Family comes first for emerging hockey star Connor Bedard

The story of Connor Bedard, whose ceiling is virtually unlimited, cannot fully be told without mentioning the floor.

“From the age of three on, Connor always had a ball and a hockey stick,” recalled Tom Bedard, the proud father of the Regina Pats’ 17-year-old sensation — the anticipated first overall choice in the 2023 NHL draft. “That’s what he always seemed to be doing — not on the ice, but around the house.

“He would be stickhandling in our open kitchen, ruining the flooring, and he’d do it for hours.”

It wasn’t a matter of a coach or parent suggesting that such drills would be beneficial. He was, and still is, self-motivated.

“I tried it and I fell in love with it,” Connor Bedard said. “It was all I wanted to do as a kid, and to this day.”