Connor Bedard may be playing for the Chicago Blackhawks, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about his roots cheering for the Vancouver Canucks.
Last night marked the first time that Bedard was able to play an NHL game in his native Vancouver, having been born and raised on the north side of the city. During his youth, he followed in the steps of many other kids in the city cheering for the Canucks.
During last night’s After Hours segment with Scott Oake, Bedard admitted that he wasn’t just a casual Canucks fan growing up, he was among the hardcore.
“I was pretty hardcore actually,” Bedard said of his fandom. “I’d lose my mind whenever they lost. There were a couple of times where my mom kind of gave me a couple suspensions from watching the team, I was getting too fired up.
“I was pretty into it. Loved watching them, loved going to games here and there, that’s the cool part about coming home.”
It wasn’t quite the homecoming that he had imagined as his Blackhawks fell to the Canucks by a score of 4-1. He did, however, have plenty of family and friends in attendance for the game with about 20 tickets being bought by Bedard.
They took up an entire row in Rogers Arena and were pretty easy to spot as they were all wearing #98 Blackhawks jerseys.
Connor Bedard’s family and friends occupying a full row for his homecoming game in Vancouver. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/kJR2CtlsL6
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 17, 2024
One of the most pivotal moments during his Canucks fandom came during a playoff game against the San Jose Sharks. A young Bedard recounted being in Rogers Arena for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals when Kevin Bieksa scored a series-clinching goal in double-OT to send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final.
“I would have been five,” Bedard said of the moment. “I was up top in the nosebleeds, me and my dad… It was pretty incredible for myself to get to be there with my dad and enjoy it and still remember it.
“That shows the impact it had.”
Like every hardcore Canucks fan, Bedard had a favourite player growing up as well and it’s one that a lot of current fans can get behind.
“Growing up, it was [Chris] Tanev,” Bedard said. “I don’t know why, I just remember him always putting his face in front of the puck and sacrificing his body.”
It’s unlikely at this juncture that Bedard will be able to pull over a Canucks jersey in an NHL game, but many fans in Vancouver will be hoping that he one day decides to test the free agent market and, maybe, come back home.