HALIFAX-
Connor Bedard does his best to downplay an outrageous stat line.
That might be the one thing he didn’t accomplish at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
The 17-year-old phenom had two goals and four assists to tie another national record just 24 hours after a seven-point performance as Canada beat Austria 11-0 for the host nation’s second straight win.
“I’m another player on the team,” Bedard said. “We have so many guys who are special players. I’m just here as one of the guys.
“And obviously try to contribute.”
The presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft does that job with assassin-like precision, including a goal against the Austrians from an angle that should be impossible.
“Phenomenal,” said Canadian striker Adam Fantilli. “What he does is so special, and the way he does it is amazing.
“Absolutely nothing but smiles for him right now.”
Bedard scored six times in three games to tie Jordan Eberle’s all-time Canadian mark of 14 goals at the men’s under-20 tournament, and his 27 total points at the world junior championships are just four behind the national record held by Eric Lindros.
“His goalscoring ability is (among) the best I’ve ever seen,” captain Shane Wright said. “He’s always creative with how he shoots the puck and where he can drop it.
“Really amazing.”
The North Vancouver, BC native’s seven points in Wednesday’s 11-2 win over Germany also tied four other players for the most by a Maple Leaf player at the tournament.
Bedard leads the world junior championships with 14 points – seven more than teammate Logan Stankoven, who is ranked second.
“I’m just enjoying my time on the bench watching him play,” Canadian striker Nathan Gaucher said with a laugh. “Unbelievable.”
Stankoven added a goal and three assists on Thursday, while Gaucher and Joshua Roy scored each and set up two more. Fantilli, with a goal and an assist, Wright, Dylan Guenther, Zach Dean, Nolan Allan and Tyson Hinds provided the rest of the attack.
Benjamin Gaudreau made 12 saves for the shutout.
Benedikt Oschgan stopped 36 shots for the outclassed Austrians, outscored 31-0 in their three games.
“The score is what it is, but I couldn’t be more proud of the group,” said Nova Scotia-born head coach Kirk Furey, whose largely anonymous roster held off a powerful opponent. one shot in the first 14 minutes of the match. “We gave up an odd rush at the end against a team with… everyone.”
Canada was held back 5-2 by the Czechs in Monday’s opener before bouncing back with a resounding win over Germany.
Sweden lead Group A with eight points, followed by the Czech Republic’s seven and Canada’s six with one game to play each.
The Canadians will meet the Swedes on New Year’s Eve, while the Czech Republic — the country commonly referred to as the Czech Republic — will face the Germans.
Bedard scored four times against Austria in an 11-2 triumph at last year’s world junior championships in Edmonton before the event was suspended until August due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
The Austrians lost 11-0 to Sweden in their opener before losing 9-0 to the Czech Republic on Tuesday, but they had plenty of points for their start on Thursday.
A roster comprised of nine first-round NHL draft picks, plus presumed 2023 top-5 selections Bedard and Fantilli, Canada had a tentative opener against the European lightweights.
“We came out a little slow and a little careless with the puck,” head coach Dennis Williams said. “They’re a hard-working team, they’re a disciplined team. They stayed inside the points, we didn’t want to get into the points.
“We wanted to play on the outside perimeter and if you’re not ready to get out there and pass the pucks and the traffic, that’s what happens.”
The Canadians then played their first power play and never looked back.
Guenther scored a hat trick against Germany – all on Bedard’s flow – and started things off with a slick pass between the legs of Brennan Othmann.
Dean broke his first of the tournament before Wright scored his third on another men’s advantage from a Bedard setup for a 3-0 lead inside 20 minutes.
“We had a good conversation between first and second — imposing our game, our style of play,” Gaucher said. “We were a little too soft.”
Roy scored his second after the restart before Bedard, who scored three goals against Germany, got to work on another scoring effort when he covered an upstairs shot from an almost impossible spot on the ice which had to be confirmed by video review.
“I’ve seen him do this so many times,” Fantilli said. “He’s pretty automatic with that.”
Bedard immediately knew the puck was in.
“It was a little weird,” he said. “Everyone sort of stopped playing. I think they knew they were going to check it out.”
Allan made it 6-0 and Stankoven added his close second on another streak that required video review.
Fantilli scored his first power play goal early in the third to extend Canada’s lead to 8-0.
“You don’t want to start slow,” Bedard said. “But to be able to turn it around like we did…I thought in the second and third we played a lot harder.
“We played a lot more with our system.”
Gaucher added his first before Bedard added his sixth and 14th overall, on a play where Stankoven pushed the puck forward on a face-off in the offensive zone against his diving teammate. Hinds then completed the rout with his first out of the race.
But the night—just like 24 hours earlier—belonged to Bedard.
“He’s just in another world,” Furey said. “It’s a pretty special moment to be behind the bench while he’s on the ice, and for our players to experience that.
“Because they will never have that experience again.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on December 29, 2022.
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