NHL stars Celebrini, Bedard spotted training together in BC
If you look back at the two NHL drafts prior to this one, you’ll find that the Vancouver connections go right to the top.
Both the 2023 and 2024 NHL Draft first overall picks — Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini — were born in North Vancouver before being picked by the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, respectively.
So, it might not be much of a surprise to see that the pair opted to train together this offseason, with a video surfacing this week of the duo skating together at the Scotia Barn rink by Canlan Sports in Burnaby, BC.
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Fellow NHLers Kent Johnson and Fraser Minten were also a part of the mix.
The practice of rival NHL stars training together isn’t uncommon at all.
Despite beating him in the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 (and again this past year), Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk told the Missin’ Curfew podcast about training with Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid last summer in Vail.
“I remember we were doing a two-on-two drill, and it was myself and [Nathan] MacKinnon versus [Sidney] Crosby and McDavid. I’m like, ‘Alright boys, wish me luck,’” said a laughing Tkachuk. “Thank god it was a smaller area. If we got out on the open ice, I was screwed. It was fun with those guys, fun getting to know them off the ice. They’re all great guys.”
So while it might excite some fans to see the duo training together in BC, they’re probably just back home for the summer.
What connections do the pair have to the Canucks?
Celebrini’s older brother, Aiden, is actually in the Canucks system, having been selected by the team in the sixth round of the 2023 draft.
It doesn’t take long to find the younger Celebrini cheering on the Canucks, as he was shown on the ESPN broadcast of the last Vancouver home playoff game: a Game 7 loss to the Oilers in the second round in 2024.
In the third period of that game with Vancouver looking to rally late in the contest, Celebrini was caught chanting “Go Canucks Go” along with the rest of the Rogers Arena crowd.
For Bedard, going to Canucks games was also a tradition growing up.
“I was pretty hardcore actually,” Bedard told the After Hours crew on Hockey Night in Canada last season. “I’d lose my mind whenever they lost. There were a couple of times where my mom kind of gave me a couple suspensions from watching the team, I was getting too fired up.”