Connor Bedard refuses to represent his country after long season

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Cooper Godin
April 22, 2023 (9:44)

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For a little while now, it's been rumoured that projected first overall pick Connor Bedard would make the trip to Latvia and Finland with Hockey Canada for the 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championship. The rumour first circulated back in March, but Bedard's participation in the tournament was dependent on if his WHL club in Regina was still in the playoffs.

Bedard and the Regina Pats were eliminated from the Western Hockey League Playoffs just under two weeks ago at the hands of the Saskatoon Blades and since then, rumours of the Vancouver native's participation at the World Championship has been running rampant.

But on Friday, Hockey Canada and their fans got news that they weren't expecting as according to Sportsnet's Jeff Marek, Connor Bedard will NOT be playing at the World Championship.

Bedard had quite the year, not only in the WHL, but also on the international stage at the 2023 World Juniors, playing a key role as Canada won the gold medal on home ice in Halifax. The 17-year-old set the Canadian record for most points in a single tournament with 23 and also is Canada's all-time points leader at the World Juniors with 36.

While Bedard might not be playing, Hockey Canada has already recruited several NHLers to help the nation reach their fourth consecutive gold medal game at the tournament.

According to multiple sources, these are the players that have accepted an invitation from Hockey Canada to play: Scott Laughton (Philadelphia), Ethan Bear (Vancouver), Joe Veleno (Detroit), Devon Levi (Buffalo), Jack Quinn (Buffalo), Jack McBain (Arizona), Lawson Crouse (Arizona), MacKenzie Weegar (Calgary), and Samuel Montembeault (Montreal).

Canada will be in Group B for the tournament, which is based in Riga, facing off against Latvia (May 12th), Slovenia (May 14th), Slovakia (May 15th), Kazakhstan (May 17th), Switzerland (May 20th), Norway (May 22nd), and Czechia (May 23rd).