The Regina Pats and star forward Connor Bedard have something cooking.
Bedard picked up three more points and helped the Pats to a 6-3 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings — their fourth-straight win.
After scoring the opening goal of the game, the 17-year-old phenom and the Pats found themselves trailing 3-1 heading into the second period. But Regina would go on to score five unanswered to take home the 6-3 win.
Bedard picked up assists on two power-play goals in the second period, and then scored his WHL-leading 54th in the year on an empty net to seal the win for Regina. Alexander Suzdalev also had a nice night, scoring a hat trick in the win.
With the win streak, the Pats have now pulled four points clear of three separate teams for sixth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. They are currently nine points back of the Lethbridge Hurricanes for fifth, but do have three games in hand.
Bedard is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft this summer.
BEDARD’S SEASON TOTALS: 45 GP, 54 G, 60 A, 114 Pts.
PATS’ RECORD: 28-24-3 (Sixth in the Eastern Conference)
UP NEXT: The Pats will host the first place Winnipeg ICE on Friday at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT.
With Bedard the top-ranked prospect for the 2023 NHL Draft, here’s a look at the current lottery odds. There will be two lottery draws where the top two picks are up for grabs. The percentages below indicate the chances of a team winning the first lottery when the top pick is in play. However, teams can only move up a maximum of 10 spots in order, so if a team outside of the bottom 11 wins the first draw, they won’t get the first overall pick. Therefore, while the 32nd-ranked team has an 18.5 per cent to win the first lottery, they still have a 25.5 per cent chance to pick first overall.
|
TEAM |
RECORD |
PTS |
PTS% |
FIRST LOTTERY ODDS |
|
Columbus |
19-35-5 |
43 |
.364 |
18.5% |
|
Anaheim |
19-34-7
|
43 |
.375 |
13.5% |
|
Chicago |
20-32-5 |
45 |
.395 |
11.5% |
|
San Jose |
18-30-11 |
47 |
.398 |
9.5% |
|
Arizona |
20-29-9 |
49 |
.422 |
8.5% |
|
Vancouver |
23-31-5 |
51 |
.432 |
7.5% |
|
Montreal |
25-30-4 |
54 |
.458 |
6.5% |
|
Philadelphia |
23-28-10 |
56 |
.459 |
6% |
|
St. Louis |
26-28-5 |
57 |
.483 |
5% |
|
Ottawa |
28-26-4 |
60 |
.517 |
3.5% |
|
Washington |
29-26-6 |
64 |
.525 |
3% |
|
*Florida |
29-26-6 |
64 |
.525 |
2.5% |
|
*NY Islanders |
30-25-7 |
67 |
.540 |
2% |
|
*Detroit |
28-22-8 |
64 |
.552 |
1.5% |
|
*Nashville |
28-22-6 |
62 |
.554 |
0.5% |
|
*Calgary |
27-20-12 |
66 |
.559 |
0.5% |
* denotes a team outside of the bottom 11 that can’t get the first overall pick in the lottery
• Florida’s unprotected first-round pick belongs to the Montreal Canadiens
• New York’s first-round pick belongs to the Vancouver Canucks
• Standings as of games ending Feb. 24
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