Bedard and Friends Enjoy Homecoming at CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game

British Columbia is well represented at the 2023 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, including people who played with and against Connor Bedard growing up.

It's easy to look at Wednesday's Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game as the Connor Bedard show. After his scene-stealing MVP performance at the World Junior Championship, Bedard has raised his game by another notch since returning to the WHL's Regina Pats.

This is not a typo: he has 17 points in five games with Regina in January. He's riding a 32-game point streak and has 81 games in 33 WHL games this season — and is now focused on making sure the Pats secure the best possible positioning in the WHL playoffs.

"Back to, kind of, normal," Bedard said about his return to his club team. "Obviously, you miss those guys when you're gone. We did really well, winning four out of our last five, so it's been good."

Back in his home province of British Columbia, the 17-year-old from North Vancouver is sharing the ice with some familiar faces at the Top Prospects Game in Langley, B.C.

Wearing the 'C' for Team Red, Bedard centered childhood mate Zach Benson of the Winnipeg Ice and Coulson Pitre of the Flint Firebirds at practice on Tuesday.

Benson, who grew up in Chilliwack, currently sits second in WHL scoring with 65 points. He's ranked seventh among North American skaters in the recently released mid-term rankings from NHL Central Scouting. 

"He's a hell of a player," said Bedard. "I mean, he's got all that skill and he's such a hound on the puck. I think that kind of goes unnoticed for people watching — he's so good on the forecheck."

Benson said Tuesday he recognized Bedard's tremendous potential "about five seconds into our first ice session," when the two were playing spring hockey, still not 10 years old.

"He's always been a special player," Benson said. "I knew since the first day I met him that he was going to do some special things, and here he is now."

Another Bedard chum, Andrew Cristall of the Kelowna Rockets, is tied for third in WHL scoring with 62 points and ranked No. 16 by Central Scouting. He won't take part in Wednesday's game due to an injury.

The top-ranked North American defenseman, Lukas Dragicevic of the Tri-City Americans, slots in at No. 12 on Central Scouting's list. And while the native of Richmond, B.C., didn't switch from forward to defense until he was 14, he's all too familiar with the challenges he'll face when he lines up against Bedard as part of the Team White blueline on Wednesday.

"We've always had a lot of competition here in B.C., so it's something that's really fun," he said. "We've had a lot of spring hockey tournaments growing up, so that made it made it a lot more competitive

"I think we've known for a while now that B.C. is going to be really good in this draft class. Hopefully, it just keeps going that way."

For another B.C. defenseman, Luca Cagnoni of the Portland Winterhawks, his Top Prospects invitation is a win all on its own. 

"It's pretty crazy," he said. "I definitely wouldn't think I'd be here right now, but obviously I'm super thankful for everything that's happened for me just to get here."

Raised in Burnaby, B.C., the 5-foot-9, 180-pound blueliner is ranked 34th by Central Scouting. He has high praise for the support he's received from the Portland organization.

"They picked me up when I went undrafted, so obviously it's a special place in my heart," said Cagnoni, who has put up 39 points in 41 games with the Winterhawks so far this season. He played his first 10 games with the Winterhawks at the end of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season before joining the team full time the following year.

"A lot of it was just trusting (coach) Mike (Johnston's) plan that he gave me," said Cagnoni. "A lot of confidence gained from that, so it just kind of set up for success for this year."

Long story short: there's plenty of reason for families and friends to cozy up alongside the many NHL scouts and GMs that will be on hand at the Langley Events Centre on Wednesday. 

One player from the host Vancouver Giants will also be taking part: center Jaden Lipinski, who hails from Scottsdale, Ariz. 

"It's unreal, especially to have it right here in Langley," said the 6-foot-4, 208-pound pivot, who just turned 18 in December. "It's a super-cool experience, and I'm feeling really lucky."

Ranked 38th by Central Scouting, Lipinski has taken a significant step forward in his second year with the Giants, where he's tied for third in team scoring with 33 points in 43 games.

Another Giants forward, Samuel Honzek, was named to the Top Prospects roster but is also unable to participate due to injury.

Wednesday's game is a chance for Lipinski and other players who have flown further under the radar to pull some eyeballs in their direction. 

"It's a great opportunity," he said, noting all the NHL scouts that will be in the building. "But that being said, it's not the end all, be all."

It's true. NHL squads can only put so much stock in a single game played in an all-star format. Still, players can't afford to coast when many of them have a lot on the line, barely five months out from the highly anticipated 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville in late June.

"We're all competitive, and no one no one wants to lose," said Bedard, "so I think we're going to be playing hard. I don't know what the score is going to be or anything. But I know everyone will be competing and trying to win."

Catch the Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game Wednesday night at 10 p.m. ET on TSN/RDS in Canada and NHL Network in the U.S.