Bedard thinks he could make Canada's World Junior roster at 16

It's been a busy last couple of weeks for Hockey Canada as they have been holding their summer camps for the men's U18 and U20 teams. To the surprise of no one, 16-year-old Connor Bedard was named to Canada's World Junior summer camp roster, and he's been thinking about the possibility of making the final roster in December.

"Obviously it's kind of in the back of your head, but I think you just got to focus on now and all I can do right now is play my hardest at this camp, and you know, try to impress the people that are making that decision. But I mean obviously growing up you always want to play for the World Junior team, so that's definitely a huge goal of mine, and would he really exciting," Bedard said.

"I think everyone's goal is to make the World Junior team and be able to play for them one day. So you know, obviously to get a game with them it's gonna be really huge and hopefully it goes well. But I'm really excited for that opportunity," the Vancouver native added.

Canada's 2022 World Junior head coach Dave Cameron went on to say, "Well I don't think you ever eliminate anybody out, but then you look at the history of the under-20 team and who's on it, generally some guys who are a little bit older, but we're open to everything. Really looking forward to watching him and seeing him. I obviously saw him when he was at the under-18 in Dallas..looking forward to seeing him in some live games, and yeah, we're not going to eliminate anybody."

Bedard started the 2020-21 season in Sweden with HV71's junior team. In four games with them, he had four points (2 G, 2 A), no penalty minutes, and was a -3. He then returned back to Canada once the WHL announced they were beginning their season in late-February. In his rookie season for the Regina Pats, Bedard had 28 points (12 G, 16 A), six penalty minutes, and was a +9.

Following a successful rookie campaign in the WHL, he was named to Canada's roster for the U18 World Championship in late-April in Texas. As a 15-year-old at the time, Bedard went on to finish third in tournament scoring with 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in seven games as Canada took home the gold medal.

Bedard is projected to be a top-two pick at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft along with Matvei Michkov from Russia.

Can Connor Bedard become the first 16-year-old to crack 🇨🇦's #WorldJuniors roster since Connor McDavid?

"It's kind of in the back of your head," the @WHLPats phenom says

Shane Wright: "He definitely has a shot"https://t.co/v6kM0BifKW— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) August 2, 2021

Source: TSN

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