Jump to content
  • Join us — it's free!

    We are the premiere internet community for New York Rangers news and fan discussion. Don't wait — join the forum today!

IGNORED

Connor Bedard: Can This 13-Year Old Be the Next “It” Player in Hockey?


Recommended Posts

The attention has already been white-hot for Bedard, who stands 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds and celebrated his 13th birthday in July. But if he’s feeling the pressure, either on or off the ice, he is certainly not showing it. He and his family have so far rebuffed the entireties of agents and teams in the behemoth Greater Toronto Hockey League to move east so he can display his talents in the country’s biggest city. He’s likely the youngest player to have been profiled in The Hockey News and then there are the comparisons to some of the greatest players in the game.

 

“It’s super cool and exciting with all these calls we’re getting and it’s super interesting for me and my parents,” Bedard said. “This is all so new for us. It’s also super humbling.” As far as dealing with agents is concerned, Bedard is even less fazed. “I think we can handle it,” he said of him and his family. “It’s just people.”

 

A lot of things are super in Connor Bedard’s world these days. He’s skated with the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Junior League, even though he’s a couple of years from being able to play at that level. Next season, Bedard hopes to play for West Van’s under-18 team against players up to three years older, something that would require an exemption from the B.C. Hockey, the organization that governs minor hockey in that province. The designation has never been granted, not even to prodigies such as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mat Barzal. That will likely be followed next season by an application to Hockey Canada to be granted “exceptional player” status, which would allow Bedard to play in the Western League in the 2020-21 season. Matthew Savoie, who has received a similar exemption to play for an under-18 prep school team in Alberta, is believed to be applying to become the first exceptional status player in WHL history for next season. It’s believed Shayne Wright of the Don Mills Flyers, a bantam-aged player in midget hockey this season, will apply for exceptional status in the Ontario League for next season, and possibly another bantam-aged player named Adam Fantilli, who plays for the Toronto Red Wings. Fantilli is a late-birthday 2004-born player who doesn’t turn 14 years old until Dec. 10. Whew, that’s a lot of exceptional players.

 

“I think for Connor it’s going to be a balancing act with the pressure he puts on himself and what everyone is expecting when they come to watch him play,” Calvano said. “We haven’t really ever had anything of this magnitude on the west coast. Mat Barzal kind of had it, but not to this extent.”

 

https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/meet-the-future-of-hockey-13-year-old-connor-bedard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Christ...this is the same age my kid is. We see some extremely talented 05's out there. Have not heard about this one yet but man...this is the 1st year that he's been involved in hitting. At his weight he's also probably about 20+ pounds heavier than most of the other 13yo's. There's a kid that plays for the Philadelphia Hockey Club that has been bigger, stronger, and faster than the other kids every year. Every year the gap gets smaller though between him and his peers. How can they be so certain about Bedard?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Christ...this is the same age my kid is. We see some extremely talented 05's out there. Have not heard about this one yet but man...this is the 1st year that he's been involved in hitting. At his weight he's also probably about 20+ pounds heavier than most of the other 13yo's. There's a kid that plays for the Philadelphia Hockey Club that has been bigger, stronger, and faster than the other kids every year. Every year the gap gets smaller though between him and his peers. How can they be so certain about Bedard?

 

Agreed, a former player of mine is playing for Little Cesar?s 04. They are ranked 1 in the nation, he?s their best player, and probably considered a top 10 in his birth year.

 

That being said, last year as a first year bantam with team Illinois, he was 5?10 and 170....and was a man against boys.

 

This year as a bantam, 6? 175 (working with a trainer)....and eventually that massive size difference will go away

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed, a former player of mine is playing for Little Cesar’s 04. They are ranked 1 in the nation, he’s their best player, and probably considered a top 10 in his birth year.

 

That being said, last year as a first year bantam with team Illinois, he was 5’10 and 170....and was a man against boys.

