Top hockey prospects, best friends Bedard and Crystal battle in Kelowna

The two hockey prospects were childhood best friends but turned against each other in Kelowna on Tuesday night.

The buzz spreads around Kelowna as Andrew Crystal and the Rockets host Regina Patz and hockey frontrunner Connor Bedard at Prospera Place.

The 17-year-olds have been playing hockey together and against each other since they were five years old and are excited to face each other for the first time in their WHL careers.

“We both want to win. We want each other to win,” Crystal said. “I’m excited for tomorrow’s game.”

“I think we’ve known each other for over a decade now,” Bedard said. Didn’t beat up too much but we are always together and very close.It’s exciting maybe we’ll have dinner or something after the game I’ve seen what he’s been up to this year But obviously we are very close and we have a chance to play against him and fight him. It’s a lot of fun.”

The two are in regular contact, usually exchanging text messages after each other’s games.

Both are dominating the league. Coming into Tuesday night’s contest, Bedard leads the league in points, while Crystal is tied for second in his category.

In 20 games so far this season, the Burnaby native has scored 39 goals (16 goals and 23 assists) and is now on an 11-game scoring streak. North his Vancouver native Bedard has put up video his game figures throughout his career, including this season. He leads the league with his 53 points (22 goals, 31 assists) and he has scored at least one point in every game this season (24).

The prospective first-round draft picks in the 2023 NHL Draft have high marks for each other.

“His smarts, I think he probably has the best IQ I’ve ever seen. He’s always in the right place and always plays right,” Bedard said. “He’s had an unreal year, which doesn’t surprise me at all.”

“His shooting is amazing. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before,” Crystal said.

Due to pandemic restrictions last season, Bedard and Pats were unable to travel to British Columbia for the game. Pat’s current road trip is Bedard’s first time playing in his WHL across his home state, and with every game sold out, he was the hottest ticket in every town .

“It’s a lot of fun. You can feel the energy in the building,” Bedard said. Bedard got his parents, as well as other family and friends to attend games across the state. “Being before the sellout [WHL] The crowd is pretty crazy.

Pat is currently on a seven-game road trip that includes Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George.

Bedard has the main appeal as hockey’s first choice, but he knows how good his players are throughout the league.

“There’s a lot of people in this league watching. I’m just playing, I’m just one of the players in the room,” Bedard said.

Tuesday’s game at Prospera Place will be the Rockets’ first sold-out pre-pandemic acquisition, as the 6,000-seat stadium is expected to hold about 6,300 to 6,400 spectators, and the standing room is also expected to fill. the audience. The Kelowna Rockets sold out a few weeks ago, according to Bruce Hamilton, general manager of the Kelowna Rockets.

“It’s exciting,” said Hamilton. “I think it’s going to be a pretty cool environment that they haven’t seen. These games are sold out all over Columbia.”

When asked if these players were ready to see the first sellout, he said that sellout crowds used to be the norm and he expected head coach Chris Mallett to get his team ready. I said that there is.

The Women’s Hockey Rivalry Series game at Prospera Place two weeks ago was also sold out.

Both players are expected to be drafted early in the first round of the NHL Draft in June, but both are also fans of the Vancouver Canucks after growing up in the Metro Vancouver area. With the Canucks struggling to start the season, they may have a chance to draft one of them.

“I’m still rooting for them. Just a fan, not,” Bedard said. “I haven’t thought much about the draft, so I’m rooting for them as usual.”

Bedard and Crystal are both very likely to leave their respective teams for some time in the coming weeks to play for Team Canada at the Junior Worlds in Halifax and Moncton from December 26-January. 3. Bedard was on last year’s World Junior Team.

Tuesday’s game will be the first and only game between the Rockets and Pats this season. Pack drop at Prospera Place at 7:05 PM.

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