The Connor Bedard Show rolls into an NHL rink on Wednesday with the expected No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft riding a 34-game point streak.
The 17-year-old Regina Pats star scored his WHL-leading 43rd goal of the season on a first-period breakaway and added two assists Tuesday in a 6-5 overtime road loss against the Red Deer Rebels before a Rebels regular-season franchise record crowd of 7,287.
The Calgary Hitmen entertain Bedard’s Pats at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday, where a glance at the Ticketmaster map late Tuesday showed pairs available only in the upper corners of the rink.
The anticipated crowd of 15,000-plus will be far larger than the 3,279 on hand for Bedard’s visit to Calgary with the Pats in October — before Bedard dazzled hockey fans with his MVP performance at the world junior championship in Halifax.
Bedard’s goal on Tuesday also pushed his goal streak to 10 games — five off the Pats’ record. He has 21 goals during the streak.
The Pats’ record for a point streak is 47 games set by both Jock Callander and Wally Schreiber in the 1981-82 season. Bedard has 88 points in his 34-game run after going pointless in the season opener.
BEDARD’S SEASON TOTALS: 35 GP, 43 G, 45 A, 88 Pts.
PATS’ RECORD: 22-21-3 (Tied for seventh in Eastern Conference)
UP NEXT: The Pats are in Calgary to face the Hitmen on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Games in Lethbridge on Friday and Medicine Hat on Sunday conclude the Pats’ Alberta swing. Lethbridge already has sold all its seats and Medicine Hat is close.