Bedard claims Bob Clarke Trophy as WHL Scoring Champion for 2022-23

Connor Bedard’s illustrious WHL career now includes a Bob Clarke Trophy as the Regina Pats captain has finished atop the WHL scoring charts for the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season.

Bedard, a 17-year-old product of North Vancouver, B.C., was a human highlight reel all season long, recording 143 points, including 71 goals and 72 assists, in only 57 games.

With 143 points, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound centre became the first WHL player to surpass the 140-point plateau since a trio of players – Mark Deyell (Saskatoon Blades), Frank Banham (Saskatoon Blades) and Hnat Domenichelli (Kamloops Blazers) – accomplished the feat during the 1995-96 campaign. Deyell led the WHL in scoring that season with 159 points (61G-98A) in 69 games, while teammate Banham also skated past the 150-point mark with 152 points (83G-69A). Domenichelli of the Blazers finished third in WHL scoring with 148 points (59G-89A).

Bedard’s 71 goals represents the first time a WHL player has reached the 70-goal mark since Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jaw Warriors notched 70 tallies during the 2017-18 season.

The 71 goals from Bedard were first in the WHL, 21 tallies ahead of the runner up. Kai Uchacz of the Red Deer Rebels found the back of the net 50 times.

Bedard’s 72 assists were also first in the WHL, one ahead of the runner up. Fellow 2023 NHL Draft prospect Riley Heidt of the Prince George Cougars finished the season with 71 helpers.

Since 1996-97, only five other WHL players have reached the 130-point plateau, the most recent being a pair of Regina Pats teammates – Sam Steel (131 points) and Adam Brooks (130 points) finished first and second in the WHL scoring race, respectively, during the 2016-17 season.

Through 57 games Bedard was held off the scoresheet on only five occasions.

The eye-popping NHL Draft season for Bedard included an astounding 35-game point-scoring streak that began September 24, 2022 and ran all the way through February 1, 2023. Over that stretch, the phenom registered 90 points, including 44 goals and 46 assists, good for nearly 2.6 points per game.

Bedard registered nine hat tricks during the 2022-23 season, two of which were four-goal performances. Beyond that, the creative Pats pivot secured 38 multipoint outings – meaning 66.7 per cent of his appearances came with a multipoint effort.

On 10 occasions, Bedard recorded five or more points in a game, two of which were six-point performances – January 8 vs. Calgary (4G-2A) and March 18 at Moose Jaw (3G-3A).

The impressive campaign from Bedard represents the seventh time a Regina Pat has finished atop the WHL scoring charts:

• 2016-17: Sam Steel (50G-81A–131 points)
• 2015-16: Adam Brooks (38G-82A–120 points)
• 1982-83: Dale Derkatch (84G-95A–179 points)
• 1981-82: Jock Callander (79G-111A–190 points)
• 1980-81: Brian Varga (64G-96A–160 points)
• 1979-80: Doug Wickenheiser (89G-81A–170 points)

Bedard, who is ranked No. 1 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft, has widely been labelled as the consensus first-overall selection.

Since 2020 when he became the first-ever player to be granted exceptional status in the WHL, Bedard has skated in 134 career regular season games, collecting 271 points (134G-137A) along the way. As he looks ahead to the 2023 NHL Draft, Bedard will carry with him a career regular season production rate of 2.02 points per game. He also owns a goal-scoring rate of one goal per game in his WHL career.

By claiming the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s Top Scorer for the 2022-23 WHL Regular Season, Bedard adds to an already full mantle of hardware from his time in the WHL.

During the 2020-21 campaign, he earned the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL Rookie of the Year. He was also named to the WHL’s East Division First All-Star Team after recording 28 points (12G-16A) in 15 games during the pandemic-shortened hub season.

The 2021-22 WHL season saw Bedard named to the WHL’s East Division First All-Star Team after he recorded 51 goals and 100 points. His 51 goals were good enough for second in the WHL, while his 100 points ranked fourth.

Bedard the Regina pats are now set to open the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien on Friday, March 31 (7 p.m. MT) when they take on the Saskatoon Blades in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series.

The Bob Clarke Trophy, awarded annually to the WHL’s Top Scorer, is named after the WHL and NHL legend known to many as one of the toughest and most skilled to ever play the game. Clarke played two seasons in the WHL and captured the WHL scoring title in both those campaigns. The 1967-68 WHL season saw Clarke collect an astounding 168 points (51G-117A) in 59 appearances. During the 1968-69 season, Clarke registered 137 points (51G-86A) in only 58 games as he helped his hometown Flin Flon Bombers claim the 1969 WHL Championship.

From there, the product of Flin Flon, Man., went on to play 15 NHL seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, including captaining the Club to two Stanley Cup Championships. He was awarded the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP on three occasions and was named an NHL All-Star four times. Clarke was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987.