{"id":1557364,"date":"2023-04-12T11:39:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T15:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1557364"},"modified":"2023-04-12T11:39:08","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T15:39:08","slug":"connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/","title":{"rendered":"Connor Bedard May Be a Star, but He's Powerless Against the Cold, Hard Truths of Hockey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you're a sports fan, the current calendar is rather exciting. Major League Baseball has started, while the NBA, NHL, and European soccer have entered the home stretch. There's no shortage of games to watch, and by and large, anything away from the baseball diamond really does matter. In that context, you'd be excused for forgetting about the WHL playoffs. Even with <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/connor-bedard-biography-career-net-worth-top-stories\/\">Connor Bedard<\/a> on the scene, Major Junior hockey can only garner so much attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, in case you have better things to do than watching non-professional hockey from Western Canada, here's what you missed: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/connor-bedard\/\">Connor Bedard<\/a>, who has produced incredible highlights and tallied points with the greatest of ease, is done for the season. His Regina Pats were eliminated from the postseason in the first round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And while that can be disappointing or exciting depending on your perspective &#8212; it means we won't see much of Bedard for the next little bit, but it does mean he's one step closer to the NHL &#8212; it does underscore a fundamental truth of hockey. Sometimes, the best player doesn't win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-connor-bedard-posted-incredible-numbers-but-his-whl-campaign-is-done\">Connor Bedard posted incredible numbers, but his WHL campaign is done <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Connor Bedard\u2019s junior career is likely over after Regina was eliminated from the playoffs on Monday.<br><br>His final stats \u2026<br><br>\ud83c\udf1f 141 games played <br>\ud83c\udf1f 144 goals<br>\ud83c\udf1f 291 points<br>\ud83c\udf1f 794 shots on goal<br><br>G E N E R A T I O N A L \ud83d\udcab <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/T4nZ1hKzJ6\">pic.twitter.com\/T4nZ1hKzJ6<\/a><\/p>&mdash; B\/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BR_OpenIce\/status\/1645784123984715776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 11, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While advanced analytics have given us additional ways to clarify a player's performance, there's something to be said for goals, assists, and points. When you consider those metrics, it's impossible to be anything other than floored by Connor Bedard's 2022-23 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the Regina Pats, the North Vancouver native had no problem strutting his stuff. He appeared in 57 regular season games, notching 71 goals and 72 points. His time away from the team was equally impressive. Bedard shone at World Juniors, scoring 23 points en route to a gold medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the WHL postseason, the young center kept firing. He potted 20 points and helped the Pats push their first-round series against the Saskatoon Blades to a seventh game. In that final frame, though, Bedard's season came to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, there's little to do beyond waiting. The 2023 NHL draft is right around the corner, and Regina's star center seems guaranteed to become the first overall pick. Then, the next challenge will begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For all of Bedard's talent, hockey is still a tough sport for one player to influence <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1250\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Connor-Bedard-1.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=819&#038;strip=all&#038;quality=89\" alt=\"Connor Bedard during the 2023 Kubota CHL Top Prospects Game Practice.\" class=\"wp-image-1557377\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Connor Bedard has almost assuredly played his last junior game. | Dennis Pajot\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on the ways we discuss sports &#8212; just consider<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/charles-barkley-exposes-kevin-durant-bus-rider-bus-driver\/\"> the Charles Barkley-Kevin Durant discussions<\/a> in basketball &#8212; it's easy to look at Connor Bedard's postseason exit as something of a failing. And while the center will undoubtedly be disappointed, it's more representative of the truth of hockey than anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While there's some debate over whether hockey is a strong-link sport (where having the best players matters) or a weak-link sport (where having the worst player decides things), there are limits to just how much one skater can do. Setting goaltenders aside, no one is going to be on the ice for more than 30 minutes. That means they're completely absent from 50% of the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, even when your star is on the ice, there are limits to what they can do. What happens, for example, if your star forward gets pinned in the defensive zone for three-quarters of the shift? That's rather uninfluential time, but it counts nevertheless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond that, there's the issue of randomness. Unlike most other sports, hockey lacks chances to call plays and features rolling lineups. And beyond that, the physical realities of the game make things even more challenging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During my time covering the New York Rangers, for example, someone asked Joel Ward, then of the Washington Capitals, about getting Alex Ovechkin going on the power play. To paraphrase Ward, he explained that while the team was obviously trying to feed their main man, it was easier said than done. Not only was it tough to specifically get him the puck, but even if Ovi was open, the puck could hit a rut in the ice, deflect off someone's back, or simply hop over his stick. In that moment, a perfect chance could evaporate into thin air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like it or not, that's hockey. Connor Bedard can score 143 points in 57 games and add another 20 markers in seven postseason contests, but that's no guarantee of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can that make it easy to be cynical and question the value of any one player, regardless of their stats? Yes, but I'd suggest the opposite course of action. If you can wrap your mind around the sheer randomness of hockey &#8212; and we haven't even raised the specter of running into a hot goalie &#8212; it's easier to move beyond a championship ring-based argument. