Controversial statement involving Connor Bedard and Jordan Weal
Although his team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in the Western Junior League, the young phenomenon Connor Bedard still managed to impress once again with an impressive collection of 20 points in seven games!
However, this spectacular performance was not enough as the Regina Pats were eliminated in the first round by the Saskatoon Blades.
But why am I talking about Connor Bedard without mentioning the fact that he will undoubtedly be the first pick in the upcoming draft?
It's because a former head coach of the Pats made a rather unusual statement about Bedard and a former player from the Canadiens, but I warn you, you won't believe it.
A major statement that is not universally agreed upon, let's say.
As reported by Charles-Alexis Brisebois of Danslescoulisses.com, former NHL player Pat Conacher, who also coached the Pats from 2011 to 2013, was a guest on the podcast The Rod Pedersoen Show and he stated the following:
Excuse me? Is this a joke?
It seems not. Well, before crying foul, we can still look at Weal's numbers in his last junior year.
In 2011-2012, the year when Conacher was the coach of the Pats, Weal still managed to collect 116 points in 70 games. Even though it's a good collection, it's far from Bedard's season of 143 points, including 71 goals, in 57 games this year.
Why did Conacher make such a statement?
In fact, he simply mentioned that Weal was a better junior player than Bedard, even though he admitted that he didn't have the opportunity to watch him play very often this season with the Pats.
To go back to Weal's 116-point season, he accomplished it at the age of 19, and afterward, he played four full seasons in the American Hockey League before playing his first NHL game in 2015-2016.
I'm not here to make comparisons between the two players or to criticize Conacher, but it must be admitted that with this statement, the former coach of the Pats could attract some jokes from some experts, and we bet that Jordan Weal should pay for dinner for his former junior coach simply for comparing him to the next hockey superstar.
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Who do you think will be the best player from the 2023 draft in five years? | ||
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| Leo Carlsson | 42 | 8 % |
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