On its own, Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard reaching 100 points so early in their respective seasons would be impressive. But for them to not just do it on the same day — Friday, Feb. 17 — but within an hour of each other? That’s the stuff of legends.
Connor McDavid: 100 points in 56 games
Remember McDavid’s feats in 2020-21? It’s okay if McDavid is operating at such a level that it might have slipped your mind. During that COVID-shortened season, there was a building-yet-absurd thought: could McDavid actually score 100 points in 56 games? With a ludicrous 42 points in his last 20 games, McDavid scored 105 points in 56 games.
Connor McDavid reached the 100-point mark in 56 games on Friday, while fellow phenom Connor Bedard notched the milestone in the WHL on the same night. (Getty Images)
McDavid hds two assists against the Rangers, so he’s actually already at 101 — just a touch off that last pace. McDavid scored his 100th point with a secondary assist on a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins power-play goal.
With 101 points in 56 games, that would put him on pace for 147-148 points over 82 contests. That would shatter last season’s already-stratospheric 123 points. (He’s also close to tying last season’s career high of 44 goals, as McDavid’s notched 42 in 2022-23.)
McDavid’s already starting to approach a level where he’s either competing with himself (he’s the fastest to 100 since … he last did it) or history.
Consider that McDavid’s six 100+ point seasons already ties Sidney Crosby for the most 100+ point seasons among active NHL players, despite Crosby’s 18 seasons compared to McDavid’s eight.
Bedard in rare company with back-to-back 100-point junior seasons
Could Connor Bedard end up being McDavid’s best competition in future scoring races? That’s a big ask, but Bedard accomplished at least one thing McDavid (barely) did not: back-to-back 100 point seasons at the junior level. (McDavid finished with 99 points in the OHL before scoring 123.)
On the back of a four-point Friday, Bedard now has 100 points in just 40 games for the WHL’s Regina Pats. Last season, Bedard generated exactly 100 points in 62 games. He’s also already authored consecutive seasons with at least 50 goals.
Like McDavid, Bedard reached 100 points with an assist.
Absurdly, Bedard’s scored at least four points in a quarter of his WHL games this season.
McDavid isn’t on this list, but Bedard joined some luminaries with consecutive 100+ point CHL seasons.
What a treat to watch these two phenoms lighting it up on a nightly basis.
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.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
