Regina Pats’ captain Connor Bedard scored his 70th goal of the season on Sunday in a 4-2 win over the Blades in front of almost 15,000 fans at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
Bedard becomes just the sixth Pats player to ever reach the milestone and the first one to do so since Dale Derkatch in the 1983-84 season.
He’s also the first 17-year-old in the Western Hockey League (WHL) to reach the mark since Pavel Brendl in 1998-99.
The last player to hit 70 goals in a WHL season was Jayden Halbgewachs, who did so during his 20-year-old season with the Moose Jaw Warriors in 2017-2018.
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Since returning from the World Juniors in January, Bedard has 78 points in 27 games.
He currently leads the WHL in goals (70), assists (71) and points (141).
Bedard is also first in goals and points across the entire Canadian Hockey League (CHL).
The Pats meanwhile have now won three of its last four games and clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2018 Saturday night with a 7-3 win in Moose Jaw.
They’ll wrap up the regular season with a pair of games this coming weekend, first in Saskatoon on Friday then at the Brandt Centre Saturday night against Prince Albert.
If the regular season ended on Monday the Pats would face Saskatoon in the opening round of the WHL playoffs.
