Well quite a week for our next guest he turned 18 he signed his first NHL contract and uh they played Northlands it’s our pleasure to welcome back to Securus and price the first overall pick of the 2023 entry draft Chicago Blackhawks forward and North End native to Conor Bedard happy birthday yeah
Thank you appreciate it so how’s your summer going it’s been uh crazy and busy but it’s been you know a lot of fun and uh a lot of pretty pretty special moments so um you know pretty grateful for for a lot of that you’re not a special moments
To come I understand uh we got a big one for the great guys coming up here in the North Shore inline Adult Hockey League huh yeah I must win so um no it’s been it’s been good we’re on we’re on a pretty good heater there and
Then and then lost one but uh hopefully get back to it it’s some fun watching it yeah let me ask you the question that we get a whole lot and that is with Bedard and Johnson and everybody else who’s on your inline team how is it that you guys
Ever lose a game Conor it’s a good League like there’s some there’s like we got like a pro team in it that’s like I think year round and like playing in tournaments down south and stuff and then there’s a lot of good players in the league and then a lot of guys have
Played roller for a long time that play maybe a little better systematically than us so um but you know it’s tough I think that makes it good it’s really competitive and um it’s a lot of fun but in the end it’s like you want to win and all the teams
Are good so it’s good games and in the end no contact and all that sort of stuff so it’s a little uh it’s not it’s not a uh how much do you use it as preparation what can you extrapolate out of out of inline to to take to the ice anything
Yeah for sure I think a lot of like creativity stuff even just like watching can’t like make plays he does so maybe I can try that but um no I think just just that part of it you you’re out there you’re not as stressed about I mean not that I’m
Always too stressful to turn it over whatever but it’s it’s even less there I think you you have so much freedom to try to make plays and everything that that you can take into into honest on December on December overall uh Connor your non-hockey playing friends and
Family dude they must know you well enough that this was eventually gonna happen but can can anybody sort of wrap their head around this Summer that you’ve had yet or or is everybody just thinking that this is just crazy what you’ve been through yeah I think it’s just been you know
Pretty crazy Whirlwind here like uh you know it was weird you know it’s like the three three four days before the draft it’s like those are you know longer days you’re waiting you’re excited and and anxious and everything then after the day of the draft then it’s like just flies right by so
Um I guess we’re three four weeks removed now from that so it’s pretty wild and um but it was so much fun getting to be there with family like you said and a lot of friends getting drafted and everything so um you know you kind of look back on
That but it’s crazy how how quick things went by there we’ve talked to you before and you’ve told us you were never sort of fixated on the draft you had games to play you had your daily preparation and that the you know if you took care of that
Business the draft would sort of take care of itself at what point did you start building up the draft Conor and did it live up to all your expectations yeah um I don’t know for me like you said I’m really focused on kind of the
Everyday aspect of it and um you know I didn’t want to be in the gym training just kind of worrying about you know I want this day to come you know time time always moves at the same speed so um you know once that day came a few
Days there once we got to Nashville kind of it was starting to kind of sink on a little bit but I never really felt real till the moment if it even felt real then but um no for me it was kind of just focusing on things you know in the
Present I can control kind of at all times what was the coolest thing that happened to you in Nashville I didn’t get drafted I guess other than that maybe like the NHL awards was pretty sweet I’m just getting to meet a lot of those guys and
Um you know kind of just talk to them and everything and we went on the ice with some kids on the day before that that clinic there which was pretty fun so I mean a lot of good things good things there we prayed you for your ability to do interviews like this
Before but when you’re sitting on stage with the the TNT crew and all that everything that went on around the that I mean you don’t you don’t get a ton of practice doing that playing for the vagina Pats um what what uh LED you to
Be able to be as natural doing that sort of stuff as you were you seem like you’re uh you’re okay with the spotlight on you a little bit uh yeah I think it’s kind of you know for me I was I was more like shy kid meet new people and everything and then
Once I kind of got more experience with it and and even like public speaking like I don’t mind public speaking much now that I’ve had some experiences with it and um even there you know I didn’t know I didn’t really I knew I had the interview
I didn’t know I’d have to kind of say a few words there in front but they made it really easy without asking the questions and stuff but um you know they just try to kind of I don’t know it’s hard to explain but I I don’t feel too uncomfortable now just
Because of the experiences I’ve Had The Dressing Room helps too right like being in a hospital if people never played hockey the hockey dress room can be a tough place to be right with the barbs flying Fast and Furious when when there’s players up on the panel you kind
Of did I imagined that I actually had this thought when I watched you you know you know uh sort of throw a Stinger at at uh Biz you just kind of did you think of it being in a hockey dress room just a little bit and throwing it throwing
The usual insults back and forth yeah for sure I mean that’s kind of you know everything that goes on there of course and it’s all in good fun kind of you know good batch and everything and I think with all that getting to be a leader and this year especially with uh
With Regina all year it helped me with a lot of that speaking because you know sometimes you gotta be the guy to do it so um obviously there’s more serious times than times where you know joke around stuff but uh you’re always kind of you know vocal with your teammates and everything
Uh Conor of course the expectations from the outside are enormous what are your own expectations of yourself for your rookie NHL season um I don’t know I mean I haven’t you know put in my head um you know any number or anything for me uh the mindset is still going and
Make the team and um you know that’s my goal right now is get better every day and go and have a good tent have a good camp and and try to earn my spot on the rosters so um you know I can control you know what
