Connor Bedard scored twice in his men’s hockey worlds debut to help Canada double up newcomer Great Britain 4-2 on Sunday in Prague, Czech Republic.
The 18-year-old Bedard, coming off a great rookie season with the Chicago Blackhawks, netted twice in a four-minute span of the second period to put the Group A game in Prague out of reach.
Canada had to rally from a goal down despite outshooting Britain 12-3 in the opening period and 34-15 overall.
Liam Kirk put Britain a 1-0 ahead on a power play eight minutes into the game, but the lead lasted just 30 seconds as Michael Bunting found the back of the net from the point to tie it 1-1.
Connor Bedard scored twice as Canada defeated Great Britain 4-2 in the opening game of pool play at the 2024 Hockey World Championships in Prague.
Brandon Hagel put the defending champions ahead 5:45 into the second period with a shot high into the roof of the net.
Then it was Bedard’s turn.
The teenager found the net midway through the frame for his first goal at the senior worlds. He made it 4-1 after Nick Paul fed him with a perfect pass.
Ben O’Connor scored in the third period for Britain.
Canada’s goaltender Joel Hofer posted 13 saves, while Jackson Whistle of Great Britain made 30 stops.
Bedard netted twice in a four-minute span in the second period to put the game out of reach. The North Vancouver native, who led all rookies with 61 points in his first season in the NHL with Chicago, won the U18 world championships in 2021 and the 2022 and 2023 world juniors championships with Canada.
“He’s a great player,” Canadian captain Colton Parayko said about Bedard. “Off the ice he works really hard, he’s really professional. It’s exciting to having a player like that on our team and we’re looking forward to seeing him evolve as the tournament goes on.”
Canada won the tournament for the 28th time in 2023, beating Germany 5-2 in the final.
“There are the best in the world and we skated with them tonight,” said O’Connor about the Canadians. “We even took it to them at times, it’s pretty cool. Last time we played Canada I think it was 8-0, so we’ve come a long way.”
Canada will next face Denmark on Sunday, also playing Austria, Norway, Finland, Switzerland and hosts Czech Republic in the preliminary round.
The tournament concludes with the medal games on May 26.
In Group B in the city of Ostrava, Kazakhstan defeated France 3-1 in their opening game.
The United States hopes to recover from an opening 5-2 loss to Sweden in a Group B game against Germany later Saturday.
Another newcomer in the top division, Poland, faces last year’s bronze medalist Latvia in the same group, while Austria plays Denmark and the Czech Republic meets Norway in Group A.
