All eyes on Bedard as Canada begins quest for world junior gold

Team Canada is to start — or restart — its 2022 world junior hockey championship in Edmonton on Wednesday.

The 2022 edition of the tournament is taking place in the summer, eight months after it was cancelled after a few days because of a COVID-19 outbreak.

Regina Pats forward Connor Bedard was on that team in the winter and was pencilled in by most to be Canada’s 13^th forward.

This time around, some in the media world expect Bedard will carry Canada to a gold medal and be the team’s best player.

Despite the extra attention, Bedard doesn’t think it’ll make a difference in how he plays his game.

“I don’t know if that changes things, where people are expecting me to be in the lineup,” he said. “It’s all the best players in the country and we’re here and we’re all going to try to do what we’re asked of.

“I don’t think that outside pressure or noise enhances anything.”

Bedard and his Canadian teammates have been preparing for the tournament throughout the past week. They held training camp in Calgary before heading up the QE2 to Edmonton.

While Bedard got to play only two games last time around before the tournament shut down, he suggests he learned a lot.

“I think during the world juniors (in December) I learned a lot from all the guys on the team,” said Bedard who, in that edition of the tournament, became the youngest player in world junior history to score four goals in a game.

“You’re playing with (some) guys in the NHL and I think I was able to take some of that back and have a stronger second half than first half.”

After a relatively slow start to the Pats’ 2021-22 season — Bedard had 11 goals and 18 points in the team’s first 22 games — he went on a tear over Regina’s final 40 regular-season games.

He had 40 goals and 42 assists in that span and eventually set team records for goals in a season by a 16-year-old (51) and points in a season by a 16-year-old (100).

He also became the youngest player in WHL history to score at least 50 goals in a season.

But Bedard and the Pats didn’t make the playoffs. As a result, he has had a full three months to get his body ready for the most important season of his hockey career.

A potential first-overall pick in the next NHL draft, Bedard says he focused on all aspects of his game to make sure he’s prepared for the season.

“I think there’s a lot of things (I worked on). Skating was a big thing I focused on, just cleaning up a few areas with that,” he explained.

“I’ve been in the gym for three months now, so you’re trying to get stronger and more powerful. And then (I practice) skill work and stuff — just kind of a mix of everything, I’d say.”

Bedard thinks this Team Canada roster can strike gold in Edmonton.

“The goal for everyone is going to win the gold medal, so hopefully we can do that,” he stated.

Canada is to play Latvia at 4 p.m. The tournament runs until Aug. 20.