EDMONTON, Alta. – Connor Bedard (North Vancouver, B.C./Regina, WHL) became the youngest Canadian player to score a hat trick at the IIHF World Junior Championship on Tuesday night, recording four goals during an 11-2 victory over Austria.
• Bedard is just the sixth player in Team Canada history to score four goals in a game, joining Mario Lemieux (Jan. 4, 1983 vs. NOR), Simon Gagné (Jan. 2, 1999 vs. KAZ), Brayden Schenn (Dec. 29, 2010 vs. NOR), Taylor Raddysh (Dec. 29, 2016 vs. LAT) and Maxime Comtois (Dec. 26, 2018 vs. DEN).
• At 16 years, five months and 12 days, Bedard surpassed Wayne Gretzky (16 years, 10 months, 28 days on Dec. 25, 1977 vs. TCH) as the youngest to record a hat trick.
• Mason McTavish (Carp, Ont./Peterborough, OHL) had two goals and one assist.
• Cole Perfetti (Whitby, Ont./Manitoba, AHL) also had three points – one goal and two helpers.
• Kent Johnson (Port Moody, B.C./University of Michigan, Big Ten) opened the scoring for Canada with a power-play goal at 5:08 of the first period. Just under a minute later, Lukas Cormier (Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, N.B./Charlottetown, QMJHL) made it 2-0.
• Logan Stankoven (Kamloops, B.C./Kamloops, WHL) made it 3-0 before Bedard would add power-play and even-strength goals to give Canada a 5-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
• Mavrik Bourque (Plessisville, Que./Shawinigan, QMJHL) also scored for Canada.
• Brett Brochu (Belle River, Ont./London, OHL) made 20 saves on 22 shots in his first start.
• Canada outshot Austria 64-22.
Next Game: Canada vs. Germany – Wednesday, December 29 (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)
Quotes : “Most of those are in front of the net and I'm just getting a stick on it or something. I was pretty fortunate. Everyone makes the game easy here when you're playing with these guys. It was just a good game for our team and I was lucky to get those goals.” - Bedard on his four-goal game
“It's pretty cool to hear your name with that guy. Whenever you get that honour, it's pretty surreal and crazy. Like I said, it's the second game of the tournament. I'm trying not to get too high on myself. It's definitely pretty cool to hear that. It's only one game. I don't think I'll be getting 2,800 points in the NHL.” - Bedard on being the first 16-year-old to record a World Juniors hat trick since Wayne Gretzky
“The way we played was just the way we wanted to. We always get ready for upcoming games and we had a pretty good game overall. We'll keep looking after the little details to keep improving every game.” - Elliot Desnoyers (Saint-Hyacinthe, Que./Halifax, QMJHL) on Canada's game and approach moving forward
“Full marks to Connor. It's like our team, it's a work in progress. We ask our guys to improve. Connor doesn't need my help when the puck is on his stick and he's in the offensive zone. He's got exceptional status for a reason. Connor, like some of the other offensive guys on our team, [have to] mature their game away from the puck so they can get out of their own end through the neutral zone and then their strength can take over.” - Head coach Dave Cameron (Kincora, P.E.I./Ottawa, OHL) on Bedard
“The big advantage is your experience and you know that no matter what you say and preach, when you're playing a game where you have the puck so much, there's going to be some lazy tendencies [that] slip into your team's game. That's human nature. The game went pretty much how I thought it would. The experience allows you to be a little mellow through that whole process. These guys are smart, too. As much as the coaches know what we're up against, so do the players. It's a way harder challenge tomorrow against a team that is stronger away from the puck. The players are already talking about that in the room after and that's a sign of good leadership.” - Cameron on the challenges playing a one-sided game
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