I’m gonna do for the next month and a half year before and and you know trying to improve myself uh Center Wing does it bother you does it matter to you which position it would be I mean whatever whatever happens happens of course and um if I was you know
Playing the NHL I’d be pretty happy either way but um you know personally I’ve played more Center and um you know really my my own experiences were with Hockey Canada of course and World Juniors and and that first u18 so um it’s limited but um you know I’ve
Played definitely play more Center but you know I don’t mind either you have position what are you working on what are you working on this summer particularly if you’re going to be a center I would assume that you want to sort of make sure that you’re ready for
That responsibility what are you working on this summer yeah I think I mean you know cliche but a bit of everything of course and um for me I think we do a lot of kind of you know battle stuff here and play three on three or whatever so uh if you
Can you know maybe try a little harder on on defense than you usually would or or whatnot and try to you know do that but uh what I’m obviously trying to get better all your skills and of course in the Jimmy speed power strength and everything so
Um you know I think but when you can have a time where you can focus on you know face off even it’s just for fun or kind of like uh a diesel in position you try to try to focus a little more on it a general manager Kyle Davidson or man
On the street as he’s known in Nashville yeah uh has talked about uh you know bringing in Corey Perry bringing in Nick folino surrounding you with a certain kind of player on the right uh kind of players what have you made of the moves the Blackhawks have made and how much
Have you uh been chatting communicating with Felino and Perry yeah for sure I mean it’s great for for the team you know and um you’re obviously bringing in you know a lot of those guys you know Hall fellino um you know Perry like he said and
Um you know of course those are three guys that have had the unbelievable careers and I’ve been on winning teams and of course Perry’s you know won a cup and and um and everything and you know I think with Selena and Hall coming in from Boston and having you know a record-breaking
Season of course I got to talk to Felino a bit about that and kind of the mindset you know coming into the rank to the rink every day and you know I think that’ll be that’ll be really good for everyone and but it’s it’s it’s going to
Help the team win those are those are great players and um you know obviously big big moves that you know it’s pretty exciting for for the franchise Taylor Hall would be pretty something uh something special on the wing the way he can score and the
Way he can skate huh yeah he’s he’s a great player like he said there with his speed and um scoring ability and and uh skill I mean heart Trophy winners so I’m pretty special when you can add a guy like that you know which is the same
For sure some short bubbles on guys like Felino and Perry too to create some room for yourself uh how much do you think about the physicality of the game um like do you remember the most physical game you’ve played in and have you sort of drawn comparisons to that in your own
Mind of what you’re going to see on a nightly basis what are you expecting in the physical side of things um I mean you know hockey’s a contact sport it’s not something that you know I think about too much obviously if you know Ryan Reeves gets good good contact
With me I’m I’m not going to get the the better at that but for me it’s it’s kind of about having my head up and um you know trying to trying to make good plays and sometimes you got to get hit and uh you know that’s part of the game and
Um you know if there’s a play to make and you got to take a little bump then you know you’re going to do that for the better of your team but uh you want to be smart for me that’s kind of you don’t have my head up and
Um you know not trying to do too much and everything so um you know I think you know if I’m playing there it’d kind of be a feel-out thing for sure so much was made about not just you but British Columbia hockey Conor in the first round of this Draft when you take
A look at all the BC kids that went and of course we got Macklin and a whole other flight of BC kids coming next year what does it mean to you to be a part of what has been a couple of terrific classes here of British Columbia hockey
Players that have made their way to the NHL yeah it’s pretty awesome I mean um for us we grew up together we played with and against each other and it just made us so much better because you’re competing with those guys you you want to be better than them you want to you
Know beat them and everything and um for me that was so big for me and I know talking to you know like Crystal and and those guys that they said the same thing and um for all of us getting to skate together in summer and um you know like
I said always always have that competitiveness with each other it’s been been really good for us but you know in the end we’re all we’re all friends we’re all really good friends and getting to see each other’s success and um you know be drafted and everything it’s been it’s been really really fun
You entering crimp obviously I spent a lot of time together the summer on Ice training though um in in on actual ice skates uh who are you training with they’re a bit like veteran NHL guys or is it mostly young guys uh yeah like I’m with Andrew his brother
And and Kent basically ever see it and then a lot of guys Christensen uh Ang description like the list goes on it’s we get really good skates going and uh they’re really competitive those are those are good players of course so yeah challenging each other uh lastly Connor for me for those who
Are going to watch this on YouTube they’ll see you in your Blackhawks Polo now we we know you grew up at Canucks fan have you had to purge the closet of all Canucks paraphernalia is that job yet done yeah I mean uh you know of course you have things from growing up
You know jerseys and and whatnot here but um you know I got got some kind of you know obviously the draft Jersey and everything that you uh you kind of put over it now it’s it’s pretty funny kind of how it worked out with the Rivalry
They had when I was you know a young kid so um but you know it’s awesome I’m happy to happy to be on this side of it of course and you know now it feels different but um no I mean I’ve always you know love the Canucks like you guys know and
Um you know I wouldn’t you know throw away kind of that stuff from from growing up those are those are great memories for sure just set them aside just in case somewhere somewhere way down the road and we do this on a weekend which Keith and Seabrook are
Going into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame as well so it’s uh it’s all coming together or for you here Connor thanks so much for doing this man appreciate it yeah thank you guys the Securus and price clip brought to you by Northlands Golf Course six to ninety day advanced bookings relaunching
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