Bedard can make immediate NHL impact, according to coach

CALGARY -- The man that's seen Connor Bedard the most believes the 17-year-old is ready to contribute at the NHL level.

Immediately.
"It seems like there's a certain level of the elite players ... and that's not that other guys aren't ... but so bought in and so focused and so driven and pays so much attention to detail," Bedard's coach with Regina of the Western Hockey League, John Paddock, said Wednesday. "For me that's him. He's able to shut out the outside noise for the most part and be himself. Again, you try not to build him up too much. I see him every day.
"The best way to say it is there hasn't been any indication that he's not going to be what everybody talks about."
Bedard, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, showcased his elite skill again Wednesday. He had a goal and an assist, then scored the only goal in the shootout in Regina's 6-5 win against Calgary in front of 17,223 fans at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.

He has goals in 11 straight games (22 goals) and extended his point streak to 35 games (44 goals, 46 assists).
Bedard leads the WHL in goals (44), assists (46) and points (90); no other player in the league has 70 points.
He's No. 1 in
NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters presented by BioSteel
and he'll almost certainty hear his name called first at the 2023 draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on June 28.
It seems like there's only one person that might argue against Paddock.
Bedard himself.
"I've never experienced an NHL game so I couldn't tell you," he said. "For me, that's something I don't know. That's what I want and that's everyone's goal and that's obviously my goal. I'm going to work as hard as I can to hopefully make that a reality one day. I'm not sure. People that are kind of watching both and have maybe played in both would know more. That's my goal. I'm going to work as hard as I can to achieve that one day hopefully."
Paddock would know more than most. The 68-year-old played 87 NHL games with the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers and Quebec Nordiques during parts of five seasons from 1975-83, coached the Winnipeg Jets (1991-95) and Ottawa Senators (2007-08), and has worked in all areas of the game in the NHL, American Hockey League and junior hockey.
For Paddock, Bedard looks NHL-ready because of how he plays and how he carries himself.
"I think that's going to happen soon enough, in seven or eight months," Paddock said. "The details to prepare for the game and get focused for, say, a road trip, he would have that. That's not going to change. There's going to be an adaptation for him for bigger, faster, stronger, but clearly he's on top of the charts as a 17-year-old in our league.
"I think that's pretty hard to argue."
Part of that can be traced to Paddock and the influence he's had on Bedard's development during their three seasons with Regina.

"He's coached at every level and has had so many experiences with a lot of different players as well as playing in the NHL and everything," Bedard said. "He has so many experiences and so much knowledge on the game and how to treat me and obviously give me advice on all that. I've been super fortunate on all that. It's been great to learn from him."
Bedard (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) doesn't have much more time to learn from Paddock. Regina has 21 games left in the regular season and has a chance to make the WHL playoffs. With 49 points (23-21-3) the Pats are seventh in the Eastern Conference, with the top eight making the postseason; they're three points ahead of ninth-place Medicine Hat.
But with Bedard targeted for an NHL lineup next season, his WHL career almost certainly will end whenever Regina's season does.
"On a personal level I've got to prove myself. That's my mentality still," Bedard said. "Take it day by day and try to improve every day in everything.
"For me it's (my) complete game and becoming a guy you can trust in all situations. I think that's something you learn about with experience. I think I've improved a bit on that and it's something I want to improve upon.
"Just try to get better every day is something that I want to live by."
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