Connor Bedard on his ceiling, the business of hockey and captaincy: “I’m pretty good”

SALT LAKE CITY – Days off in the NHL are precious. Days off traveling in a new city are a rarity. Connor Bedard plans to enjoy the warm, sunny Wednesday after the season opener against the new Utah Hockey Club – have lunch with his father, Tom, before flying home in the afternoon, and then have dinner with the boys in Park City .

But here he is, fresh from breakfast, wearing the standard hockey player hoodie and slippers, walking down the palatial hallway of the team's five-star hotel for a rare sit-down interview. Make no mistake, perhaps no player in the league hit the press more regularly last year than Bedard. He more than fulfilled his media obligations. But it almost always took place in the locker room, in the huddle. Individual conversations were very unusual. Full-blown casual conversations were basically off the table.

And as any athlete, reporter or spectator will tell you, crowds are the absolute worst. As a bloc, we don't always exactly cover ourselves in glory in these claustrophobic situations.

“It's hard to show personality when you're constantly being asked the same questions,” Bedard said with a wry smile.

But now that he's a second-year pro, a smart veteran at the ripe old age of 19, perhaps we can see more of that personality shine through? He shows it off on Instagram videos and meets football tips with his buddies. He starts snappy NHL commercials about the supposed weaknesses of Generation Z. And he starts doing occasional interviews like this one. It's not exactly his style to be big and bombastic off the ice, but his comfort level with the NHL and stardom is clearly increasing.

Here's part of our conversation that focuses more on the hockey side of things. It has been lightly edited for clarity. Stay tuned for the rest of our chat in a future story.

They are on pace for 164 points this season. Anything else will be a disappointment, I assume?

Yeah, I think you guys would probably be upset. The downfall! No, I mean, it was nice to just get back into the game. And it's cool that we got to be there for the first game. Obviously not a great result (a 5-2 loss) but I thought we got a lot better overall as the game went on. And it was just fun to be part of this moment in history.

One of the things I heard leading up to the draft was that you were “obsessed with size.” I heard the same thing about Nathan MacKinnon – you have a unique attitude of wanting to be great. Is this just an innate thing where you can't accept anything less?

I think so. Even as a child. I was 5 years old and that's really all I wanted to do. I think that's the thing – it's obviously a passion and I want to do my best. But in general it's what I want to do and I want to try to improve and I don't want to look back one day and feel like I didn't reach my full potential.

What is the full potential? What to do? You Do you see as your blanket?

I don't know. I think I can be pretty good. But we'll see. I have confidence and that confidence comes from the work I put in. I know that I will not betray myself or my ability to be my best. How good is that? Who knows. But I think it's pretty good.

It's one of those things for a hockey player to be humble and downplay things from the outside. But all 700 guys in the NHL have to have that unwavering confidence, that arrogance. You can't get here without that. Connor McDavid talked about this a little bit (on the Amazon show): “When I'm at my best, it's difficult to get to that level.” You have to have that attitude, right?

Secure. If you go out thinking you're not going to do any good, then you've already lost the battle. I have a lot of self-confidence and don't need to tell anyone what I think I can do or what I am as a player. I want to show it. In my head, before a game, I just go out there to have fun, but I also know that I want to make an impact in the game. And I know that I can do it.

You've already told me that you won't tell me what your goals are for the season, but do you have goals like that professionally? Do you have round numbers in your head that say, “This is what I need to do to reach my potential?”

This is so long term. I think that every hockey player's goal since childhood is to win a Stanley Cup. And that is the most important thing for everyone. So if that happens, it would obviously be the climax. It's hard to look at an entire career and quantify it.

“I would never tell you, but I definitely have things on my mind.”

–Connor Bedard when @MarkLazerus asked if he had any statistical goals in mind pic.twitter.com/75Jlf7Lwz9

— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) September 20, 2024

So you're not just thinking about 1,000 goals or something wild like that.

(Laughs) No, no, I don't think so.

But is that part of this process? You come in wanting to win the Stanley Cup and you've been dominant at every level. Then you get to the NHL and it’s tough. You are part of a team that is at the bottom and working its way up. Learning to lose, learning to go two or three games without scoring – is that difficult?

Yes, losing sucks. I think you can ask anyone who was on our team last year, it wasn't much fun. Especially at the end. You get out there and you still have fun playing and there are things you play for, but we're professional athletes and we want to play to win. That was really frustrating. I can definitely be a bit of a baby when I have to endure all these losses. But even if we lost the last game, we bounced back this way. This will be something where we show that we have become much better.

Jonathan Toews was also a huge baby when he came into the league. He took his work home, yelled and screamed at his teammates on the bench, and threw things into the locker room. It takes time to accept the ups and downs of sport.

Yes, yes, sure. My first year (junior year) we lost a lot of games. And I remember having a difficult start. But after that things went quieter for the juniors. We had a better second year as a team and I had a good second year myself, I think (laughs). It's definitely different when you come in and play against the best players in the world. But that's what's so fun about hockey: the competitive spirit and the challenge of competing against the best every night.

You have to be careful too, right? Patrick Kane was always afraid of young players coming in and developing losing habits and a losing mentality over the last few years here when things were going badly. How do you combat that when Kyle (Davidson) is playing a long game? How do you learn not to accept losing, but to understand losing? It's a fine line.

I don't even think you should understand it. We are players, we go out and try to win and that is our goal every night. You never accept it. I guess in the summer you can maybe think long term, but not really as a player. You just go out there and try to win and do your best.

Were you at all interested in captaincy? Or is this something for the future? Are you even too young to be a captain?

(Laughs) That's not a question for me. I don’t think anyone was surprised that (Nick Foligno) got it. He's a great leader and he's made a big impact. That didn't surprise anyone at all. One day down the road, that would be great. But I didn't expect that or anything. We all expected “Fliggy” to get it.

Can you be that kind of captain? Some captains are the big, outspoken, gregarious types like Foligno, but some are completely different.

I would be different. I wouldn't talk as much as Nick (laughs). I think I lead by example with my approach to the game. Talking comes with time. I would definitely take a slightly different approach, but I think there is something to be learned from all the leaders in the room.

Given the high turnover in the squad, I'm sure it's exciting that you're signing all these high-quality players. But you also lost a lot of your good friends. Taylor Radysh was one of your closest friends, he's walking out the door. MacKenzie Entwistle is gone. Is that just part of life in the NHL?

It's definitely strange. It's part of the business side, but you (never) really think about it too much when you're playing. You just think you're going to play with these guys forever. “Rads” and “Twisty,” I went to dinner with them every time we were out and about. I was close to both of these guys. It's hard to see everyone go. But they are in a good situation and you are happy that they are getting opportunities. But it's hard and you just stay in touch.

So do you enjoy being an NHL player? Is this what you dreamed about?

Yes. I just want to play the game and play at the highest level I can. It's pretty cool how we're treated and the opportunities we have, not just on the ice, but how we can impact a city or a community. We're all pretty lucky.

So 40 goals or 50 goals this year, what is the goal?

(Laughs) I don't know, we'll see, man.

In order. Had to try it.

(Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)