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Connor Bedard named WHL’S top rookie

Connor Bedard, the Regina Pats‘ 15-year-old phenom, was named the Western Hockey League’s rookie of the year on Wednesday.

Bedard had 12 goals and 16 assists in his first 15 WHL games before leaving the Pats to join Team Canada and ultimately help it win the gold medal at the recent IIHF world under-18 hockey championship.

He had a league-high 28 points at the time of his departure.

Despite missing the Pats’ final nine games, Bedard had two more goals and five more points than any other rookie in the league.

“It’s really cool,” Bedard, who is from North Vancouver, B.C., said of winning the award. “Coming in, that was a goal of mine and it was something that I wanted, so being able to get that was really special.”

“It’s more of a team award than an individual award,” Bedard said. “I got (linemate) Carson Denomie giving me a lot of free assists.

“It’s definitely big for confidence, just being able to get that award. But, whether I got it or I didn’t, it doesn’t change things going into next year. I’ll just go out and try to play my game.”

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2021-06-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281947430793860

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