BEDARD HELD OFF SCORESHEET IN CHL TOP PROSPECTS GAME

Team White not only won 4-2 over Team Red, but they kept Connor Bedard off the scoresheet in the annual CHL Top Prospects Game in Langley, BC on Wednesday night.

The Regina Pats centre from North Vancouver leads the Western Hockey League with 81 points (39 goals, 42 assists) in 33 appearances and is a slam dunk to be the #1 pick in the NHL Draft this summer, but he was held in check in his hometown in the annual showcase of NHL Draft prospects.

Team White’s Scott Ratzlaff (WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds) made 24 saves on Wednesday before being replaced by Jackson Unger (WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors) midway through the second period. Unger stopped 21 shots in relief.

Stopping Bedard was a boon, Ratzlaf said.

“It’s kind of a feather in your cap. They talk about him a lot,” Ratzlaff said. “He’s got a great release, he can shoot from anywhere and he’s very dynamic. So I think keeping him off the scoreboard, that was kind of a team goal, just making sure he’s always covered, making sure we got eyes on him.”

Carson Rehkopf (Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers) and Callum Ritchie (OHL’s Oshawa Generals) each had a goal and an assist in the victory. Colby Barlow (OHL’s Owen Sound Attack) and Luca Pinelli (OHL’s Ottawa 67’s) also scored for White in the annual showcase of 40 of the Canadian Hockey League’s top draft-eligible talents.

Red’s goals came from Mathieu Cataford (QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads) early in the first period and Benson (WHL’s Winnipeg ICE) with 36 seconds left on the clock.

Carson Bjarnson (WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings) started for Red before coming off halfway through the game. Charlie Robertson (OHL’s North Bay Battalion) took over in net and stopped 11-of-13 shots.

The key to the victory was starting off with physicality, Gauthier said.

“I think that’s kind of what made them off guard there,” he said. “So I think that’s the part of the game that made our success.”

Red pulled Robertson with 3:52 left on the clock in favour of an extra attacker and moments later Ritchie guided Rehkopf’s shot into the yawning net to make it 4-1.

Bedard appeared to get in the middle of the goal celebration and was mobbed by his opponents. Fists flew and Bedard was sent to the box for cross-checking.

Asked whether he was surprised by the physicality Wednesday, the young star noted that he plays a contact sport.

“I mean it’s hockey, it’s competitive and you’re allowed to hit,” he said. “So you’ve always got to expect that and obviously it was good, I think, for the fans and everything.”

Tempers flared just 29 seconds into the third when White’s Kalan Lind (WHL’s Red Deer Rebels) and Red’s Alex Pharand (OHL’s Sudbury Wolves) dropped the gloves. The pair exchanged blows over several moments before being separated by officials and sent to the box with fighting majors.

Some wise words in the locker room during the second intermission helped spur the offence, said Barlow.

“We actually had a great speech (by Vancouver Canucks legend Stan Smyl) and it kind of got us all going and we knew we had to win that third period,” said White’s captain.

(Canadian Press)