He’s ready for his close-up. Along with fellow rookie Kevin Korchinski, he completed his rookie lap without a helmet, walking up the ice ahead of his teammates and passing the puck to the other team — or, anyway, Try this.
“I remember I had that little pass with Kev and I didn’t understand it at all, so I probably got some flack on the net,” he said. “It’s fun. It’s so cool. It’s also fun to go barrelless. Yeah, I really enjoy it.”
Bedard did some hockey tricks during warmups. At one point, he stood in the corner and Iceberg, the Penguins mascot, stood behind the glass and laughed at him. Veteran Corey Perry got on Bedard’s back and slammed himself against the glass.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Bedard played in the first game against Crosby.
“Hey Sid, welcome back for another season,” referee Kelly Sutherland said into a television microphone. “Connor, welcome to the NHL, man.”
“Thank you,” Bedard said.
“Okay, guys,” Sutherland said. “The show is about to begin. Let’s have a good game.”
Crosby won the draw with authority.
“I just want to win the game,” Bedard said. “Obviously not. But just getting into it, yeah, I mean, it’s really cool, it’s really special. Try to accept it, but at the end of the day, your focus is on the game of hockey. And, of course, Nerves. It’s a very important time in your life. But yeah, just trying to settle in and focus on this.”
