David Bedkowski has been traded amongst Ontario Hockey League teams before. In fact, he’s suited up for three teams over the last two seasons, but this most recent trade deadline brought an experience unlike anything he’s had before.
Bedkowski – who was the captain of the Owen Sound Attack (OHL) – was dealt from a middling Owen Sound team to the Ottawa 67’s, bringing his physically imposing style to a team on the charge for a Memorial Cup championship.
The 2025 third-round draft selection was notified by his agent on Jan. 6 that a deal was in place and Bedkowski said his goodbyes to his Owen Sound teammates. However, he remained with the Attack for their game on Jan. 7 and didn’t officially receive the call from his general manager that he had been traded until the morning of Jan. 8.
Bedkowski immediately packed his clothes, stopped at the rink to collect his hockey bag, and drove to where his billets work to say goodbye. Bedkowski wanted to play for Ottawa that night, so he embarked on a four-and-a-half-hour trek from Owen Sound to North Bay.
“Every minute I spent packing was cutting into my warmup time,” Bedkowski said.
“I stopped in Collingwood for a burrito and was eating it with my hands and steering with my knees,” Bedkowski continued. “... I got to the rink at 6 for a 7 p.m. game, got into the room, getting on my new gear and getting stuff figured out with our equipment manager here, and all the guys start coming to the room to start getting dressed, so I’m just introducing myself. I don't even know guys' names, and I'm playing that game, and it was just all a whirlwind.”
Bedkowski played four games in five days for two different teams after being dealt for five OHL draft picks. His car remained in North Bay as he took the bus with the team another five hours to Sault Ste. Marie for their game on Jan. 9, which was his 200th OHL game.
The 67’s played again two days later in Sudbury, which is three and a half hours from Sault Ste. Marie. The team stopped back in North Bay for Bedkowski to pick his car up and drive back to Ottawa to conclude a chaotic five-day span.
“They threw one of my teammates, my D partner (Kaleb Dietsch) in the car with me,” Bedkowski said. “When we drove on the way home, we ended up stopping for Subway and just getting to know each other for a good four hours there and then made it back to Ottawa. ... We didn't drive by a lot of signs of human life.”
Bedkowski joins a 67’s team that has the most wins in the OHL (34) and the third most of any Canadian Hockey League team. He also became Ottawa’s highest drafted player as the 67’s have amassed an impressive 34-9-1-2 record without a first- or second- round pick.
Ottawa is battling a Brantford Bulldogs team led by five first-round picks, 11 total draft selections including Sabres goaltender prospect Ryerson Leenders, and former Sabre Jay McKee who’s coached the Bulldogs to a 32-7-6-1 mark.
Bedkowski knows what it takes to play against those OHL superteams after he played against the London Knights – who boasted top prospect Sam O’Reilly, and current NHL talents Easton Cowan and Sam Dickinson – in the 2024 OHL Robertson Cup final.
“Those guys think they're untouchable and they don't like it when you play them hard,” Bedkowski said. “Anything you do to take them off their game and stop them from putting the puck in the net is important. High-skilled players are gonna be able to take advantage of little things like your feet positioning and your movements, so you try not to let them get into the inside of the ice.”
Bedkowski’s experience playing against the then-Memorial Cup runner-up is something he can impart upon a group looking to win the OHL and make the Memorial Cup, which brings the OHL, Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League winners together.
The Toronto native played in 20 of 21 playoff games during Oshawa’s 2024 playoff run and was brought into Ottawa alongside previous Memorial Cup champions Sam McCue, Nick Sima and USHL champion Teddy Spitznagel.
Bedkowski said having the captaincy experience in Owen Sound helped him learn about the importance of relationships and sharing previous experiences with the group.
“It’s an eye opener for young guys when they go through it for the first time,” Bedkowski said. “You can’t teach experience. It’s something that has to be earned and something you have to go through. ... We all bring a physical edge but also the experience of being to the dance and knowing what it takes and it’s a whole different game.
“You gotta win four games, not just one, so it’s about wearing teams down. Teams are going to try and intimidate you and push you out. Penalties become much more consequential and important. Every moment, turnover, whatever it is, is magnified so just bringing that experience and being that calming presence for these guys, and trying to prepare them for that, and leading by example when we get there, and taking care of all those little details.”
When Bedkowski kickstarted his OHL career at 15-years-old, the 6-foot-6 blueliner was reluctant to embrace the physical component of his game until his former coach with Oshawa, Derek Laxdal, helped him embrace his mean side.
Laxdal helped Bedkowski grow into a punishing player whose bone-crunching hits and shutdown capability contributed to his becoming an NHL prospect.
Bedkowski said it took time to not only physically mature within his frame but to develop the mentality of a defenseman unafraid to throw the body around. He said Laxdal’s old-school approach helped in his progression to become more aggressive.
Bedkowski also credited one of his summer skills coaches and former NHL player, Zack Fitzgerald, for teaching him the nuances of fighting, a skill that Bedkowski has come to embrace.
Bedkowski has fought twice this season – meaning, by OHL rule, he can fight once more before. A fourth fight in a season comes with a two-game suspension.
“I’m trying to save that last one for as long as I can so it doesn't become a suspension,” he said. “But also understanding anytime a teammate gets taken advantage of and you're on the ice, you got to step up and protect your guys, and that's how you earn respect of your teammates.”
Prospect Spotlight
Maxim Strbak, D – Michigan State (NCAA)
Strbak continues to be one of the top defensemen in the Big Ten during his junior season at Michigan State.
The 20-year-old and 2023 second-round pick has 11 points in 24 games for the No. 2 ranked Spartans. Strbak has a plus-14 rating this season, which is the seventh best by a defenseman in the Big Ten.
Strbak will lead the Spartans into a two-game series against fifth-ranked Penn State with Saturday’s matchup outdoors at Beaver Stadium. That game is slated for 1 p.m. and featured on the Big Ten Network.
Devon Levi, G – Rochester Americans (AHL)
Levi has been nothing short of a workhorse for Rochester this season and has played in an AHL-leading 29 games.
Levi has allowed two or fewer goals in three of his last four starts and has two shutouts in his last six games played including a 23-save shutout last week against the Utica Comets.
Amid an injury to Topias Leinonen, Levi has been called on heavily this season and has a .906 save percentage with a 2.70 goals-against average.
Ryan Johnson, D – Rochester Americans (AHL)
Johnson has helped bring stability to an otherwise hampered Amerks back end, with both Zac Jones and Zach Metsa currently in Buffalo and Vsevolod Komarov out with an injury.
Johnson has already matched his career-high in points with 13 in 37 games and has a career-best four goals.
The 2019 first-round pick has helped keep the Amerks heavily in the playoff race, only six points back of first place in the tight North Division.
