Projected number 1 draft pick Connor Bedard scored three goals and four assists, leading Canada to an 11-2 victory over Germany at the world junior championship.
Selected No. 2 overall at the 2022 draft by New Jersey, blue-liner Simon Nemec said his team will look to make life difficult for Bedard, who had an assist and took four minor penalties in a pre-tournament game between the countries.
“Best player here,” said Nemec, the tournament leader in ice time averaging over 26 minutes per game. “We need to skate with him, we need to be closer to him.
“He’s strong, but a physical game is not good for him.”
‘He goes about every day the same’
Bedard’s gaudy offensive numbers are getting all the attention — and why wouldn’t they? — but head coach Dennis Williams said what he noticed during a four-assist performance in Saturday’s emphatic 5-1 victory over Sweden was how the team’s best player celebrated Canada’s first goal after just 57 seconds.
Bedard rarely shows emotion on the ice when he scores. But even he couldn’t contain himself after setting up Joshua Roy’s opener in front of a raucous New Year’s Eve crowd on home soil.
???????? <a href=”https://twitter.com/HockeyCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@HockeyCanada</a> strikes first as Joshua Roy bangs it in on the rebound. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CANSWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CANSWE</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WorldJuniors</a> <a href=”https://t.co/NkcuZoaVeA”>pic.twitter.com/NkcuZoaVeA</a>
“You saw how much he cares,” Williams said. “He’s playing with what I call ‘silent confidence’ because you don’t even know about it. He goes about every day the same. Talking to him this morning, he’s the same Connor Bedard.”
“I was pretty fired up,” Bedard said. “The most excited I’ve got this tourney.
“I probably get more excited when someone else scores. At that moment you’re pretty juiced.”
Complete game
Bedard also demonstrated he’s not only a threat going forward.
The five-foot-10, 185-pound centre with the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats threw his weight around and was keen to track back into the defensive zone when needed.
“Something I want to do,” Bedard said. “Parts of games that go unnoticed.”
His teammates certainly notice when he’s putting in the same effort at both ends of the rink.
“You see his production and that deserves to be recognized,” Canadian defenceman Brandt Clarke said. “He’s done phenomenal things in the offensive zone. He’s not just an offensive player. He cares about the whole ice.
“That’s just the winning mindset that he has.”
Canadian captain Shane Wright said Bedard’s vision and ability to deceive might be among his greatest attributes.
“Unbelievable,” said the Seattle Kraken prospect. “The way he sees the game unfold, it’s almost like everyone else is moving a step slower than him. He reads the game so well. He understands the situation, understands what’s going on around him.
“Pretty impressive.”
Lindros, and countless others, can’t look away.
Thomas Milic makes great toe save to preserve Canada’s lead over Sweden
Milic went full extension to deny Sweden’s Jonathan Lekkerimaki with a fantastic stop.
Beck replaces Dach
Colton Dach’s misfortune means Owen Beck will get a world junior taste he didn’t envision when he sat down to watch Saturday’s game.
Dach suffered an apparent shoulder injury early in the third period, ruling the bottom-six forward out for the rest of the tournament.
Beck, who was cut from selection camp, knew as soon as Dach was helped to the locker-room in agony he might be getting the call.
It came shortly thereafter and the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads centre was on a Sunday morning flight to Halifax.
“Knowing I was right there, it’s a pretty cool feeling,” Beck said of not making the team and then getting an unexpected reprieve. “This is gonna be awesome.”
Dach’s injury is also added motivation for Canada.
“We all feel so bad for him,” Bedard added. “A huge loss for us.”
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
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.
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