The potential of Connor Bedard is impossible to ignore, even for his future NHL peers

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Matt Barzal remembers watching this little kid, maybe 12 years old, skate with him and some other NHLers on practice ice in Vancouver.

It was Connor Bedard’s first time on ice with NHL players.

“He was 12 and he was out there with the NHL guys,” the New York Islanders star said during the regular season. “It was kind of funny, like, who’s this little kid? And then two years later, he’s shooting the puck harder than all of us. He’s dangling NHL defencemen. He’s an incredible talent.”

Bedard remembers joining the group of NHLers that included Alex Kerfoot, Ryan Nugent Hopkins and Danton Heinen.

“I was pretty scared,” he said. “You’re a young kid and I think I just went out like once that summer, but you see all these NHLers. It was crazy. For me, it was hard not to ask for an autograph.”

By now, Bedard’s name equates to generational talent. He’s been compared to Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid in terms of his skill and Auston Matthews in terms of his shot.

“You could tell from an early age that he was going to be good,” Kerfoot said. “Every summer you come back to the skate and he’s even better. Especially that shot. For a young kid, he had the best shot on the ice. He’s a complete player. And a really good kid.”

Bedard will be the centre of attention this weekend at the NHL combine in Buffalo, where the league’s top prospects are gathered to be poked and prodded by training staff and medical staff while meeting with front offices trying to add to the profiles that their amateur scouts have been provided.

It’s not like Bedard has to participate in the combine. He’s just being a good hockey player. The outcome won’t change who the Chicago Blackhawks will take with the first overall pick June 28 in Nashville.

Jack Eichel outperformed McDavid across the board in 2015. McDavid made the top 10 in only one category — fifth place in left-side agility — of the 10 measured. It didn’t change how Edmonton thought.

Casey Mittelstadt was more embarrassed than anything when he couldn’t do a single pull-up in 2017. Buffalo still took him at No. 8.

So it won’t matter how Bedard performs. There isn’t a GM who would take Sweden’s Leo Carlsson, or fellow Canadian Adam Fantilli — deemed to be the next best players — ahead of Bedard.

Bedard was the focal point of Canada’s offence at the world junior championship, where he led the tournament with nine goals and 14 assists, becoming the highest scorer at the tournament under the age of 19, supplanting Jaromir Jagr. He had 71 goals and 72 assists for the Regina Pats, and was the top scorer in the Canadian Hockey League.

Bedard’s dazzling playmaking and incredible shot has already created a subsect of NHL players following along, waiting to see what this next Canadian phenom can do. Brandt Clarke, a top-10 pick in 2021, said Drew Doughty sounded jealous that Clarke would play with “that Bedard kid” when the Kings released him to join Canada for the world juniors earlier this year.

“He is as advertised, he’s a special player,” said Clarke. “He’s so smart with the puck. His release is unmatched. We have guys in the Kings dressing room talking about him. He’s already getting that kind of recognition and so it’s pretty cool for him and I’m really looking forward to the rest of his career.”

Bedard seems at ease with the attention.

“I’m just playing hockey. I’m doing what I love,” said Bedard. “The attention is something that’s there. But there’s so much time (until the draft). I’m just taking it day by day and enjoying the games.”

If Bedard, who has been touted as the No. 1 pick since he was 14, has any trouble navigating the attention, or the draft, or next season, he can turn to Barzal, who has become a good friend thanks to those regular summertime skates.

“He and I text pretty regularly and he’s been a mentor for me,” Bedard said. “He’s so competitive. When we’re on the ice, he’s giving it to me or whatever. So he’s a lot of fun to be with.”

And Barzal sounds like he’s Bedard’s biggest fan.

“He’s such a great kid,” says Barzal. “Always makes me laugh. I text him after big games and just see how he’s doing. I love being on ice with him in the summer. It’s fun.

“He’s the new age of player where he’s just got all the tools and it’s fun literally learning from him, learning new tricks and skills. Such a creative player on the ice. He’s going to be a special player. He’s going to be an elite goal scorer in this league for a long time.”

Kevin McGran is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @kevin_mcgran