Bedard records point in 11th straight game, but Pats fall 7-2 to Brandon

Connor Bedard’s already-spectacular but short season will get even more minuscule with the Regina Pats.

The 15-year-old rookie phenom will be joining the Canadian team for the IIHF under-18 world championship in Frisco, Texas. He is the only 2005-born player to get the call to the team.

“It’s a dream come true. As a Canadian kid, you grow up with that dream of getting to wear a maple leaf and when I found out, I was very excited. It’s a super-special opportunity and that’s something I can’t wait for,” Bedard said following a 7-2 loss against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Thursday at the Brandt Centre.

The tournament is to run from April 26 to May 6 but players will need to self-isolate at home beginning April 12.

That means Bedard’s final game with the Pats will be an April 9 showdown with the Wheat Kings.

“The opportunity for him at a young age to play for Team Canada and work under the Hockey Canada umbrella and develop there, we’re going to reap a lot of those rewards in the end,” Pats head coach Dave Struch said.

“The players here are going to have to learn how to play and compete and do things right when he’s not around because this is just the start of something we can anticipate in the future where he might be gone for a month at a time (for international tournaments).”

Bedard has lived up to the exceptional status he was given by Hockey Canada to play full-time in the WHL as a 15-year-old. He has recorded a point in all 11 contests he has played, totalling a league-leading 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists).

“I’ve kind of surprised myself a little just points-wise,” said Bedard, who had an assist Thursday night. “I’ve felt pretty comfortable out there, which is a good feeling.

“It was hard for me to have those (high) expectations for myself but I don’t want to say I put a lot of pressure on myself but I expect a lot out of myself and always work my hardest in the off-season and in games and practice.”

Struch said everything Bedard does at the rink and off of the ice has led to him having so much success at a young age.

“Everything that he’s done to earn his status has earned him the right to play in the league, to get the exceptional status. The rewards are all of us getting a chance to see him play and, for myself, to get a chance to coach him. He really puts time into being a player on and off the ice,” Struch said.

While Bedard once again found the scoresheet, the Pats couldn’t overcome a four-goal first-period deficit Thursday.

The Wheat Kings scored 9:58 into the game after forward Lynden McCallum stole the puck from Pats rookie forward Braxton Whitehead and fired it past goaltender Roddy Ross.

Brandon captain Braden Schneider scored while the team was shorthanded after forward Riley Ginnell stole the puck at the Regina blueline. That marker came at the 14:54 mark of the first period.

At the 15:37 point, McCallum scored his second of the period. Forward Ridley Greig scored the team’s fourth goal at the 18:39 point of the opening frame.

The Pats were able to get one back, with forward Colby Wotton deflecting a puck past Brandon goaltender Ethan Kruger at the 6:21 mark of the second. That was his first goal of his WHL career.

But at 8:03, Brandon forward Tyson Zimmer scored the first goal of his career to put the Wheat Kings back up by four.

At 9:53 of the third, Brandon forward Riley Ginnell put one past Ross on the power play.

Regina’s Carson Denomie tacked on his league-leading 10th goal of the year after a slick pass from Bedard at 11:36 of the third.

Brandon forward Nolan Ritchie scored the seventh goal for the Wheat Kings at the 14:31 mark of the final frame.

The Pats (4-5-2) are to play the Winnipeg Ice on Saturday.