Gold Medals, Viral Goals and Calls from Wayne Gretzky: Connor Bedard's 'Crazy Journey' to the NHL (Exclusive)

Bedard, the NHL's expected top draft pick, tells PEOPLE about practicing with the pros and the "special moment" Wayne Gretzky surprised him with a phone call

When the NHL Draft kicks off on Wednesday night, there’s little doubt who the Chicago Blackhawks will pick at the No. 1 spot.

Nearly everyone in the hockey world knows it’ll be 17-year-old phenom Connor Bedard — the most hyped NHL rookie since Connor McDavid (2015) and Sidney Crosby (2005) were selected in the top spot.

Already one of hockey’s most popular names and still in his teens, Bedard is as much a master at playing it cool as he is at scoring goals.

“I try to take things day-by-day,” Bedard shrugs when asked about what it will be like to hear his name called by the Blackhawks. “Nothing’s for certain. I haven’t made the NHL or anything yet.”

As if hockey’s “next big thing” might not even be drafted at all, let alone be the player every team wants.

Bedard spoke with PEOPLE recently about Wednesday's draft and his sky-high expectations, which already include comparisons to NHL legend Gretzky, owner of the record for the most goals and points in the sport's history.

Years ago, the Hall of Famer even called Bedard after he received “exceptional status” from the Canadian government, which allowed the young center to play in the country’s junior hockey league as a 14 year old — only the seventh player to ever receive the approval.

Bedard was a little confused when “a random number in California” popped up on his phone. “When I answered, I was pretty shocked,” he laughs. “It was a pretty special moment for me.”

With even Gretzky at his back, Bedard has become the talk of hockey in recent years. Scouts have called him the best they’ve ever seen. NHL writers have claimed him as "hockey's LeBron James." And current NHL players say they’ve been fawning over his skills across the league’s locker rooms for some time. 

“He is as advertised,” Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke, who played with Bedard on Canada’s world juniors team earlier this year, told The Toronto Star. “He’s a special player.”

But none of the hype has gone to Bedard’s head, whose devoted focus has been a tunnel vision towards Wednesday night’s draft since he was a boy.

“It wasn’t an overnight thing, which is good," Bedard says. "It was a gradual growth of popularity, but I’m not really worried too much about outside noise. I have my own personal goals and I’m very passionate. I’m motivated to be the best that I can be, whether people say anything about me or not.”

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Bedard's Roots in Vancouver

Bedard grew up in North Vancouver, British Columbia where he rooted for the Canucks, idolized Crosby, and spent nearly every moment of the day playing hockey – at the rink or in his family’s backyard. He even brought gear with himself on vacation, and when he once broke his wrist, a young Bedard kept playing one-handed until his grip came back.

“I just always wanted to play hockey,” Bedard says. “It’s been my passion since I was four or five.”

He played soccer, too, but stopped by the time he was 12. At that age, he was already being interviewed about his talent on the ice and his family — dad Tom, mom Melanie, and sister Madisen — and pro scouts were starting to realize his potential.

Bedard credits his parents and sister “even more than myself” for his success, because of “all the sacrifices they’ve made.” “I wouldn’t be where I am today without them,” he says.

Related: NFL 1st Pick Bryce Young Reveals He Kept a Piece of the Draft Stage: 'Experience I'll Never Forget' (Exclusive)

Becoming the NHL's 'Next Big Thing'

On the ice, Bedard has spent recent summers practicing with the NHL’s biggest stars — from McDavid to Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon to the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal, another British Columbia native who has remained close with Bedard.

“It’s incredible for me to get to be on the ice with them, but also to spend time with them off the ice and realize they’ve been in my shoes at one point,” he says. “They’re just regular people who are the best in the world at what they do. To see how they approach every day and train and get some advice, I’ve been pretty lucky.”

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Bedard is just as good – or well on his way to being just as good — as the grown men he’ll skate with come October when the 2023-24 NHL season begins. Particularly, his shot and his agility on the ice at a speedy 5-foot-10, 185 pounds. “His release is one of the best in the world now ... at 17,” MacKinnon told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan earlier this year.

A season ago, at 16, Bedard became the youngest player in the history of the Western Hockey League to score 50 goals in a season and this year became the first player to ever win the Canadian junior league’s MVP, Top-Scorer and Top-Prospect awards in a single season.

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In the last two annual World Junior Championship Tournaments, Bedard scored 17 goals and 19 assists in 16 games — more than any Canadian player in history, including a dazzling overtime goal against Slovakia that sent Canada to the gold medal game they ultimately won.

The goal — one of Bedard’s “favorites, for sure,” — went viral and “became one of the greatest goals in [world juniors] history after he dipsy-doodled through three players before deking [Slovakian] goalie Adam Gajan into next week,” according to the International Ice Hockey Federation, which recently named him the IIHF Male Player of the Year.

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The moment left Gajan laying on his back, catching his breath as Bedard’s teammates swarmed him to celebrate — an warning sign for NHL goalies to come. “You never really remember what you’re feeling in that moment,” Bedard says. “You kind of just black out, but it was very exciting.”

Despite the dazzling moments, the lore and the awards already lifting Bedard up towards NHL stardom, the humble top-pick in Wednesday’s draft says he's solely focused on making himself better as begins every hockey player's ultimate goal to lift the Stanley Cup.

“Some of those things you dream of as a kid,” Bedard says. “I’ve gotten to experience some of that, so it’s been a crazy journey so far and so much fun. But I think if I just stay grounded and keep working, hopefully more of those moments will come.”

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