"I can't really put it to words anymore," Regina coach John Paddock said after Game 6. "He sees the ice so well ... that play to 'Howie' for the goal, there's no way to describe it. It was major league. He also did that in Red Deer, the second time we were in there this year ... three feet high, over three sticks for a one-timer.
"I was talking to [Red Deer general manager] Brent Sutter after the game and he just said, 'You can't defend if someone can make that good a pass from 50 feet through three sticks.' But Connor has the ability to do that."
The 17-year-old right-shot center led the WHL during the opening round in goals (10), assists (10), points (20), shots on goal (38), and points per game (2.86) in seven playoff games in his first postseason experience. The WHL canceled the 2021 playoffs due to COVID-19, and Regina missed the cut last season.
"[Playoffs] have been some of the most fun I've been a part of with the intensity and how every play, every mistake, matters so much," Bedard said after Game 6. "It's been a lot of fun."
Bedard was the first WHL player since 2012 to score at least 10 goals in a single playoff series.
"Bedard has the elite skills and attributes that the elite NHL players have, and it's the precision in which he reads the play, is always in the right place and how he executes and capitalizes on plays," director of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr said. "What places him in that Connor McDavid-special category is his natural presence of mind and instincts that allow him to channel all these attributes to dominate when the opportunity is there and when it's needed most by his team."
