Getty Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks
Team Canada GM Rick Nash has “reached out” to Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard for their upcoming participation in the World Championship kicking off next May, according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN.
“That is the idea,” LeBrun answered on Wednesday, April 3, when asked about the possibility of Team Canada adding Bedard and Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish to their World Championship roster.
“Team Canada general manager Rick Nash has reached out to those two players because those two players’ teams have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
According to LeBrun, the expectation is that Nash and Team Canada will reach out to other players once their teams are eliminated from contention in the next few days. The NHL regular season ends on April 18 with the playoffs starting two days later on April 20.
“That’s why [Nash] has only reached out to two players so far,” LeBrun explained.
Connor Bedard Is Expected to Play in the Worlds After NHL Season
With only six teams already eliminated from the race to make the postseason, it’s reasonable that we haven’t heard a lot of rumors about potential call-ups for the upcoming World Championship.
That will change soon, however, as the regular season is entering the final two weeks of play on Thursday, April 4, with exactly 14 days between now and the final slate of games.
“Calls are coming around the league soon and, obviously,” LeBrun said. The insider also added that there has been “no official word from Bedard just yet.”
That last nugget of information has to do with Bedard having quite a busy season in Chicago as he enters the home stretch of his rookie year with the Blackhawks, one in which he will most probably win the Calder Trophy award given to the best rookie in the NHL.
“Been a pretty busy last couple of years for [Bedard] with the draft, and he actually played in a couple of World Juniors,” said LeBrun. “It’s expected that [Bedard’s] answer will be a yes.
“All probabilities are Bedard will go play for Canada at the men’s worlds.”
Bedard, as Heavy documented in this story, is not new to training and honing his skills along with some of the greatest players in the league.
Bedard and McTavish Could Be Joined by Superstar Sidney Crosby
LeBrun added a fascinating possibility when discussing Bedard’s expected call from Team Canada: joining fellow young superstar McTavish as well as future Hall of Fame inductee and Pittsburgh Penguins legend Sidney Crosby, whose career earnings are estimated at $141 million (per CapFriendly) and who just tied a ludicrous Wayne Gretzky record.
“Wouldn’t it be amazing if Sidney Crosby and Bedard were teammates at a men’s worlds?” LeBrun said recalling fellow NHL Insider Chris Johnston’s idea.
“Yes, it’s Team Canada’s plan to reach out to [Sidney Crosby] if and when the Penguins get eliminated,” LeBrun revealed. “[The Penguins] keep hanging in that playoff race but that will be the plan.”
Against all odds, the Penguins have put on a strong late-season run winning four of their last five games entering Thursday’s slate. Pittsburgh has defeated top-tier teams in the past few days, including the Carolina Hurricanes on March 26 and the New York Rangers on April 1.
As things stand, the Penguins (34-30-11, 79 points) are still ranked in a low No. 11 position in the Eastern Conference. That being said, Pittsburgh has seven games left and is just four points behind the Flyers (83 points) in the Metropolitan Divison with a game in hand over Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh could also earn a postseason berth by grabbing the second wild-card spot, currently in possession of Washington with the Caps having 82 points in 74 games.
On a final interesting note, LeBrun said that the plan for Team Canada is to “keep one or two roster spots open even after they have named their roster.”
That means that even if the Penguins clinch a postseason berth and make it to the playoffs if they are eliminated quickly, there might be a chance for Crosby to eventually make Team Canada’s World Championship roster.
According to LeBrun, Nash will make the final calls at the end of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, “just in case there’s a couple of high-profile players that want to go join Team Canada.”