Connor Bedard said he still has a lot to prove despite being the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft.
“You have goals every day, you’re practicing with each other, trying to get better and, for me, my main thing is just taking it day by day and trying to improve every day,” Bedard said on the latest edition of the “NHL Draft Class” podcast. “Obviously, I still have about 25 games left in my regular season and playoffs, so I got to still prove myself and that’s kind of the mindset I have.”
The right-shot center (5-foot-10, 185 pounds), No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm ranking of North American skaters, is first in the Western Hockey League with 39 goals, 42 assists and 81 points in 33 games with Regina. He’s scored 81 points during a 32-game point streak after not scoring in his first game.
Bedard touched on a number of topics during media day for the 2023 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Langley, British Columbia, including his gold-medal winning performance with Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, the vacation he turned down to Disneyland. , what he needs to work on over the second half of the season, and if he keeps tabs on the NHL standings.
In addition to offering insight on Bedard and his performance at the Top Prospects Game (Jan. 25), “NHL Draft Class” co-hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike Morreale discussed other players who stood out, including impact right-handed defenseman Oliver Bonk. (No. 18 on Central Scouting’s midterm list of North American skaters) had when matched against Bedard.
The podcast is free, and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms, including iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
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Listen: New episode of NHL Draft Class
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