Bedard on pace to break Forsberg's 30-year-old World Juniors points record

One way or another, teenage Canadian hockey star Connor Bedard is set for the World Juniors history books.

The only question left to answer is: will he be remembered as simply a great player, or does he have what it takes to become the greatest at the tournament of all time?

Heading into Canada’s final round-robin game on New Year’s Eve, Bedard is on pace to break a 30-year-old World Juniors single-tournament points record, set in 1993 by Peter Forsberg. At that tournament, the 19-year-old Forsberg posted 31 points in seven games by way of seven goals and 24 assists.

Through three games, Bedard has six goals and 14 points, which would put him at about 14 goals and 18 assists should his current pace continue.

Doubly impressive about Bedard’s feat is the fact that he’s just 17 years of age, born July 17, 2005.

But it’s a near guarantee these will be his last World Juniors, as he’s the consensus No. 1 overall pick for next spring’s NHL Entry Draft and likely set for a long pro career.

Bedard will have the chance to skate in up to four more games, should Canada win their quarterfinal matchup.

Canada currently sits in third in Group A standings behind Sweden and Czechia, the latter of which they lost to on the opening night of the tournament.

Bedard has the odd distinction of playing in three different World Juniors tournaments in the same calendar year… sort of.

He had five points in two games at the eventually-canceled edition of the tournament last year, and eight points in seven games in the poorly attended summer edition of the tournament, in which Canada won the gold medal.

In total, he’s got 27 points in 12 games. Video game numbers, to say the least.

Sure, he’s racked up points against teams like Germany and Austria, but every international tournament has a few teams that maybe aren’t quite on the same level as everyone else.

And while you might expect someone like Wayne Gretzky or Connor McDavid to hold the single-tournament points mark for a Canadian, it’s actually held by Dale McCourt and Brayden Schenn, who each put up 18 points in the 1977 and 2011 tournaments, respectively.

Weirdly, Canada won the silver medal in both those tournaments, with the Soviet Union and Russia claiming the gold.

Bedard already tied Jordan Eberle’s Canadian mark with 14 career World Juniors goals, needing just one more to break it. Eric Lindros is the all-time Canadian points leader with 31 points total in 21 games (three tournaments), which Bedard is four points away from tying.

Meanwhile, it’s Forsberg who also holds the all-time mark, with 42 points in just 14 World Juniors games.

But despite Bedard’s otherworldly talent, he’s remaining outwardly humble about it all.

“I’m another player on the team,” Bedard said in a TSN interview after Canada’s 11-0 win last night. “We’ve got so many guys that are special players. I’m just here as one of the guys… and obviously trying to contribute.”

Canada takes on Sweden tomorrow at 3:30 pm PT/4:30 MT/6:30 ET, with the game being broadcast across the TSN network.

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