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes you just have to appreciate what you've seen, even if it didn't lead to a title. Maybe Connor Bedard's season will help us all grasp that. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Based on everything we've seen thus far, Connor Bedard is an incredibly talented player. In hockey, though, that isn't always enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":1557377,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4887],"tags":[447321],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Connor Bedard&#039;s Star Power Couldn&#039;t Overcome a Hard Truth of Hockey - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nobody could genuinely claim that Connor Bedard isn&#039;t incredibly talented. Even his on-ice power, though, has some limits.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Connor Bedard&#039;s Star Power Couldn&#039;t Overcome a Hard Truth of Hockey - Sports7\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nobody could genuinely claim that Connor Bedard isn&#039;t incredibly talented. Even his on-ice power, though, has some limits.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports7\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-12T15:39:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-12T15:39:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Connor-Bedard-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joe Kozlowski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@JoeKozlowski_\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joe Kozlowski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/\",\"name\":\"Connor Bedard's Star Power Couldn't Overcome a Hard Truth of Hockey - Sports7\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Connor-Bedard-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-12T15:39:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-12T15:39:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/54fa4083caedd42dabe199fbc16f92a2\"},\"description\":\"Nobody could genuinely claim that Connor Bedard isn't incredibly talented. Even his on-ice power, though, has some limits.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Connor-Bedard-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Connor-Bedard-1.jpg\",\"width\":1250,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Connor Bedard has almost assuredly played his last junior game. | Dennis Pajot\/Getty Images\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Connor Bedard May Be a Star, but He's Powerless Against the Cold, Hard Truths of Hockey\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/\",\"name\":\"Sports7\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/54fa4083caedd42dabe199fbc16f92a2\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/author\/joe-kozlowski\/\",\"name\":\"Joe Kozlowski\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Joe-Kozlowski-96x96.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Joe-Kozlowski-96x96.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Joe Kozlowski\"},\"description\":\"Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history \u2014 likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center \u2014 he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope \u2014 both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.\",\"sameAs\":[\"\",\"JoeKozlowski_\",\"\",\"\",\"\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Joe Kozlowski | Sports7 Writer\",\"email\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Connor Bedard's Star Power Couldn't Overcome a Hard Truth of Hockey - Sports7","description":"Nobody could genuinely claim that Connor Bedard isn't incredibly talented. Even his on-ice power, though, has some limits.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Connor Bedard's Star Power Couldn't Overcome a Hard Truth of Hockey - Sports7","og_description":"Nobody could genuinely claim that Connor Bedard isn't incredibly talented. Even his on-ice power, though, has some limits.","og_url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/","og_site_name":"Sports7","article_published_time":"2023-04-12T15:39:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-12T15:39:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1250,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Connor-Bedard-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joe Kozlowski","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@JoeKozlowski_","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joe Kozlowski","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/","name":"Connor Bedard's Star Power Couldn't Overcome a Hard Truth of Hockey - Sports7","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Connor-Bedard-1.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-12T15:39:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-12T15:39:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/54fa4083caedd42dabe199fbc16f92a2"},"description":"Nobody could genuinely claim that Connor Bedard isn't incredibly talented. Even his on-ice power, though, has some limits.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Connor-Bedard-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Connor-Bedard-1.jpg","width":1250,"height":1000,"caption":"Connor Bedard has almost assuredly played his last junior game. | Dennis Pajot\/Getty Images"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/connor-bedard-may-be-star-powerless-against-cold-hard-truths-of-hockey\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Connor Bedard May Be a Star, but He's Powerless Against the Cold, Hard Truths of Hockey"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/","name":"Sports7","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/54fa4083caedd42dabe199fbc16f92a2","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/author\/joe-kozlowski\/","name":"Joe Kozlowski","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Joe-Kozlowski-96x96.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Joe-Kozlowski-96x96.jpeg","caption":"Joe Kozlowski"},"description":"Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history \u2014 likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center \u2014 he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope \u2014 both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.","sameAs":["","JoeKozlowski_","","",""],"jobTitle":"Joe Kozlowski | Sports7 Writer","email":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1557364"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1557364"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1557364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1557388,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1557364\/revisions\/1557388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1557377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1557364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1557364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1557364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}