 

This year as a bantam, 6’ 175 (working with a trainer)....and eventually that massive size difference will go away

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

 

Interesting. There is an 04 from my club that just joined that team this season too. He is a stud as well. That team must be ridiculous.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting. There is an 04 from my club that just joined that team this season too. He is a stud as well. That team must be ridiculous.

 

Compuware i believe was suppose to be the stronger team. He was offered to play there for free, but they do school online rather than attend public school. So he opted to play for Ceasers and attend high school as a freshman.

 

He?s kind of been tearing it up with his two linemates. Definitely on track for USNDP

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Christian Koscis is the kid from my club that's there. I wonder if they're on the same line. Would be kind of funny.

 

Just spoke to the dad

Vansickle (kid i coached) and someone named Nazar are carrying the team with 50pts each. They are both wingers. Right now the team is ranked 1 in USA, and just tied the number 1 ranked 04 team in Canada.

 

Koscis in the 2nd line center.

He said if they moved him up to 1st line they?d have the best top line in NA

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...
2 hours ago, RichieNextel305 said:

Seeing this thread pop back up since it’s from the day after my wedding, lol.

 

Wild how it was known even then the prospect he was and would become, and the hype surrounding him now that he’s finally here. Excited to see what he can do.

Seems akin to Crosby, Ovechkin, McDavid. This kid is gunna be fun to watch for the next 20 years. Pretty damn cool as Crosby and Ovi wind down over the next couple. Crosby is a concussion or two away from being done though hopefully he goes out on his own accord. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
6 minutes ago, Cash or Czech said:

 

I mean at least Laf isn't Slafkosvsky?

Slaf is one year into playing North American hockey. You can't even begin to compare the dynamics of the situation outside of the notion that both of these players should have started in the AHL. 

 

Edited by Pete
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Sharpshooter said:

He had a nice dish on the OT winner too.

Yes he did, I meant to post this one last night, this kid showed so much in one game vs. .........   he's got the potential to be something special. It looks like he's got what we thought we were going to get.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I sure wish the NHL rigged the draft for us in a different year than they did.  Just our luck.

 

edit - I retract my previous statement.  I forgot they were still actually showing the lottery ball machine the year the Rangers won it.  That was the year Toronto's ball almost slipped in iirc.

Edited by SaveByRichter35
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, jsrangers said:

Yes he did, I meant to post this one last night, this kid showed so much in one game vs. .........   he's got the potential to be something special. It looks like he's got what we thought we were going to get.

 

 

Laf was never touted as Bedard. Thats not a fair comparison. Bedard is a generational talent, he’s the next Crosby, next McJesus. Laf was never it. 

  • Keeps it 100 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair point

 

He wasn't sold to us as a lazy turd either. 

 

Not really asking him to be Bedard just pointing out that this kid was noticeable throughout the game for all the right reasons. After all this time Laugh still getting caught with his pants down completely unnoticeable except for doing things poorly like  when he's not battling for pucks in the corner and passing up the opportunity to take a clean shot from a great spot to instead rather randomly throw it directly into some Devils skates sending the puck the other way. 

 

Asking him not to be invisible shouldn't be that big of an ask. With Bedard there is something very special there. The gap already is startling. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, jsrangers said:

Fair point

 

He wasn't sold to us as a lazy turd either. 

 

Not really asking him to be Bedard just pointing out that this kid was noticeable throughout the game for all the right reasons. After all this time Laugh still getting caught with his pants down completely unnoticeable except for doing things poorly like  when he's not battling for pucks in the corner and passing up the opportunity to take a clean shot from a great spot to instead rather randomly throw it directly into some Devils skates sending the puck the other way. 

 

Asking him not to be invisible shouldn't be that big of an ask. With Bedard there is something very special there. The gap already is startling. 

 

The thing is Bedard was probably only humming along at 75% and still a cut above most of the rest on the ice. That's 1OA quality.

  • JIMMY! 1
  • ALEXIS! 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...